Austin greets every new year with plenty of live music across the city, but one city-run show takes the official lead. For the first moments of 2026 at Auditorium Shores, Austinites will be listening to headliners The Head and The Heart — and so will anyone who tunes in for CNN’s live broadcast from Austin.
The evening’s events, called “Austin’s New Year,” will take the form of a mini-festival with three local bands playing their own sets — Chaparelle, Tameca Jones, and The Point — food and beverages for purchase, a new drone show presented by Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, and fireworks. Although folks will be up late (the event runs from 7 pm to midnight), things will remain family-friendly.
The Head and The Heart broke out in Seattle, Washington, the early 2010s when folk pop was booming. Early on, they played for Vampire Weekend, Dr. Dog (one of our ACL Fest favorites this year), and My Morning Jacket, who were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame this summer.
The band’s eponymous debut album reached 110 on the Billboard 200 chart and remained there for 10 weeks. The song “Rivers and Roads,” on that album, remains one of the group’s defining hits. Listeners may also recognize “Lost In My Mind,” “Down in the Valley,” “All We Ever Knew,” and “Honeybee,” which all went platinum.
As of 2025, The Head and The Heart have six albums including this year’s Aperture, which was self-produced.
The city tends to choose nostalgic bands to headline its New Year’s Eve celebration; 90s band Third Eye Blind helped Austin ring in 2025.
“Austin’s New Year party is a blast. It draws thousands of Austinites and visitors wanting to be in Austin. It also continues to be a symbol of our city’s values: inclusivity, creativity and community spirit,” said Mayor Kirk Watson. “This celebration captures what makes Austin so special — a place where everyone can come together to enjoy great music, local food and a sense of belonging as we welcome a new year.”
The event is put on in partnership between the city and Visit Austin, the city’s official marketing arm.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors to Austin for an incredible evening of live music to ring in the new year,” said Visit Austin president and CEO Tom Noonan, President & CEO of Visit Austin. “This is also a perfect moment for residents to take advantage of our great hotel rates in Austin on New Year’s Eve and make it a staycation.”