15 best New Year's events around Austin to ring in 2023

NYE 2022

Toni Blay Flickr

Every new year, Austinites have a new chance to celebrate their own way. Maybe you start your New Year’s Eve with brunch, continue the festivities with a multi-course dinner, then finish off the night at any one of the lush evening celebrations happening throughout Austin. Or maybe you have a quiet evening at home with a prepared dinner from a local restaurant, and visit a new brunch spot on New Year's Day. (Either way, brunch.) Whether you’re looking to spend New Year's Eve at home, with your family, or out and about, we’ve got you covered with 15 fun-filled events happening around the city.

Saturday, December 31

Dining

Tillie’s at Camp Lucy’s New Year’s Eve Dinner
For those looking to spend an evening in the Hill Country, Tillie’s executive chef Andy Knudson will craft a special five-course dinner for guests from 5-9 pm. Enjoy hamachi tartar, ricotta gnocchi, pan roasted scallop, and more. Wine pairings are also available. Reserve ($125 per person) on OpenTable.

APT 115’s New Year’s Eve Menu
A special 10-course tasting menu by James Beard-nominated chef Charles Zhuo looks to impress, at APT 115’s intimate restaurant in an apartment unit. Chef Zhuo is the only kitchen staff, utilizing only a portable stove top burner and minimal cooking tools. Feel the welcoming atmosphere as if you’re in a friend’s home with curated music from owner and musician Joe Pannenbacker’s record collection. Reserve ($130 per person) on Tock.

L'Oca d'Oro's "Don't Worry Darling" NYE Dinner
Inspired by Olivia Wilde’s critically-acclaimed film and the aesthetic of a 1950’s science fiction utopia, L’Oca d’Oro will provide guests with a dinner to help them relax into 2023. The multi-course meal will finish off with a dreamsicle baked Alaska by Chef Jules Stoddart. Reserve ($100 per person) at locadoroaustin.com.

Evening Celebrations

City of Austin’s New Year’s Eve Celebration at Auditorium Shores
The annual "Austin’s New Year" celebration looks to be “unlike any other” this year with live music, drag performances, food trucks, and — for the first time — beer, wine, and champagne at a beer hall. The celebration will feature a dynamic firework show at midnight (instead of 10 pm like in previous years). Beginning at 6 pm, guests can bring their own picnic blankets and chairs to the lawn to enjoy performances by Extragrams, El Combo Oscuro, Taméca Jones, and The Texas Gentlemen. This event is free to the public and suitable for all ages.

The Paramount Theatre Presents Bob Schneider’s Great Big Spectacular NYE Party
Joined by special guests Primo the Alien and Big Skinny, Austin’s beloved Bob Schneider will ring in 2023 at The Paramount Theatre's annual celebration. A new option for guests this year is a "VIP seating for two" package that includes front row or center mezzanine seats, a custom table, and guests’ choice between champagne or wine. Tickets (starting at $35) available at austintheatre.org.

NYE at ACL Live with Pat Green
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and Texas native Pat Green will perform a special New Year’s Eve show alongside Corey Kent and Kody West at ACL Live at 8 pm. The show will feature a balloon drop, free champagne, and a midnight countdown with Father Time. Tickets (starting at $39) available at acllive.com.

Devil May Care's Stop the Clock
Wind back the clock with Devil May Care at their lavish, all-inclusive New Year’s Eve party at 8 pm. Guests are encouraged to dress on-theme. They'll enjoy a choice of four NYC classic-inspired cocktails, passed bites and food displays, live entertainment from Soleiman and Gamma, and an Ace of Spades champagne toast at midnight. Tickets ($150) available at devilmaycareatx.com.

Zanzibar’s New Year’s Eve Party
If you’re looking for something a little more tropical, Zanzibar is hosting an island-themed New Year’s Eve celebration beginning at 9 pm. Enjoy a panoramic view of downtown Austin while sipping on a complimentary glass of sparkling wine and trying an island-inspired small bites buffet. DJ Devin Taylor will provide the soundtrack for the evening, followed by a firework show over Lady Bird Lake at midnight. Tickets (starting at $100) available on Eventbrite.

