After years on Monroe Avenue near Rosa Parks Circle, the New Year’s Eve party settles on the roomier Calder Plaza with Grand Rapids’ The Outer Vibe adding to the celebration.
Cobra Starship will be landing at Calder Plaza.
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The New York dance-pop band will headline this year’s HOT FM New Year’s Eve celebration, which is relocating to Calder Plaza off Ottawa Avenue NW in downtown Grand Rapids, shifting from a site on a closed-off Monroe Avenue near Rosa Parks Circle where the party – featuring an outdoor concert and ball drop – has been held in the past.
The Subway Hot New Year’s Eve event is being moved due to traffic and other concerns, with organizers insisting the Calder Plaza site actually provides more room for the celebration which will feature performances by Cobra Starship, young pop singer Dyllan Murray and Grand Rapids’ own rock-pop band The Outer Vibe, as well as the Grand Rapids Got Talent contest winner Fire Alarm.
Led by Gabe Saporta, New York’s Cobra Starship has released four albums of its dance-pop/dance-punk music and has been in the studio working on a new recording. Last summer, it released a catchy single, “Never Been in Love,” featuring Icona Pop (which you can check out below).
Ottawa Avenue NW will be shut down between Michigan and Lyon streets on New Year’s Eve to accommodate the free celebration, which draws 30,000 or more people every year.
“I do think it’s better,” said Marcus Bradman of Cumulus Broadcasting, noting that the plaza offers more space to “do more creative things. It really gives me a lot more freedom of what do with the footprint of Calder Plaza.”
In past years with the stage on Monroe Avenue, organizers were “landlocked” in a way and the pedestrian traffic flow created “some security headaches.” The new site will allow more fans exposure to the stage, he said.
According to HOT FM (105.3), two large video screens will enhance the stage set up next to the Calder sculpture on Calder Plaza, with a Consumers Energy warming tent and free hot chocolate available to revelers.
And while the Calder Plaze parking ramp will be closed from Ottawa Avenue, the Monroe Avenue entrance will be open to vehicles.
As usual, there will be a ball drop at midnight. Get more details online at 1053hotfm.com.
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