New Year's Eve Guide

Your guide to New Year's Eve in Austin: Hottest parties to ring in 2016

Austin's New Year 2013 with fireworks over Austin Auditorium Shores

From the mild to the wild, Austin has something for everyone this New Year's Eve.

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

What are you doing New Year's Eve? From the mild to the wild, Austin has something for everyone. Kiss 2015 goodbye and ring in the new year with one of these special celebrations.

Big Fancy Dance Party at laV
Wear your best to this sophisticated shindig and enjoy oysters, cheese, and charcuterie while you boogie the night away. Stop by the photo booth to make a memory and enjoy sparklers in the garden. At the stroke of midnight, toast with Veuve Cliquot Champagne. Tickets are $75.

No Cover New Year's Eve at Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden
Two words: lobster sausage. End 2015 on a culinary high note with Banger's special NYE menu of smoked prime rib, charred Swiss chard, bacon potato gratin, and, of course, lobster sausage poached in butter. Beginning at 7 pm, take in sets from Them Duqaines and Teddy Long, and ring in the new year with complimentary pony bottles of Miller High Life.

New Year's Eve at Rebel Pizza Bar
You just can't go wrong with a pizza party, and Rebel Pizza Bar's offerings do not disappoint. A $27 ticket gets all-you-can-eat pizza, a Champagne toast, and party favors. Happy hour prices are in effect all day and night, and every TV screen will be dedicated to college playoff games.

Aerial Spectacular at Austin Music Hall
If you like a good show, sit back and watch as 30 aerialists defy gravity over 18 acts. Following the spectacle, count down to a balloon and confetti drop with a Champagne toast. DJ Miss Genafire will provide the music while you dance into the new year. Austin Music Hall is in its final days, so be sure to swing by and bid farewell to the 20-year-old venue. Tickets start at $75.

NYE 1979 at Hotel Vegas
Party like it's 1979 with Hotel Vegas' extensive catalog of classic tunes covered by Austin's hottest bands. The night will play out like a mini-festival with over 30 bands taking the stage to cover the likes of Olivia Newton John, David Bowie, Brian Eno, The Pretenders, and Joy Division. Tickets are $27.37.

Totally Awesome '80s at The Austin Roller Rink
Skate back in time to the Austin Roller Rink with food, booze, music, and more. Wear your '80s gear for a chance to win the costume contest. Enjoy live entertainment all night long or make your own in the karaoke room and visit the photo booth to capture the magic. Balloons drop and glasses clink at midnight with a Champagne toast. Early bird tickets are already sold out but take advantage of the presale and save $10. Tickets at the door are $40.

Casino Night at The Goodnight
Feeling lucky? Head to The Goodnight for just about every type of amusement you could hope for. The venue boasts a pet-friendly party patio, billiards, skee ball, bowling, and an air guitar recording studio. Celebrate the new year with passed appetizers, a Champagne toast, and unlimited casino games all night. The $100 admission gets you all that and a raffle ticket for a trip to Las Vegas for two.

Big Freedia's NYE Party at Mohawk
"New Year, Mo Azz" is the credo at this vibrant event. Big Freedia and the crew will shake it into the new year with high-energy New Orleans bounce music. Give 2015 the booty and enter 2016 drenched in sweat, as Big Freedia fans always come to dance. Tickets are $25.

NYE Bash 2016 at Lucky Lounge
Dust off your cloche and your string of pearls and get down to the speakeasy. Lucky Lounge celebrates the prohibition era, just without all the prohibition. Drink bubbly at midnight in your best flapper garb and snap a pic in the photo booth to commemorate the occasion. Tickets start at $25.

Black and Gold New Years at Wanderlust Yoga
This is not a yoga class, but it could be considered a yogi party since it takes place at one of Austin's finest yoga studios. Let loose for an evening with psychedelic visuals, a metallic photo booth, and a midnight toast. Enjoy beer from Zilker Brewing Company, vodka from BFD Vodka, Kosmic Kombucha, and more. Leave the yoga pants at home and step out in your best cocktail attire for this special evening. Tickets start at $74.84.

