weekend event planner

Here are the top 15 things to do in Houston this New Year's Eve weekend

Stop Making Sense movie Talking Heads David Byrne

Bust a move like David Byrne at the Stop Making Sense Dance Party.

The final weekend of 2023 sees plenty of fun, with a Talking Heads dance party, Manheim Steamroller, and Bill Bellamy leading the way.

As for New Year's Eve, be sure to check out our guide to 30 NYE events in Houston. Enjoy; and have a safe and happy new year.

Thursday, December 28

Chris Dave and the Drumhedz with special guest Stokley from Mint Condition

Multi-Grammy Award winner Chris Dave and the Drumhedz residency show returns to The Historic Eldorado Ballroom, this time featuring Stokley from Grammy-nominated act, Mint Condition. Dave and the Drumhedz along with Stokely will perform on the same historical stage as music legends James Brown, Ray Charles, B.B. King, and more. Local legend DJ Sun will set the tone with his grooves to welcome the crowd. Standing-room general admission is available for $40 or limited table seating (four people per table) with four tickets for $200, with a VIP upgrade option for all tickets. Special VIP access, including entry to the Hogan Brown Gallery Meet & Greet Afterparty, and bottle service, is also available. Doors open at 7 pm.

Friends of River Oaks Theatre presents Stop Making Sense Dance Party

The greatest concert film of all time, Stop Making Sense brings to the screen Talking Heads at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983: David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison, alongside an ecstatic ensemble of supporting musicians. Renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) captures the band at their exhilarating best, in this new and complete 4k restoration. Friends of River Oaks Theatre will have a screening/dance party, complete with a pre-film DJ and post-film Talking Heads karaoke. 7 pm.

Improv Houston presents Bill Bellamy

Using his experiences growing up in Newark, actor/comedian/former MTV VJ/creator of the term “booty call” Bill Bellamy started doing stand-up while he was a student at Rutgers University. Bellamy quickly discovered how much he enjoyed making people laugh, and began honing his skills at small comedy clubs around the country and was soon making waves in the New York clubs like The Improv, The Comic Strip, and at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. 7:30 pm (7:30 and 9:45 pm Friday; 7 and 9:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis has been one of America’s favorite holiday traditions for over 35 years. Step into the musical revolution of the 1970s with the legendary Davis, a multi-instrumentalist who defied norms to create a rock-infused classical masterpiece, "Fresh Aire." The Grammy Award winner has created a show that features Mannheim Steamroller Christmas classics in the distinctive Mannheim sound. The program includes dazzling multimedia effects performed in an intimate setting. 8 pm.

Friday, December 29

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet lehdet)

Award-winning filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre) makes a masterful return with this timeless, hopeful, and ultimately satisfying love story about the path to happiness of two lonely souls (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) and the numerous hurdles they encounter. Reflecting the Finnish auteur’s typically playful, idiosyncratic style and deadpan humor, this tender tragicomedy, set in contemporary Helsinki, is a timely reminder of the potency of moviegoing from one of cinema’s living legends.7 pm (2 pm Sunday).

Bad Astronaut Brewing presents The Get Down! Soul Night

Join Bad Astronaut Brewing for a new, soulful monthly that’ll have you moving and grooving while sampling their fine ales. The Boogie Soul DJ crew will be bringing the best in sweet soul music, funky gems, and crusin’ oldies on the last Friday of every month. Formerly Shakin’ All Over, Boogie Soul has been providing grooves to Houston and surrounding cities for more than a minute. It’s free to attend – just bring your dancing shoes. 8 pm.

Goode Co. Armadillo Palace presents Roger Creager

Award-winning country singer and Texas native Roger Creager will be performing at Goode Co. Armadillo Palace this weekend. Audiences will have the chance to listen to songs from across Creager's two-decade-long career, including hits like "Long Way to Mexico," "The Everclear Song," and "Love." Creager, whose musical style is a fusion of honky-tonk, rock, and folk, is known for his high-energy live performances that leave audiences yearning for an encore. 9 pm.

Joystix Classic Games & Pinballs presents PacMan Fever Friday

Here is something for all you old-school gamers out there. The first and last Friday of each month is PacMan Fever Friday at Joystix Classic Games & Pinballs. Each month, they turn their showroom into an arcade for these two nights only. (Ages 21 and up only.) There are over 200 new and classic games. $15 per person for unlimited game play, and drinks are available at the adjoining Eighteen Twenty Lounge. 9 pm.

Saturday, December 30

City Girls Who Walk Houston present Walk to Love Lock Bridge

City Girls Who Walk Houston will present a walk to Love Lock Bridge on the final Saturday of the year. Participants can bring a lock to fasten to the bridge in honor, memory, and/or celebration of a special person or event from 2023. All women of all ages are welcome, whether they’ve walked with City Girls or not. Afterwards, everyone is welcome to join for coffee or tea at Blendin. 10 am.

HTX Connect presents Spaces Dance Concert

The Spaces Dance Concert was created as an innovative tool to provide pre-professional dancers an opportunity to connect with professional dance makers to create a concert dance-like experience. The concert will premiere works by Christian Denice, Olivia Morrow, and HTX Connect founder Terrill Mitchell, as well as Emerging Artists choreographer Lenny Arnold. Guest performances include Vitacca Ballet and SoulEscape. 2 and 7 pm.

Golden Girls Pub Crawl

Get ready to embark on an unforgettable night of glitz, glamour, and good times at the Golden Girls Pub Crawl on White Oak. Channel the spirit of your favorite Golden Girl – whether it's Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche, or Rose. Each participating location (including Little Woodrow’s, Christian’s Tailgate and Bobcat Teddy’s) will have featured cocktails and beers with a portion of proceeds benefiting Houston Pets Alive, as well as door prizes every hour on the hour. 5 pm.

Comic Book Club / Meet & Greet: Lane Fobbs’ Black Facts of Texas

Join Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics for a fun-filled evening of comic book fandom! The latest Comic Book Club / Meet & Greet event will feature Lane Fobbs showcasing his latest creation, Black Facts of Texas. Come and immerse yourself in the world of Texas-based historical figures, as Fobbs takes you on an exciting journey through the rich history and culture of the Lone Star State with his graphic novel. From larger-than-life characters to captivating storylines, this event promises to ignite your passion for history and leave you wanting more. 7 pm.

Sunday, December 31

Resolution Run Houston

Start your New Year’s Eve at Fish Plaza in downtown Houston, for the 2nd annual Houston Resolution Run. There will be a nearly half marathon, a 5k run, a 10k run, a family 1 mile run/walk, a wheelchair 5k, and even a virtual Resolution Run. With flexible start times for runners and walkers alike, Houston Resolution Run is perfect for the whole family. 7:30 am.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema presents The Apartment

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will celebrate New Year’s Eve with a very New Year’s Eve movie – Billy Wilder’s 1960 corporate satire. Young upstart C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) will do anything to move up in the world, even loan out his apartment to the higher-ups for their romantic flings and extramarital trysts. All seems relatively fine and dandy until C.C. finds a romance of his own. Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray co-star. 2 pm.

2023 Year in Review: New Year’s Eve Comedy Breakdown

So much happened in 2023. Don't remember what happened? Come watch The Secret’s Group’s Year in Review show, where comics will review and joke about the year's biggest news stories and pop culture happenings. Imagine an episode of SNL's Weekend Update but, instead, it's TSG's year-end update. Tickets to this show include entry to their New Year’s Eve party, which includes a $1000 balloon drop at midnight, a live DJ & specialty cocktails all night long. 7 and 9 pm.

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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