The event kicks off early with a 24 hour radio DJ set which will begin at midnight PST / 8am GMT on Dec. 31, with a 24-hour DJ mix from Justice, John Summit, Rufus Du Sol, and other DJs worldwide.

.@Skepta and @unclewaffffles take #AppleMusicLive to London to ring in the new year. Watch their special performances on December 31st at 11pm GMT, only on Apple Music. https://t.co/KrhNzMXvo1 pic.twitter.com/nSM3T1uSqE

— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) December 18, 2024

The whole thing promises to be a cultural collision, uniting disparate sonic worlds under the auspices of Apple’s meticulously curated playlists. 

The event is all anchored by a rare DJ set from Björk, who is known for her ethereal voice and boundary-pushing albums, her foray into DJ-ing is a rarity. It acts as a glimpse into her singular musical mind refracted through curated tracks rather than original compositions. Expect her set to oscillate between the hauntingly experimental and the unexpectedly rhythmic, a sonic journey that only Björk could conceive.  

Skepta enters as a pioneer of grime, the genre that gave a voice to London’s streets, he has since ventured into new sonic territories, exploring house music with the same uncompromising energy. Whether delivering razor-sharp lyrics or curating beats that get the crowd moving, Skepta remains a compelling presence. His set promises to be as unpredictable as it is exhilarating—a reflection of his ever-evolving artistry.

The lineup also includes genre-defying artists like Swazi-born, South Africa-based DJ Uncle Waffles, a rising star in the global dance scene, who has become the face of amapiano, the hypnotic South African house subgenre taking over airwaves and dance floors alike. Born in Eswatini and based in South Africa, she exudes an effortless charisma behind the decks, her sets a celebration of rolling baselines, syncopated rhythms, and infectious vocal loops.

Both Skepta and DJ Uncle Waffles’ sets will be video rather than simply radio recordings from London’s The Cause—a venue celebrated for its contributions to dance culture, local nightlife, and mental health initiatives.

Tim Sweeney, has long been a tastemaker through his influential ‘Beats in Space’ radio show. Now, as a cornerstone of Apple Music’s DJ programming, Sweeney bridges the gap between niche dance floor sounds and mainstream accessibility. His sets are an education, seamlessly blending the familiar with the obscure, a testament to his encyclopaedic knowledge of electronic music and fitting for his role.  

Last year’s inaugural event featured names like Kaytranada, Peggy Gou, and Honey Dijon, setting the stage for Apple Music to position itself as a leader in the intersection of live music and streaming innovation. It seems that this year’s line up will aim to transcend the humdrum of conventional New Year’s Eve fare. Apple Music hopes to reimagine the celebrations as more than just a concert, positioning itself at the forefront of innovation and connectivity in the streaming era.

Complete line up and respective timings for the event are listed below: 

24-Hour Radio Takeover (Starting at 12am PST / 8am GMT on December 31):

• Justice
• John Summit
• Rüfüs Du Sol
• Sonny Fodera
• horsegiirL
• David Rodigan
• Chris Stussy
• SPINALL
• Jyoty
• Skratch Bastid
• Kayan
• DIDI HAN
• Erol Alkan
• Malechin
• DJ KOCO
• Yanamaste
• Stacey Hotwaxx Hale
• Dylan Ali
• ARCHANGEL
• Cashu

This segment will be broadcast on the new Apple Music Club and Apple Music 1.

Apple Music Live: NYE Performances (Recorded at The Cause in London):

• Björk
• Tim Sweeney
• NAINA

These performances will air at 1pm PST / 9pm GMT on Apple Music Club and Apple Music 1.

Video Livestream:

• Uncle Waffles
• Skepta

The video livestream begins at 3pm. PST / 11pm. GMT on Apple Music, Apple Music Club, and Apple Music 1.

All performances will be available to stream in Spatial Audio exclusively on Apple Music.

We are THRILLED to announce PULP as your headliner for Concert in the Gardens 2023!

We know you will remember the first time you brought in the bells under Edinburgh Castle, like the Common People with PULP! pic.twitter.com/MmltePENfH

— Edinburgh’s Hogmanay (@edhogmanay) September 26, 2023

Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of the New Year, and typically involves gift giving, bonfires and other festivities. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival is one of the largest of its kind, and was even recognised by the Guinness Book Of World Records in their 1996-97 edition as the largest New Year’s party, with approximately 400,000 people in attendance that year.

