This weekend, it\u2019ll be a brand new year. Although some may be partied out after New Year’s Eve, some cool stuff will be happening. <\/p>\n
Welcome 2026 with a festive brunch. Music from Nat King Cole and Steve Aoki will be played on Friday night. Saturday begins with a matcha pop-up and ends with a salute to goth\/darkwave at Wonky Power. And, on Sunday, you can get in a fun run\/walk and see the Thin White Duke<\/a> on the big screen.<\/p>\n Thursday, January 1<\/strong><\/p>\n The Union Kitchen presents New Year\u2019s Day Brunch<\/strong> EZ\u2019s Liquor Lounge presents New Year\u2019s Day Hangover Brunch MKT Bar presents New Year’s Day Brunch Friday, January 2<\/strong><\/p>\n Punch Line Houston presents Sam Jay Houston Symphony presents “A Nat King Cole New Year” Theatre Southwest presents <\/strong>Murder on the Orient Express NOTO Houston presents Steve Aoki Saturday, January 3<\/strong><\/p>\n Kazzan Ramen & Bar and Tomo Matcha Pop-Up The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents <\/strong>Resurrection Archway Gallery presents June Woest: “Weather Inside Out” opening reception Wonky Power presents Dia de los Darks Sunday, January 4<\/strong><\/p>\n Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents Saint Arnold Social Fun Walk\/Run
<\/a>The Union Kitchen is kicking off 2026 with a celebratory New Year\u2019s Day brunch at all Houston-area locations. Customers will enjoy festive brunch sips, including $2.50 mimosas, $4 Bloody Marys, and $4 bellinis. Additionally, in true Southern tradition, the restaurant will offer cabbage, black-eyed peas, and cornbread \u2014 the classic good-luck trio for prosperity in the year ahead. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are encouraged. 10 am.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>For those who know they\u2019ll be party-hopping this New Year\u2019s Eve, here’s a place to go and deal with that gnarly hangover the day after. The annual Hangover Brunch will feature fried chicken, biscuits, champagne specials, and caviar at cost. 11 am.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>While some people are known to eat black-eyed peas on New Year\u2019s Day \u2013 for good luck and prosperity for the year ahead \u2013 head over to MKT Bar (located inside Phoenicia Specialty Foods’ location downtown) and get their famous chicken and waffles for half-off. The Danielle Reich and Bruce Saunders Quintet will also be on the premises, performing some eclectic, jazz\/pop numbers. Noon.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Stand-up comic Sam Jay will be doing a two-night stint at Punch Line Houston this weekend. The Emmy-nominated former Saturday Night Live writer has been seen on HBO\u2019s Pause with Sam Jay, a weekly late-night series on which she served as host and executive producer, as well as Bust Down, the Peacock sitcom she co-created and co-starred in. Recently, she did her solo show Sam Jay: We the People at the Edinburgh Festival and New York\u2019s Lincoln Center Theater. 7 and 9:15 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>The Jones Center for the Performing Arts will have an \u201cUnforgettable\u201d start to 2026 as Byron Stripling, Denzal Sinclaire, and the Houston Symphony Big Band perform the timeless hits of Nat King Cole, along with well-known songs by other jazz legends. The program will include songs like \u201cMona Lisa,\u201d \u201cNature Boy,\u201d \u201cWhen I Fall in Love,\u201d \u201cJust One of Those Things,\u201d and more. (We wonder if we\u2019ll get Cole\u2019s \u201cThe Christmas Song\u201d one last time.) 7:30 pm (2 pm Sunday).<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Agatha Christie\u2019s legendary, literary masterwork will be brought to the stage at Theatre Southwest. On a train traveling through Europe, a wealthy American tycoon is found dead in his compartment, the door locked from the inside. Enter world-famous detective Hercule Poirot, who must navigate a train full of suspects and solve the murder before the killer strikes again. Through Saturday, January 17. 8 pm (3 pm Sunday).<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Did you know that DJ\/producer Steve Aoki invented the trend known as \u201ccaking\u201d? That\u2019s when he throws a huge cake out into the crowd while playing Autoerotique\u2019s \u201cTurn Up the Volume,\u201d a song whose video features people getting splattered by exploding cakes<\/a>. We bring this up because Aoki will be doing a late-night DJ set at NOTO Houston, and there\u2019s a very good chance people in the crowd will get hit with a very delicious dessert. Stay in the back to avoid getting icing on your outfit. 10 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Houston\u2019s ramen scene is getting a green tea glow-up. Kazzan Ramen & Bar is teaming up with Tomo Matcha for a one-day pop-up this weekend. For the collaboration, guests who dine in at Kazzan Ramen will receive 20% off Tomo matcha, and customers who purchase a matcha drink will enjoy 20% off their meal. If you can\u2019t make it, Tomo will also do a Sunday-afternoon pop-up at GLO Pilates<\/a>. 11 am.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Bi Gan (whose Long Day\u2019s Journey into Night screened at MFAH in 2018) directs this ambitious, 160-minute, sci-fi detective movie starring Chinese superstar Jackson Yee (Better Days) and actress Shu Qi (The Assassin). In a future where humanity has surrendered its ability to dream in exchange for immortality, an outcast finds illusion, nightmarish visions, and beauty in an intoxicating world of his own making. 2 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Archway Gallery will present an exhibit of new work by June Woest that captures the interplay between photography, sculpture, and AI. “Weather Inside Out” explores Woest\u2019s experiences with the unpredictable nature of the weather by challenging the notion that we are helpless against it. Her works are an invitation to embrace change and find comfort in the unpredictable.Through Thursday, February 5. 5 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>The first Dia de los Darks of the year kicks off this weekend, bringing a night powered by darkwave, goth, rock en espa\u00f1ol, and cumbia. Scheduled to perform are El Turko Sonidero, DJ Fredster and guitar-playing masked man Orpheus Von Doom. Expect haunting beats, immersive visual installations lighting up the night. A night market will be open late with art, fashion, and local vendors \u2014 giving attendees that dark underground vibe. 8 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/a>Saint Arnold Fun Runs are back for 2026. Close out the first weekend of 2026 by getting some exercise, taking a social run\/walk, and purging yourself of everything 2025-related. Participants get a guided and marked, 3.5(ish)-mile run\/walk with beer pacers, three tasty brews from Saint Arnold, a Saint Arnold pint glass, and a Texas tamale breakfast. Rain or shine. 8 am.<\/p>\n