A roundup of Bay Area places to go on New Year’s Eve.
Let The Chronicle help make the countdown to the end of the year as enjoyable as possible with these Bay Area events and activities:
Music
Goapele: This Oakland songbird returns home for another soulful New Year’s Eve residency at Yoshi’s, offering the socially conscious and spiritually uplifting R&B that has led to collaborations with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Estelle and Eric Benet. 8 and 10 p.m. Dec. 28-29; 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 30; 8 and 11 p.m. Dec. 31. $29-$99. Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. www.yoshis.com Lucius: Sometimes you need to send the old year off with a good, firm kick. This indie outfit led by lookalike singers Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe delivers uncompromising, unexpectedly fierce pop music (Roger Waters tapped them to provide dramatic backing vocals on his most recent world tour). For its New Year’s Eve run at the Independent, the duo offers three different sets over three nights — one acoustic, one electric and the last wholly eclectic. 9 p.m. Dec. 29-31. $31-$96. The Independent, 628 Divisadero St., S.F. www.theindependentsf.com Kaskade: Admit it, on New Year’s Eve you want nothing more than to get out of your head and dance your troubles away. Kaskade, who grew up in Chicago before making his name on the San Francisco club scene, fits the bill with his intensive electronic dance music sets that have rocked crowds at mega festivals from the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival to the Electric Daisy Carnival. Picking up six Grammy nominations and countless Las Vegas residencies along the way, Kaskade comes to the Bay Area for a double-header. 8 p.m. Dec. 30-31. $59.50-$250. Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St., S.F. www.billgrahamcivic.com Maceo Parker: The man who provided explosive alto saxophone for everyone from James Brown to Prince returns to SFJazz for another run of dependably funky New Year’s shows. Sugar Pie DeSanto also performs. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 28-30; 8 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 31. $25-$95. Miner Auditorium, SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin St., S.F. www.sfjazz.org
— Aidin Vaziri, pop music critic
SnowGlobe Music Festival: The three-day music festival bids farewell to 2017 with an eclectic lineup featuring electronic dance music’s biggest names — Dillon Francis, Porter Robinson, Zedd — and “Young, Dumb & Broke” singer Khalid as well as rappers Travis Scott and the Bay Area’s own E-40, plus many more. The all-ages event is outdoors, which means festivalgoers should bundle up for the chilly weather, though organizers boast plenty of activities — music and otherwise — to keep things lit. 2-11 p.m. Dec. 30-31, 2 p.m.-1 a.m. Dec. 31-Jan. 1. $109-$449. Community Play Field, Lake Tahoe Community College, 1 College Way, South Lake Tahoe. www.snowglobe musicfestival.com Primus: A Goblin in the New Year: Les Claypool and company plan to wring the evil out of 2017 as Primus performs a New Year’s Eve concert based off its latest album, “The Desaturating Seven.” Released in September, the Bay Area band’s new material was inspired by the 1978 children’s book “The Rainbow Goblins” by the Italian author and artist Ui de Rico that tells a story about “the greedy elite, and how the meek masses can overcome them in the end by unifying,” Claypool described in a statement. “It seemed pretty relevant these days.” Special guests Legend of the Seagullmen featuring Danny Carey of Tool and Brent Hinds of Mastodon are also on the bill. 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31. $49.50-$69.50. Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. http://thefoxoakland.com Too Short NYE: Life is too short, so why not live it up? That’s what Oakland rap legend Too Short plans to do when he hosts his New Year’s Eve party in his hometown. Pop some bottles and “Blow the Whistle” for 2018. 9 p.m. Dec. 31. $55-$65. The New Parish, 1743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. https://thenewparish.com
— Mariecar Mendoza, arts content editor Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra: The star of “Jurassic Park,” “Independence Day” and “Thor: Ragnarok” moonlights as a jazz pianist, and at two New Year’s Eve performances at Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Goldblum will be accompanied by John Storie on guitar, James King on tenor saxophone and Lorca Hart on drums. 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 31. $85-$125, with a $20 food and beverage minimum per person. Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason St., S.F. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketfly.com
— Lily Janiak, theater critic Young Beethoven: Conductor Benjamin Simon leads the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra in a free concert dedicated to early Beethoven works: the Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Rin Homma, and the First Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 30. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., S.F.; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31. Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, 101 Cross-Sproul Path, Berkeley; 3 p.m. Jan. 1. First Palo Alto United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto. Free. www.thesfco.org San Francisco Symphony: Edwin Outwater conducts the orchestra in a New Year’s Eve program featuring guest vocalist, actor Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy,” “The Orville”). 8 p.m. Dec. 31. $89$229. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. www.sfsymphony.org
— Joshua Kosman, classical music critic