The upcoming event will mark pop band Pulp‘s first live show in the Scottish capital in over 20 years. Attendees will be able to celebrate the New Year as they watch Pulp perform against the surreal backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

Pulp lead singer Jarvis Cocker said on the band’s upcoming appearance at ‘Concert In The Gardens’, “When your grandkids ask “Do you remember the first time Pulp played Edinburgh’s Hogmanay?” What will your answer be? Come along & start 2024 in the very best way possible. Oh yes.”

Directors of UniqueAssembly, which creates and produces Edinburgh’s Hogmanay on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Reaching the milestone 30th anniversary for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is a phenomenal achievement, which since 1993 has welcomed millions of party people to celebrate at the Home of Hogmanay.

“We wanted to make sure that this year was extra special for our audiences and are thrilled to welcome Pulp to the party. This will be the hottest ticket in town, and we recommend people grab their tickets fast to make sure they don’t miss out.”

Other events taking place at this year’s Hogmanay festival include a street party, silent disco, a torchlight procession and many more activities yet to be announced.

Tickets for the 30th anniversary of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay go on sale this Friday (September 29th) at 10am, which you can purchase here.

For those registered with the Hogmanay website, a pre-sale for the ‘Concert In The Gardens’ will be available from 10am on Thursday 28th September.

Our new single “THE TIME KNIFE” is out everywhere today: https://t.co/bWDBxsdbja

Pre-order NEW YEAR’S EVE:https://t.co/AdxDUpBWOt pic.twitter.com/Ew6VZwDLJ4

— El Ten Eleven (@ElTenEleven) February 2, 2022

Songwriter and bass player, Kristian Dunn explains how the TV show, “The Good Place,” influenced the track: “A character named Chidi has just returned from an interdimensional trip that only lasted a moment and, overwhelmed, says, ‘I just saw a trillion different realities folding onto each other like thin sheets of metal forming a single blade.’ Ted Danson’s character responds, saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, the time knife, we’ve all seen it.’ My wife and I were watching this together and for whatever reason this struck us as so funny we couldn’t stop laughing. This song is a combination of my experience with my wife (and experiences, journeys, really, generally with her) and Chidi’s journey.”

Over the course of 20 years and 11 albums, El Ten Eleven continue to rework the public’s perception of a 2-piece band. The White Stripes, Blood Red Shoes, Royal Blood, and many others have their sound; but with an arsenal of pedals, labyrinthine arrangements, and a deft use of looping, Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty create two-man symphonies. With New Year’s Eve, the duo melds electrifying disco grooves with their tried-and-true experimental rock atmospherics.

Regarding the album as a whole, Dunn explains, “New Year’s Eve is a reference to guarded optimism about what is to come. At the time, it seemed like our national divisiveness might be waning and the end of the pandemic was near. But of course, that’s not how it turned out,” he then adds, “That’s what New Year’s Eves are. You think it’s gonna be a fun night, but usually it’s disappointing at the end.” See below the video to the previous single “Meta Metta” and its accompanying video shot in Los Angeles’ The Cube.

As well as the announcement of a new album, the group also put out an 11-date European tour, set immediately after the North American leg. Coming This May, the tour sees 4 dates in the UK; Firstly, Glasgow’s Broadcast on May 12^th, Leeds’ Boom the following day, an appearance in London at Portals Festival May 14^th, before finally heading to Bristol at The Crofters Right. See full details on the UK and EU tour here.

Photo credit: Mark Owens

The lack of new restrictions was in part due to the pressure from the hospitality industry to let venues and nightclubs remain open on New Year’s Eve, with Michael Kill, the Chief Executive of the Night-Time Industries Association (NTIA) writing an open letter to Johnson, urging him not to shut down the industry on its typically busiest night.“Let’s not end this year as we did last. End the uncertainty and Let Us Dance on New Year’s Eve,” said the letter, which you can read here.

In the other countries in the UK things are different though as before Christmas, Wales reintroduced its rule of six in pubs, cinemas and restaurants. Large events were also banned, with no more than 30 people allowed at an indoor event and 50 at an outdoor event. The Welsh government also shut down nightclubs and ordered pubs to impose 1-meter social distancing.

Also more recently looking over to Scotland on Boxing Day a limit was imposed on the size of public events including its traditional Hogmanay celebrations. At the moment indoor events are limited to 100 guests standing or 200 seated, with only 500 set to be allowed at outdoor events. Nightclubs were also forced to close from 27 December, while pubs and bars returned to table service only.

