When he’s not on tour with them, he still plays occasional club gigs around town. Trumpeter Owens already was one of Austin’s most creative and accomplished musicians when the Grammy-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band added him to their lineup in 2015. Superfónicos’ vivacious mix of Colombian funk and caribe soul is a tropical dance party that will lift your heart as it shimmies your hips. Prefer to keep your aural explorations earthbound? You’re also in luck. Opening portals to unexplored dimensions is a specialty for Golden Dawn Arkestra, Austin's galactic jazz and funk ensemble. Want to Elon Musk your way out 2021 with an interstellar expedition? You’re in luck. More: Photos: Peppermint Parkway makes COTA merry and bright Golden Dawn Arkestra, Superfónicos at Far Out Lounge Don’t miss the opening act, 73-year-old Austin mainstay Soul Man Sam. When at home, they’re often found on weekend nights at this SoCo club that has one of the coolest live music vibes in the city. Mike Flanigin Trio with Jimmie Vaughan, Soul Man Sam at C-Boy’sī3-organist Flanigin and blues guitar great Vaughan spent much of this fall on tour as the opening act for Eric Clapton. Performing artists include members of Amplified Heat, Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band, Moving Panoramas and Chief Cleopatra. Get down to the soft rock of Hall & Oates, yuppie-crushing punk from the Ramones and the Clash and genre-defining new wave from Blondie and the B-52's. Hotel Vegas’ annual New Year’s Eve time machine will transport you back to the dawn of Ronald Reagan’s America. NYE 1981: You Make My Dreams (Come True)! at Hotel Vegasīreak out the shoulder pads, the neon and all the hairspray you own. Or head north to the Little Longhorn Saloon for guitar/pedal-steel ace Jake Penrod (no cover/tips encouraged, 9 p.m., ).
Just east of downtown, the White Horse features the smart songs and smooth sounds of Croy & the Boys plus the Reeves Brothers and Silo Road ($10, 8 p.m., ).
It’s hard to get more classic than longtime local fiddler Alvin Crow playing South Austin’s hallowed Broken Spoke ($25, 9 p.m., ). If your favorite way to ring in the new year involves boot-scooting, Austin has you covered.
And headliner and human charisma bomb Nané transformed a brutally hot Austin City Limits Music Festival opening set into an ebullient dance party for the ages.
Blk Odyssy’s magnificent 2021 debut “Blk Vintage” is a gripping portrait of Black America that is alternately defiant, sensuous and devastating. TC Superstar includes a team of dancers who choreograph the band’s live shows to maximize the joyous energy that exudes from their buoyant synth bops. Start 2022 ahead of the curve with this blockbuster bill anchored by a power trio of groups who are well-poised to be Austin’s next big breakouts. More: Austin holiday gift guide 2021: Shop local with these 9 finds Nané, Blk Odyssy, TC Superstar at Empire Captivating singer Sabrina Ellis has made Sweet Spirit one of Austin’s top club draws in recent years, and the band moved up to renowned indie label Merge during the pandemic. punk band X, moved here a few years ago and has put together a superb acoustic trio with Willie Nelson bassist Kevin Smith and Patty Griffin drummer Conrad Choucroun. Not much arguing that Spoon is Austin’s biggest indie band ever, and they’re gearing up for a much-anticipated new album due in February. Last decade’s remarkable run of Willie Nelson New Year’s Eve shows at the venue that sports his statue out front appears to have come to a permanent end, but the folks at ACL Live have come through with a terrific triple-bill of local rock talent. 29: This show has been canceled because of "COVID cases amongst artists on the bill as well as the extremely sharp rise in COVID cases in the Austin community," according to an announcement Wednesday from ACL Live. Spoon, John Doe Folk Trio, Sweet Spirit at ACL Live