Feeling down about staying home on New Year's Eve? Nothing to do on New Year's Day? Two local groups, Hot Mass and MostBeautifullest, have created online events full of music, visual arts, and other fun content to help you kick off 2021, while still staying safe during the pandemic.
On Thu., Dec. 31, Hot Mass, the popular Pittsburgh after-hours party, will host Not Mass NYE, a 15-hour long virtual celebration with a long list of DJ acts, drag performers, dance, and more. The event will be livestreamed from the Hot Mass space in Downtown Pittsburgh.
“Like other clubs, we've made the transition to online streaming to keep the music going through the pandemic,” says Hot Mass co-founder, Aaron Clark. “While things are arguably at their worst right now, we're starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. We're missing the Hot Mass dance floor ourselves and figured folks might want to see the space again, try to channel some of the crazy energy that happens there.”
Clark adds that the Not Mass NYE lineup consists of “all Pittsburgh friends and family, folks who are resident DJs at Mass, or who are heavily involved in some way.”
Hot Mass organizer and founder of the VIA Festival Lauren Goshinski co-produced Not Mass NYE and says the event will offer a “wide range of dance and club sounds from disco to techno/house, drum and bass, and traversing all layers of queer club anthems.” Among the music crews represented are Cold Cuts, Humanaut, In Training, Detour, and Honcho, as well as gFx, a collective Goshinski co-founded to focus on “womxn and nonbinary artists.”
The night will also feature appearances by drag queens Pissy Mattress and The Moon Baby, choreography by slowdanger, digital collages by artists Julie Mallis and Ben Tabas, and much more.
Also featured is Mostbeautifullest, which will present the Pajama Jammy Jam, an afternoon livestream party taking place on New Year's Day.
Mostbeautifullest founder sarah huny young — who will also do a DJ set at Not Mass NYE — says livestream events like the Pajama Jammy Jam stays true to the collective's overall mission of highlighting "the talents of Black women and femmes and queer people of color and provide a space where our community — the marginalized club kids, basically — can be 'together.'”
Previously known as Darkness is Spreading, Mostbeautifullest has hosted other livestream events this year, including the virtual Halloween rave "I Put a Spell on You." In addition to huny, the latest happening will include Deejay Aesthetics, special guest Formosa, and host Kennedy, all of whom will, as the event name suggests, be performing in their sleepwear.
huny says the Mostbeautifullest virtual shows “feel the same as our in-person events,” adding, “They’re wild, fun, and spontaneous, have a high production value, and bring the party to the people wherever they’re tuning in from.”
She points out that while the Pajama Jammy Jam is free to watch, tipping is encouraged at the Mostbeautifullest Venmo account (username mostbeautifullest).
“We’d love everyone, whether they’re new to us or true to us, to hop online with a mimosa in hand and open up the new year with us,” says huny.
Not Mass NYE. 3 p.m., Thu., Dec. 31. Continues until 6 a.m. on Fri., Jan. 1. hotmasspgh.com
New Year's Day Pajama Jammy Jam. 2-6 p.m. Fri., Jan. 1. Free. twitch.tv/mostbeautifullest
New Year's events with Hot Mass and Mostbeautifullest offer two days of dance music, performances, and more