Hotel ZaZa Austin presents NYE Bash
Don your best cocktail attire and enjoy a glam evening of live music and themed entertainment at Hotel ZaZa at 10 pm. Capture the moment with their interactive photo booth station. A bubbly toast will follow the midnight countdown. Tickets (starting at $125) available on Eventbrite.

NYE at Home

Aba’s New Year’s Eve Dinner To Go
Mediterranean restaurant Aba is offering locals a way to close out the year at home with their to-go New Year’s Eve Dinner Package from now until 9 am on December 28. The package serves two guests and includes seven menu items by Chef CJ Jacobson. Guests can pick up their orders between 10 am and 4 pm on Saturday, December 31. The food is served cold with instructions to reheat. To-go orders available on Tock.

Brunch

1886 Café & Bakery NYE Brunch
Get the day started early with an elegant brunch experience featuring holiday specials and favorites such as the Brazos huevos rancheros, Texas-shaped waffles, and cocktails crafted with Austin liquors. Brunch will be served from 7 am to 2 pm. Reservations are not required.

Family-friendly

The Thinkery: New Year’s Eve Celebration
From 9-11 am and 1-3 pm, partygoers can welcome the new year by joining The Thinkery’s celebration and participate in family-friendly balloon drops, bubble wrap stomps, music, and other activities. Baby-friendly activities will also be available. Tickets ($30, kids under 2 go free) available at thinkeryaustin.org.

Sunday, January 1

1886 Café & Bakery New Year’s Day Brunch
Start your 2023 on a high note with an elegant brunch experience featuring holiday specials and favorites such as the Brazos huevos rancheros, Texas-shaped waffles, and cocktails crafted with Austin liquors. Brunch will be served from 7 am to 2 pm. Reservations are not required.

Bathrobe and Bingo Brunch for Charity at TLC
Break out your favorite bathrobe or pajamas for a Bingo Brunch at TLC from 11 am to 3 pm, to benefit Cupid’s Charity for the Children’s Tumor Foundation. There will be raffle prizes, TLC’s full menu (including New Year’s Day brunch specials), Texas-sized cocktails, and $5 mimosas. RSVP on Eventbrite.

Dog Haus Biergarten Four Points
This gourmet hot dog franchise is ringing in the new year with their annual tradition celebrating National Hangover Day. Hot dog fans can lull their first hangovers of 2023 with any burrito or burger and a PBR for $9.99. For a little extra “hair of the dog,” the restaurant will have $5 pints available all day.

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Willie Nelson receives prestigious honor and inaugural endowment at UT Austin

Willie forever

Willie Nelson has earned countless awards for his seven-decade music career, but the legend is also well known for his activism — particularly in the areas of farming and food security. In recognition of his longtime advocacy work, the LBJ Foundation will present its most prestigious honor, the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award to Nelson this spring.

The award will be presented at a special gala tribute dinner on Friday, May 12, 2023, which in turn will benefit the newly established Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a part of The University of Texas at Austin.

According to a release, the endowment will fund research and student fellowships focused on sustainable agriculture, eliminating hunger, resilient energy, sustainable water, and natural disaster recovery to benefit rural and farm communities.

Along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, Nelson organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise funds for struggling farmers, which has since raised over $70 million for those who own and operate family farms throughout the United States. He has also helped raise millions around disaster relief, for families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and for veterans, as well as working toward environmental and animal advocacy, and voting rights. His Luck Family Foundation provides financial grant assistance and other resources to artists, organizations, and programs in need, donating proceeds from Luck Reunion events to Farm Aid and other longtime charity partners like the Texas Food & Wine Alliance.

