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 \u2014 and so will anyone who tunes in for CNN’s live broadcast from Austin.<\/p>\n
The evening’s events, called “Austin’s New Year,”<\/a> will take the form of a mini-festival with three local bands playing their own sets \u2014 Chaparelle, Tameca Jones, and The Point \u2014 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> this year), and My Morning Jacket, who were inducted into<\/a> the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame this summer. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n As of 2025, The Head and The Heart have six albums including this year’s Aperture, which was self-produced.<\/p>\n