However, as there are no travel bans between the countries, some people are expecting there will be an “invasion” of Scottish and Welsh Partygoers. Some reports also suggest hotels in English border towns like Chester, Bristol, Carlisle and Newcastle are already fully booked on New Year’s Eve.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney said that crossing the English border would go against the “spirit” of the restrictions, and he would “discourage” anyone from doing so. “I think it is the wrong course of action for people to take because we have a serious situation we have got to manage and we encourage everybody to play their part in addressing that,”

Nick Newman, the chair of the Cardiff Licensees Forum, told The Guardian that there is probably a likelihood of a large number of revelers going from Wales to England so as to avoid the restrictions. He said “It’s 40 minutes from Newport to Bristol and it’s easy to get from North Wales into Manchester or Liverpool, English businesses are going to benefit. We’re hugely disappointed with the stance the Welsh government is taking, especially not presenting the evidence that links the virus to the hospitality industry.”

In addition to this, it would seem like some experts feel the restrictions won’t even help much anyway. University of Brighton virologist, Dr. Sarah Pitt, said the opposing measures across the nations did not make sense and would be unlikely to stop the virus from spreading.

They were joined on the line up by; Michael Kiwanuka, Roisin Murphy, Rick Wakeman, Ruby Turner, Chris Difford, and the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Batallion Scots Guards. There was also archive footage shown of iconic performances from previous years.

LOVE IS BACK IS OUT NOW Performing it tonight on Jools Holland’s New Years Eve Hootenanny 23.15 @BBCTwo https://t.co/gSyqYMPumQ pic.twitter.com/cs81e5CCb6

— Celeste (@celeste) December 31, 2020

Celeste also debuted her newest single Love is Back on the show. The new song is about finding new love after loss. The hopeful sentiment is the ideal song to kick off 2021. This song is a single off the newly announced debut album Not Your Muse, which is set to be release in February 2021.

Sir Tom Jones also performed Whispering Grass with Jools on the piano. He also revealed that he will have a new album out this year, saying; “I recorded an album just before the lockdown, at the beginning of the year. During lockdown, we’ve been mixing it and putting it together.” He added; “That’s what I’ll be looking forward to.”

He then went on to tell Jools that he has already received the COVID-19 vaccine saying; “That’s one good thing about being 80, you’re first in line for the jab.” Sir Tom Jones joins other stars such as Sir Ian McKellen, Prue Leith, Michael Eavis, Lionel Blair and Marty Wilde who are sharing their experiences of getting the vaccine in order to encourage other people to get it.

‘It was fine. It was like getting the flu jab.’

Great to hear @RealSirTomJones talking about getting the #CovidVaccine on Jools’ Annual Hootenanny last night.

Thank you and Happy New Year to #OurNHSPeople who continue to work so hard rolling out the vaccine. pic.twitter.com/lcI2WJEzdl

— NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) January 1, 2021

You can watch Celeste and Sir Tom Jones’ performance of Blue Moon down below; the full show is available of the BBC iPlayer.

Yungblud took the opportunity of his television appearance to dress up with a look inspired by Punk Rock and posed on Facebook with a Sid Vicious snarl calling on his fans to tune in because ‘it’s gonna be fookin mental.’ The performance was anarchic and full of energy with Yungblud making a dramatic entrance screaming ‘Top of the Pops!’ and ending the song with a similarly energetic scream of ‘Happy New Year Baby.’

It’s been a long while since someone has put as much effort into a Top of the Pops appearance as Yungblud put into this performance. His band play their part perfectly, while he enjoys the limelight and plays the part of frontman, acting out the lyrics and giving the song attitude. The best thing about this performance is the effort which has been put into making it a live performance, rather than just miming along to a perfect recording, there are moments in there which you would genuinely expect at a live concert.

Perhaps it is the lack of live music this year which has led to artists like Yungblud taking to Top of the Pops to connect deeply with their fans, but surely its no bad thing to have the format shaken up and brought into the twenty first century so violently, or more specifically brought into 2021. 2021 certainly looks to be a very exciting year for music, assuming that the fight against coronavirus is indeed won in Spring as is currently being predicated. It is set to be a big year for British Indie, with Yungblud and Declan McKenna both ready to gig and tour in support of their second albums, and in the pop world Dua Lipa is all set for world domination.

The energy that Yungblud brought to Top of the Pops in many ways reflects the pent up energy that many of us are feeling right now, with almost a whole year of strict restrictions on all socialising except for  a brief window at the end of summer, many of us cannot wait for 2021 and for a time when we will once more be able to go out and interact with others just like we used to. It is almost certain that there will be an explosion of sociability after this crisis comes to an end, with even the more introverted of us realising how much we depend on one another this year.

Top of the Pops today was just a small taste of the live music which Yungblud has in store next year along with his contemporaries, all the great British artist’s who’ve released music this year, the fans are ready and the band’s are waiting, all we need now is the vaccine.

