The best concerts in L.A. this December

Take your Christmas movie binge-watching up a notch and reserve a seat to the upcoming special screening of Home Alone at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is bringing the classic to life and performing John Williams’s score live to picture in an immersive experience, conducted by David Newman. 

While Santa may still be working with his elves to load up his sleigh, you can relax and enjoy a Christmas Eve celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Gather up your friends and family and go hear L.A.’s biggest holiday show, which includes more than 20 choirs, music ensembles and dance troupes from all over the city. The free three-hour show celebrates L.A.’s multicultural observation of the holidays with everything from an all-women soul ensemble to Hawaiian music to Indian dance. The performance runs from 3 to 6pm and guests are encouraged to come and go as they please throughout the show. Reservations and tickets are not necessary; parking at the Dorothy Chandler is also free. Those who still have last-minute holiday responsibilities to attend to can listen to a live stream of the concert on PBS SoCal.

Ring in the New Year with confetti, pyro and 30,000 of your closest friends at Countdown. Porter Robinson, deadmau5, Nero, Tiësto, Alison Wonderland, the Chainsmokers, FISHER, Nicole Moudaber and about 80 other dance acts will invade San Bernardino’s NOS Events Center for this year-end fest—which will take over both New Year’s Eve and the day prior.

The synth-pop pioneers return to L.A. for one of its first live shows in five years—and its first tour following the death of founding keyboard player Andy Fletcher. Expect darkly melodramatic and sleazy, stadium-scaled electro rock from Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, offset by the odd tender pop ballad, as only DM can pull off.

Because just one New Year’s Eve music fest apparently wasn’t enough, Insomniac is staging another year-end concert, Forever Midnight, with concurrent events in both L.A. and Las Vegas. On December 30 and 31, Kaskade, Jamie xx, Eric Prydz, Sofi Tukker, Kaytranada, Solomun, ANOTR, Jamie Jones and more will all play the L.A. Convention Center.

Love music festivals and dance clubs in theory, but hate the pretentious mess they offer in practice? You’re just the audience for this low-key dance party, which gives indie pop music buffs a no-frills place to dance that doesn’t feel like a sweaty fashion show. Dance Yourself Clean started in Seattle and now puts on weekly events throughout the country—including this New Year’s Eve show at the Teragram.

If the words “Disney” and “sing-along” normally make you think of mini-vans and Frozen, rethink your word associations and head to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the annual Messiah Sing-Along. The event allows the 2,200-member audience to sing their hearts out alongside the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by artistic director Grant Gershon. Songs will be performed by the professional orchestra and a quartet of professional soloists.

The self-described “little orchestra” from Portland, Oregon swings by Disney Hall for a pair of New Year’s Eve sets that mix classical, jazz and pop standards with Brazilian, Cuban and Parisian flair.

A couple times a year, Minimal Effort brings together some of the top talent in the underground house and techno scene. They throw a helluva party that requires, well, minimal effort on your part to have a good time. For New Year’s Eve, Jimi Jules, DAVI, Cyril Bitar and HBB will be spinning at 1720.

Strike the harp and join the chorus with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Holiday Sing-Along at Walt Disney Hall. The seasonal program offers two performances hosted by Melissa Peterman with performances from a choir, a jazz combo and on the massive pipe organ. A festive sing-along of holiday classics by the Angeles Chorale will include provided lyric sheets—just in case you forget how many fa-la-la-las are in “Deck the Halls.”