“Willie Nelson is a national treasure who gained fame through his sheer musical talent and won hearts as someone who truly cares about the lives of his fellow Americans," says Larry Temple, Chairman of the LBJ Foundation Board of Trustees, via release. "A product of rural Texas, Willie has never forgotten where he comes from. His longtime efforts to raise money and awareness for family farmers through Farm Aid and numerous other endeavors to help those in need throughout his career make him a true inspiration.”

The dinner will honor Nelson's lifelong support for rural communities, embodying President Lyndon Baines Johnson's commitment to public service, particularly in the areas of farming and food security. With their similar backgrounds as rural Texans, both President Johnson and Nelson shared a keen awareness of the struggles of those who work in the agricultural industry.

“The bounty of the earth is the foundation of our economy," President Johnson shared in a 1965 Special Message to Congress on Agriculture. "Programs in every aspect of our nation’s life depend on the abundant harvests of our farms.”

Bluegrass trio Nickel Creek celebrates new tour + album with fall Austin date

Welcome Back

The Grammy Award-winning bluegrass trio Nickel Creek — mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins, and guitarist Sean Watkins — is extending their 2023 tour into the fall with a stop in Austin at the Moody Amphitheatre at Waterloo Park on October 21.

This is the first tour that the folk group has headlined since 2014, and it kicks off in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 15. The Austin stop is the tour's last, preceded by a night at Dallas' Majestic Theatre on October 20.

Nickel Creek is also releasing a new 18-track studio album for the occasion, titled Celebrants. It's their first new album in nine years and is available beginning March 24, which is also when tickets for the Texas tour stops go on sale.

Ahead of the release, Nickel Creek has unveiled three album tracks: “Where The Long Line Leads,” “Holding Pattern,” and “Strangers."

Nickel Creek revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. After meeting as young children and subsequently earning the respect of the bluegrass circuit for a decade, the trio signed with venerable label Sugar Hill Records in 2000 and quickly broke through with their Grammy-nominated, Alison Krauss-produced, self-titled LP.

Each member has also kept busy with individual projects over the years. Thile is a 2012 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and served as the host of the American radio variety show Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion) from 2016 to 2020.

Sean Watkins is a co-founder of Watkins Family Hour alongside his sister Sara, who has released four albums and maintains a long-running collaborative show in Los Angeles. Sean has also released a string of solo albums, while Sara’s extracurricular projects include the Grammy-winning roots trio I’m With Her, which she co-founded alongside Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz.

Sara has also contributed fiddle to recordings by artists like Phoebe Bridgers, the Killers, and John Mayer.

Pre-sale tickets are on sale now, with general sale beginning March 24 at 10 am here.

There is also the option to join the VIP Celebrants Club, which in addition to a premium reserved or GA ticket includes a private pre-show performance and Q&A with Nickel Creek plus early access to the venue, an enamel pin, and a limited edition poster signed by the band. Membership starts at $169 plus taxes and fees. More info can be found here.

Homegrown vodka brand invites Austinites on a VIP Dell Match Play experience and giveaway

Bogey Boat

We may still be recovering from SXSW, but it's time to gear up for our next big local event. WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (a.k.a., Dell Match Play) returns this weekend, and our favorite local vodka brand is getting in on the fun.

As the official vodka sponsor of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, Tito's Handmade Vodka is bringing back its famousTito’s Bogey Boat, setting sail on Lake Austin. Stationed by the Austin 360 bridge overlooking the 13th hole, the Tito’s Bogey Boat offers fans a VIP experience during Dell Match Play and features a live DJ, photo booth, tasty bites, and more.

And best news of all: Austinites who visit the Love, Tito's Retail Store can win a chance to experience the Tito’s Bogey Boat for themselves: The first 10 fans that stop by the store when it opens on Thursday, March 23, and Friday, March 24, will receive passes.

For fans who win a spot on the boat, the brand will provide water taxi transportation between 12 pm and 6 pm to convenient pick-up and drop-up locations, one of which will be specifically for winners who already have tickets to Dell Match Play.

View All Listings