Following the latest government announcement, London remains in Tier 4 and even more cities and counties are going under tougher restrictions, meaning millions of people this year will have to spend their New Year’s Evening at home, tuning in to various livestreams and online celebrations. Moreover, with widespread weather warnings and freezing temperatures expected in the following days, isolated home parties are currently trending as the preferred, and in the fact the only, choice to say goodbye to 2020.

It’s the return of the Rave Shed! Join @TODDLAT and I this NYE for a party !! Streaming live from 10.30pm on all our channels! pic.twitter.com/8u6eqLNVuU

— Annie Mac (@AnnieMac) December 30, 2020

Various DJs, musicians and media outlets are all hosting NYE celebration livestream from various points around the globe. Earlier today, Swedish pop icon Robyn announced she is hosting the exclusive radio show at BBC Radio 6 from 7pm tomorrow. Alternatively, YouTube Originals will broadcast a special stelar virtual show, featuring Aitch, AJ Tracey and Dua Lipa.

With well-established reputation certainly preceding both Annie Mac and Toodla T, their ‘Rave Shed’ NYE party sure sounds like a great option to wave a final goodbye to 2020 and meet the new year in style. In case a night of “classics and party bangers in [their] rave shed at the end of the garden” still isn’t convincing enough, the DJ family are officially supporting the Shelter Charity, donating “as much money as possible” to help people struggling with bad housing or homelessness.

It’s the return of the rave shed Myself and @AnnieMac will be djing classics and party bangers in our rave shed at the end of the garden this New Year’s Eve, 10.30pm sharp live stream. We want to donate as much money as possible to charity in the process for @shelter x pic.twitter.com/jsv4WLwUIA — toddlat (@TODDLAT) December 30, 2020

Aside from building a widely acclaimed career as a club DJ, Annie Mac has been a BBC Radio 1 presenter since 2004. Few weeks ago, she shared the Hottest Record of the Year on her ‘Future Sounds’ show. Following a public vote, the most popular song of 2020 was revealed to be the surprising yet powerful collaboration between Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud for ‘Obey‘. The electric track won against Rina Sawayama’s ‘Bad Friend‘ and IDLES’ ‘Model Village‘ that came the closest amongst the 20 track in the competition.

Alongside her busy personal and professional life as a mother, DJ, radio presenter and host of the podcast Changes, Annie Mac has recently announced her novel ‘Mother Mother‘ will be published soon in 2021 through Wildfire Books. Making the most of being locked down for third time, she has been spending more time writing, with the following personal excerpt shared last week just in time for Christmas.

Вижте тази публикация в Instagram.

Публикация, споделена от Annie Mac (@anniemacmanus)

With the government announcement today that much more of the UK is being placed into tier 4 tomorrow and with covid cases soaring, the whole country is being encouraged to stay at home this New Years Eve so what better way to spend the night than with a night of viral youtubers, comedians and performances from the likes of Dua Lipa and Aitch and AJ Tracy who have taken 2020 by storm despite the global pandemic.

The event is set to be a big hit with the comments feed already buzzing with excited fans of youtubers and performers alike who are set to draw a crowd, especially amongst the younger generation who may feel more at home with an event streamed on youtube than with the relatively outdated television options. It is hard to imaging fans of Dua Lipa, Aitch and AJ Tracy tuning in to Jools Holland for their New Years Eve in isolation.

Dua Lipa has taken 2020 by storm with her second album ‘Future Nostalgia,’ which should would have spent the year touring to promote if it hadn’t taken such a turn for the apocalyptic. Likewise, Aitch and AJ Tracy made some serious waves when ‘Rain,’ came out early this year and have taken a difficult year in their strides. Where all of the big artists of 2020 have got it right is by adapting to the lack of in person events by keeping up a strong online presence.

The rap scene is obviously no stranger to building an online audience, with the GRM Daily Youtube channel providing a platform for many new artists in a way which is very different to the traditional ways of delivering live performance. Yet with many of us these days living much of our lives through computer screens, for better or for worse, it is inevitable that our music will begin to be delivered in that way too. It was not until the pandemic struck, perhaps, that many of us realise quite how much of our culture is consumed online these days.

Someone like Dua Lipa of course is a slightly different story to Aitch and AJ Tracy, as an established artist who came to fame through relatively traditional means, live performance, specifically arena tours across the world, were an essential part of her business. However, she has adapted remarkably well to the pandemic, releasing music videos for more singles from her album on Youtube, collaborating with other musicians on tracks like ‘Fever,’ and even performing her own live streamed extravaganza Studio 2054. I’m sure many of us right now would be happy to be transported 20 years from now into a time where covid is a word only for the history books.