Feeling (20)22

Although we’re all still processing 2020, 2022 is just around the corner. If you’re masked, boosted and looking to celebrate the new year with live music, Eugene has a lot to (safely) offer.

Up first, Eugene’s favorite yacht-rock cover band, Candy Apple Bleu, plays Sessions Music Hall at 9 pm New Year’s Eve, offering energetic soft rock and easy listening covers from the ’70s and ’80s.

Over at WOW Hall at 8 pm, Dec. 31 there’s WOW SNL NYE with local indie rockers Bluphoria, Spunj and Gentlebeing; come dressed as your favorite SNL skit and expect jokes, skits and a New Year’s countdown. There’s also the somewhat rare New Year’s Day show at the WOW when Austin-based folk-rockers who play frequently in Eugene, The Deer perform 7:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 1.

Back to New Year’s Eve, try the Whiteaker for live music at several locations. Notably, Sam Bond’s Garage is hosting Whopner County for the country-rock band’s first show in two years, alongside Wheels and Real Gone Trio, 9 pm. There’s also music at Blairally that same night, when Portland jam rock trio and local favorites The Quick and Easy Boys return to Eugene at 9 pm.

Elsewhere in the Whit, Old Nick’s hosts its New Year’s Eve Steampunk Speakeasy Party, with Seattle steampunk band Abney Park performing, supported by the electro swing band Good Co, also from Seattle. This year, the Old Nick’s party encompasses a quarter city block, with an outdoor ball drop and midnight countdown.

Back to the city core, try Michael Tracey & The Hi-Tones with special guest Skip Jones at 8 pm for high-energy, danceable blues music at Mac’s Restaurant & Nightclub in the Vet’s Club. Or for something a touch fancier, check out Ballet Fantastique: ARRIVALS: RIO with NYE After Party at 8:30 pm on New Year’s Eve — if you can’t make that, there’s another performance at 2:30 pm Jan. 2.

Music-related New Year’s festivities stretch beyond Eugene/Springfield to south Lane County, when local reggae rock band One Dollar Check performs at 8 pm at the Axe and Fiddle in Cottage Grove.

If a dance club atmosphere is more what you’re after on NYE, at 9 pm there’s GODS, GODDESSES, DEMIs and SEMIs!! hosted by Slutashia at the recently reopened Spectrum, an LGBTQIA+ bar and restaurant in downtown Eugene. Come dressed as your favorite god or goddess (demi or otherwise) from any pantheon and enjoy performances from Uranus the Fool, Bonnie Rose and Edd Zackley, while dancing to music provided by DJ Kingsley Strange.

The DJ dance music continues up the street from Spectrum at Cowfish, with DJ Law and Spoc-3PO, 8 pm. And pretty much around the corner from Spectrum and Cowfish, smoothly danceable electronic musician Cromululon performs 8 pm with support from SABOVE, Naked Civilian, K.I. Design and Tex Nasty.

Check with each venue for covers, ticket prices and COVID-19 vaccination policies. Otherwise, in the words of Taylor Swift, we hope you’re feeling (20)22, and we’ll see you in the new year.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!