Music Notes: The Four Most Distinctive New Year’s Eve Concerts in San Diego

Those seeking a music-filled New Year’s Eve celebration don’t have to look far. There are many options out there offering a house band or DJ to help you ring in 2025. But if you’d like something a little more distinctive, here are four of San Diego’s best New Year’s options for your ears.

Los Angeles-based five-piece Starcrawler is rocking The Casbah for a rare three-night stand, culminating on Dec. 31. So, even if you book other plans for New Year’s Eve, you still have a couple chances to catch them perform songs from their new album She Said when they’re in town.

If you appreciate top-notch tribute bands, Fan Halen, billed as “the world’s #1 tribute to Van Halen,” and Livin’ On A Prayer (Bon Jovi) are playing together at the Belly Up. Meanwhile, the captains of yacht rock, Yachtley Crew — which just released their first Christmas album, Seas and Greetings—sail into The Sound.

For EDM fans, Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman) will drop into Nova SD, downtown’s new entertainment destination on Sixth Avenue. With its state-of-the-art sound and lighting, Nova is the perfect backdrop for the Canadian DJ’s high-energy set to keep the crowd moving well past midnight.

Led Zeppelin Docu-Concert Comes to IMAX

Led Zep fans rejoice: The buzzy rockumentary that unveils the iconic group’s origin story is set to hit the big screen — and by big, I mean REALLY big. Becoming Led Zeppelin, which debuts in IMAX Theatres Feb. 7, 2025, chronicles the band’s meteoric rise from their first meeting in 1968 to their seminal first two albums: Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II.  

Directed by Bernard MacMahon (American Epic), the film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words through both new and archival interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. It also features rare conversations with the band’s late drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980.

Described as a “hybrid docu-concert” and the first film to be authorized by the band, Becoming Led Zeppelin includes previously unseen footage from early performances, such as 1969 concerts at the Atlanta Pop Festival, Fillmore West, and Texas Pop Festival, all in immersive, quadraphonic IMAX sound. It also features old home movies and personal archive material supplied by the band, often considered one of the greatest rock and roll groups of all time. 

Secure your tickets to experience Becoming Led Zeppelin live and up-close here. At press time, the only IMAX Theatre in San Diego scheduled to show the film is AMC Mission Valley 20.

New Things Ahead for Wonderfront 2025

Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival, which was recently acquired by Events.com, will return to San Diego’s Embarcadero waterfront May 16-18, 2025. Early bird pricing is currently available and includes 3-Day GA for $350 and 3-Day VIP for $799 (both inclusive of all fees). A new ticket option next year, 3-Day GA PLUS, amps up GA with the addition of express lane access, new lounges with shaded seating, and private bars and restrooms for an extra $225 ($575 total).

As reported earlier this year, getting into the 2024 festival on the first day was a painstaking affair. In addition to adding new GA PLUS express lanes — which will help alleviate the massive crowd attempting to enter the GA entrance all at once — Wonderfront reps said they will be adding more entrance gates and Will Call lines for GA ticket holders. This should make for a smoother experience and suggests festival organizers are not only listening to feedback but taking steps to improve the event.

Wonderfront had its first sellout in 2024 with nearly 42,000 attendees, and organizers are promising an even bigger event in 2025. This will include an expanded Electric Lounge and new, immersive activations. Check back here for more updates and the lineup announcement, which is coming soon.

Donovan Roche, a San Diego-based writer and editor, has covered the music, entertainment and arts scene for more than 30 years. To be considered for an upcoming edition of Music Notes, send your story idea to droche617@gmail.com.