The countdown is officially on to, well, the countdown.
Denver is brimming with New Year’s Eve events, whether you want to attend an all-inclusive soiree, a concert or a casual party. And the holiday falling on a weekend this year makes it even more worthwhile to celebrate.
Here are 15 places to say goodbye to 2023 and hello to 2024. A bonus: If you end up near the 16th Street Mall on New Year’s Eve, pop outside to enjoy a fireworks show, which will illuminate the skyline at 9 p.m. and midnight.
Swanky soirees
Denver NYE Black Tie Party
Don your best formal attire and ring in the New Year in style at the Denver NYE Black Tie Party. Guests get to enjoy an open bar, music from local DJs and cover bands, and Vegas-style casino games. There will also be a complimentary photo booth, midnight balloon drop and party favors.
Dec. 31 from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Asterisk Event Center, 1075 Park Ave. West, Denver. Tickets cost $135 at newyearsevenight.com.
Denver New Year’s Eve White Rose Gala
The Roaring ‘20s are back in fashion as the theme of the 2023 White Rose Gala. Live entertainment will spotlight music and dance from the era. Decor and dress will reflect that timeless quality, too. Additional attractions include selfie stations and a speakeasy for VIP ticket-holders.
Dec. 31 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, 1881 Curtis St., Denver. Tickets cost $99-$149 at newyearspartydenver.com.
New Year’s Eve Dance Extravaganza
Dust off your dancing shoes and start the New Year off on the right foot at the Dance Extravaganza, which features multiple ballrooms with bands playing a variety of music styles such as bachata, swing and salsa. The event includes dance lessons as well as free-for-all fun, hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight.
Dec. 31 from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Avalon Ballroom, 6185 Arapahoe Road, Boulder. Tickets cost $40 at eventbrite.com.
Denver NYE Cocktail Party
Looking for an all-inclusive soiree? Look no further than the Denver NYE Cocktail Party. DJs and bands will play in multiple ballrooms at the Sheraton hotel downtown, where guests can also enjoy an open bar, casino games, photo booths and more.
Dec. 31 from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, 1550 Court Place, Denver. Tickets cost $110-$210 at nyenightdenver.com.
New Year’s Eve at The Tropicana
The Colorado Mambo Orchestra will be bringing the heat to The Brown Palace and transforming the venue with its Latin- and Cuban-infused jazz tunes, led by renowned musician Raul Murciano. (You might know him from the Miami Sound Machine with Gloria Estefan.) The party includes light bites, desserts, a champagne toast and enough sonic heat to make you forget the Colorado winter.
Dec. 31 from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, 321 17th St., Denver. Tickets cost $250-$825 at eventbrite.com.
NYE concerts
Decadence Colorado
Outside of summer festivals, there’s hardly a bigger EDM event in the U.S. than Decadence Colorado. The Denver-based New Year’s Eve party at the Colorado Convention Center welcomes the genre’s biggest DJs, producers and groups, including the city’s own Illenium (who this summer headlined at Empower Field at Mile High). The 2024 installment also features Red Rocks headliners such as Zeds Dead and crowd-movers like Two Friends, Mersiv, Subtronics, Steve Aoki, Sofi Tukker, Sidepiece, Ganja White Night and influential dubstep act Skrillex.
Dec. 30-31 on two main stages. Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St., Denver. Tickets cost $109-$359 at decadencenye.com.
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club at the Hi-Dive
A beloved country-punk tradition, Slim Cessna Auto Club’s NYE shows bring the Gothic folk sound that Denver is known for to intimate crowds for a raucous, two-night run. It’s a gritty tent revival through the funhouse mirror, with glowering, preacher-like stage presence and figurative brimstone aplenty. Swaggering, thunderous instrumentation. Cowboy hipsters. Mortality! In other words: true, ungentrified Denver.
9 p.m. Dec. 30-31 at the Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway in Denver. Tickets cost $25 per night or $40 for both at hi-dive.com.