Austin's New Year at Auditorium Shores
This free celebration won't take you all the way to midnight, but it will blow your mind with a killer lineup and a fireworks finale. Enjoy good-time bands like Grupo Fantasma and Golden Dawn Arkestra at this annual alcohol-free event presented by the City of Austin.

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HAIL MELON

NASCAR driver Ross Chastain aims for 3rd career win at Circuit of the Americas

Photo courtesy of Noah Watts/Daylon Barr Photography

"I wish more tracks had more elevation change like [COTA]. It makes the racing more dynamic, and being behind the wheel in the driver’s seat makes it more fun,” Ross Chastain shared.

After his first-ever Cup victory at Circuit of the Americas in 2022, this eighth generation Central Florida watermelon farmer turned NASCAR driver is looking to nab his third career win at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin on March 26.

Trackhouse Racing star Ross Chastain is currently third in the points heading into the race weekend; just four points behind Christopher Bell (second), and five behind Joey Logano (current leader). Chastain finished second behind Logano in the 2022 Cup Series Championship.

The tight standings make for a thrilling weekend at COTA, where Chastain earned his first career win just last year. He says driving on the 3.41-mile road course feels “opposite” to him than what he’s used to with a typical 1.5-mile oval track. He's been making left-only turns since he was 12 years old, and even on his Florida farm he would navigate the grids of watermelons and turn left at the end of every row. Learning to navigate a road course meant seeking help from others who might have better experience.

“I went to driving schools [and] I went to older and other drivers to teach me and give me advice on the simple art of driving a race car at its limit to the right, and COTA’s no different,” he tells CultureMap. “It’s – to me – very ironic that we got our first Cup Series win at a road course.”

Many race car drivers have raised concerns about the bumpy surface of the track, even after parts of it were resurfaced in 2022. For Chastain, he thinks there’s a couple different perspectives a driver can take when it comes to blemished track surfaces. On the one hand, part of him loves the idea of a perfectly smooth track with "symmetrical corners" for him to put down a perfect lap. But the “racing purist” in him also wants to drive on the “worst track possible.”

“I want bumps and cracks, different corners. I want to turn left and right...and just have variety, and COTA is getting that more and more," he says. "Our cars, they bottom out [and] slide...that’s what makes our racing so great is that we are out of control a lot."

Unlike F1 drivers, who tend to be more precise on track, NASCAR drivers use anything and everything to their advantage to get a win, much like Chastain’s straight-from-a-video-game wall-ride move that subsequently got banned at the beginning of January.

COTA might not have a wall to ride, but it does have a 133-foot first turn elevation change. While it can be a challenge for some, it isn’t for Chastain. The high elevation allows him to charge into the corner hard, let gravity slow him down while going uphill, then let the car slide down while heading into turn two.

“I love it. I wish more tracks had more elevation change like [COTA]. It makes the racing more dynamic, and being behind the wheel in the driver’s seat makes it more fun,” he says.

When considering the momentum it will take to score another win, Chastain admits it will be the biggest challenge he’s ever faced, but he’s confident in his ability to carry over that drive and motivation after his 2022 second-place Cup Series finish.

In line with the car’s continuing evolution, as he puts it, a recent aerodynamics change is expected to shake up who ends up at the top of the leaderboard. But his calm demeanor shows he isn’t phased by the changes.

“As simple as it sounds, we race in circles on Sunday afternoons, and this sport is a big circle of teams [and drivers] cycling up, cycling down,” says Chastain. “We’ll have to work harder than ever to try and stay at the top here.”

To kick off the race weekend and initiate some good luck for his Sunday race, Chastain (ever-connected to his roots) will drop watermelons off COTA’s illustrious 251-foot observation tower on Friday, March 24 at 2 pm.

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas will run from 2:30-6 pm on Sunday, March 26. More information about the race can be found at circuitoftheamericas.com, and tickets can be purchased at nascaratcota.com.

NASCAR Ross Chastain COTA circuit of the americas austin nascar at circuit of the americas

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NASCAR driver Ross Chastain aims for 3rd career win at Circuit of the Americas