ACL Festival 2018 weekend one - Sunday
Parquet Courts at ACL Fest 2018 (more by Andy Sawyer)

What's going on Saturday?

You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight’s shows, but here are some highlights…

Parquet Courts, Sun Ra Arkestra @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Parquet Courts have had a very good year, with the release of their terrific album Wide Awake! and near constant touring. They’re putting a bow on 2018 tonight with this big hometown show featuring the amazing Sun Ra Arkestra..who might also show up during Parquet Courts’ set, too.

Yo La Tengo @ Bowery Ballroom
It’s the penultimate night of Hanukkah and Yo La Tengo’s menorah run at Bowery Ballroom. They’ve had some pretty special guest and performances this week (including their own, where they haven’t repeated a song all week). Who will be the guests tonight?

Khruangbin @ Brooklyn Steel
Instrumental trio Khruangbin mix influences from around the world, as heard on this year’s fun Con Todo El Mundo. Following this sold-out show, they’ll head to Baby’s All Right for a DJ set after-party.

Cults @ Baby’s All Right (early show w/ The Gloomies, late show w/ MUNYA)
Part of Baby’s All Right’s 5th anniversary celebration, indie pop act Cults play early and late shows tonight. If you’re going to the late show, be sure to get there in time to see Montreal’s excellent MUNYA>

Springsteen on Broadway
The Boss will soon wrap up his sold-out, year-long “Springsteen on Broadway” run at the Walter Kerr Theatre — the last show is a week from tonight. For those who didn’t manage to score a ticket (or didn’t want to spend the money on them) his intimate show is coming to Netflix this month as a concert special.

Cyndi Lauper – ‘Home for the Holidays’ @ Beacon Theatre
Cyndi Lauper does her annual holiday show at Beacon Theatre tonight, and as usual, she’s got a lot of impressive guests lined up, including the one and only Amanda Palmer, hip hop/soul vet Angie Stone, psychedelic rap torch-carrier A$AP Rocky, former 10,000 Maniacs singer (and long-running solo artist) Natalie Merchant, the always-great Regina Spektor, jazz/hip hop blender Robert Glasper, trans soul singer Shea Diamond, and more.

Loser’s Lounge Tribute to Paul Williams
Led by Joe McGinty, the Loser’s Lounge has been paying tribute to singers and songwriters since 1993. They’re celebrating their 25 anniversary with three nights paying tribute to the great Paul Williams, who wrote songs for The Carpenters and The Muppet Movie, among other things. Word is he’ll be in the house tonight.

Hospital Fest @ Knockdown Center
Dominick Fernow’s Hospital Productions label celebrated its 20th anniversary with a one-day Brooklyn fest last year, and now it’s throwing another NYC fest this year. Dominick’s Prurient project is doing a collaborative set with modern thrash greats Power Trip (whose 2017 album he contributed to), there’s two Justin Broadrick sets (one with his Jesu project and special guests, one with his Final project), and other cool stuff like Kelly Moran, Zohra Atash (Azar Swan), Ron Morelli (live), Japanese noise legend Merzbow, Madrid techno vet Oscar Mulero, Silent Servant (live), and more.

J Mascis, Luluc @ Public Arts
Dinosaur Jr frontman J Mascis recently released a new solo album, Elastic Days, which offers up another 12 doses of the softer side of J’s sound, and it’s as enjoyable as anything he’s done. He’s on tour now, hitting NYC tonight and tomorrow.

Thurston Moore, John Zorn, William Winant @ The Stone
Thurston Moore’s residency at the new location of The Stone wraps up tonight, and this he’ll be joined by The Stone artistic director/legendary composer John Zorn and Zorn/Moore collaborator William Winant.

Kimbra, DAWN @ Murmrr Theatre
Kimbra is on tour doing shows she describes as “an intimate, reimagined evening,” and support comes from experimental R&B great DAWN, who recently announced a new album for January. They play Murmurr Theatre tonight and Monday.

Cult Leader, Primitive Weapons, God Mother @ Saint Vitus
Cult Leader are fresh off releasing their new album A Patient Man (on Deathwish), which offers up more of their usual metallic hardcore but also goes into post-rock territory and shows off a knack for gothy clean vocals. They’re on tour now with post-hardcore crushers Primitive Weapons (who recently released the ripping Surrender Yourself), and tonight the tour hits Primitive Weapons’ home base of Saint Vitus.

Brendan Kelly, Sincere Engineer @ Gold Sounds
Brendan Kelly (The Lawrence Arms, The Falcon) recently put out a new solo album, and he’s now on the road supporting it. This is his first NYC show since its release.

David Crosby @ The Capitol Theatre
The legendary David Crosby recently released a new album with the same band he recorded 2016’s psychedelic folk-leaning Lighthouse with (Becca Stevens, Michael League, Michelle Willis), except the new Here If You Listen is a much more collaborative album between the four of them, more in the spirit of CSNY. Tonight, Croz and the Lighthouse Band play just outside of NYC.

Vision of Disorder, Out Live Death, Thracian, Crushed @ The Kingsland
Long Island hardcore vets Vision of Disorder haven’t performed in or near their hometown in over a year (and they haven’t played a headlining show around here in even longer), but that changes tonight.

Pharoah Sanders @ Birdland (two shows)
Free jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was a key member of John Coltrane’s bands in the ’60s before becoming a legendary bandleader in his own right with classic albums like 1969’s Karma. He remains influential today (on Kamasi Washington and others), and tonight he wraps up a run at Birdland with two shows.

DeVotchKa, Shilpa Ray @ Elsewhere
Gypsy/cabaret rock band DeVotchKa are back in town, and tonight’s a great double bill with punk-blues artist Shilpa Ray opening.

The Spirit of the Beehive, Horse Jumper of Love, Lina Tullgren @ Trans-Pecos
The Spirit of the Beehive have an atmospheric indie rock sound that’s really hard to pigeonhole, and not like much else. They released the solid Hypnic Jerks this year, and they’re even better live.

‘Live From Here with Chris Thile’ ft. Vulfpeck, Maggie Rogers, Chris Gethard @ Town Hall
The December run of ‘Live From Here with Chris Thile’ shows at Town Hall continue tonight, and while we’re not as big on tonight’s musical guests as some of the other nights, we’re excited that one of our favorite local comedians, Chris Gethard, is on the bill.

1-800-Dinosaur (James Blake, Airhead & Dan Foat DJ sets) @ 99 Scott Ave
James Blake is gearing up for a major 2019 tour which will include two big live shows in NYC, but first he and his 1-800-Dinosaur crew are DJing here tonight.

Mutual Benefit, GABI @ The Park Church Co-Op
Chamber folk act Mutual Benefit and ambient pop artist GABI join forces for a show in Greenpoint’s gorgeous Park Church Co-Op.

It’s also Santacon, so you might just want to stay inside.

For all of tonight’s shows, and tomorrow’s, check out our NYC concert calendar.

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