CloZee at Mission Ballroom
French DJ and, recently, Denverite CloZee is an international EDM headliner having one of her biggest runs yet in the Mile High City this holiday season. Her pair of shows at this sterling RiNo venue are packed with guests, including Vincent Antone, Yoko and Daggz (Dec. 30), and LYNY, Super Future and Pheel (Dec. 31).
8 p.m. Dec. 30-31 at Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver. Ages 16 and up. Tickets cost $85-$99 at axs.com.
Itchy-O NYE at Summit
This massive Denver ensemble, which invokes fiery ritual and release as much as dark rhythms and melodies, is taking over LoDo venue Summit for what promises to be a bacchanal with (a) soul. Known for its outlandish costumes, glowing instruments and in-crowd performances, Itchy-O is a unique Denver act that must be seen (and heard) to be believed. Its NYE show is pitched as a celebration when the “ancient and avant-garde merge into a symphony of sensory upheaval.”
9 p.m. Dec. 31 at Summit, 1902 Blake St. All ages. Tickets cost $41.25-$58.50 at concerts.livenation.com.
Neal Francis at the Ogden
Chicago R&B act Neil Francis plays a mean keyboard as he’s backed by airtight percussion, electric guitar and rubbery bass, his tastefully detached vocals meditating over it all. Live, the band is another potent backside activator, leading crowds through sweaty bliss and funky, ’70s-flecked dance numbers that sport as much texture as they do melody. There’s every chance this will be a legendary concert.
8 p.m. Dec. 31, with the Texas Gentlemen, Ogden Theatre, at 935 E. Colfax Ave. 16 and up. Tickets cost $45 at axs.com.
Casual affairs and family-friendly parties
The Improper Circus
Ring in 2024 with help from aerial performers, fire breathers, stilt walkers and tarot card readers when the Improper City bar in RiNo transforms into a circus for the last night of the year. The ticket price includes a welcome drink, complimentary big-tent snacks like popcorn, and a champagne toast at midnight.
Dec. 31 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Improper City, 3201 Walnut St., Denver. Tickets cost $35 at eventbrite.com.
NYE on Tap
Denver brewery Bierstadt Lagerhaus plans to host a New Year’s Eve party sure to delight beer and cocktail drinkers alike. The all-inclusive ticket price buys access to an open bar featuring Bierstadt lagers as well as liquor, an appetizer buffet and a champagne toast at midnight. A DJ will also be onsite spinning tunes.
Dec. 31 from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Bierstadt Lagerhaus, 2875 Blake St., Denver. Tickets cost $99 at eventbrite.com.
NYE Family Carnival Extravaganza at Bounce Empire
The title of this event hints at the scale of Bounce Empire, a sprawling inflatables “theme park” marketed as a DJ-driven party-pad as much as a kiddie-birthday destination. This event combines both, with full access to the huge inflatable slides and jump houses, as well as full bars and adult chill rooms, plus a full menu and other programming.
8 p.m.-1 a.m. Dec. 31 at Bounce Empire, 1380 S. Public Road in Lafayette. All ages. Tickets cost $39 at bounceempire.com.
Downtown Aquarium New Year’s Eve Family Celebration
Sharkey, the Downtown Aquarium’s mascot, will be on hand as the cultural attraction, restaurant and venue welcomes folks for its buffet, balloon drop, contests and giveaways for kids. Reservations are required; call 303-561-4450 to secure one. Multi-course dinners are available for $45.
Seatings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. 700 Water Drive in Denver. All ages. Tickets cost $26 for kids 10 and under, and $46 for everyone else. Reservations are available online. aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumdenver.
Roaring ’20s New Year’s Eve
Fortissimo’s dueling piano bar will make good on the promises of its brand name – which means “very loud” – with a raucous New Year’s Eve party. Dress the part for this Roaring ’20s-themed event and prepare to belt out sing-along songs into 2024.
Dec. 31 from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at Fortissimo Dueling Pianos, 891 14th St., #110, Denver. Tickets cost $35-$70 at eventbrite.com.
