This New Year’s Eve, WAMC invites you to six parties, from east to west, with musical fireworks for midnight in all four continental time zones on the Toast of the Nation! An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s, the party begins January 31st at 9PM and grooves all night long until 5AM on New Year’s Day. We will hear the energy infused live concert recordings of Wynton Marsalis, Snarky Puppy, Wycliffe Gordon, and more.
Promptly after Morning Edition, at 9AM, we will enjoy a two hour edition of New Year’s with the PSO. This year, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony are joined by classical comedy musicians Aleksey Igudesman and Richard Hyung-ki Joo. Igudesman and Joo make classical music accessible to a younger, broader audience by combining the classical medium with popular culture and humor. Jim Cunningham is your host for this fun-filled program to have you laughing into 2016.
At 11AM, we present The Vienna Philharmonic’s annual New Year's Day concert live from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. Mariss Jansons, whose musical collaboration with the Vienna Philharmonic goes back to 1992, conducts the New Year's Concert for the third time, following 2006 and 2012. The New Year's Concert 2016 also represents the 75th anniversary of this unique cultural event. This year’s program consists of the lively and yet nostalgic music from the vast repertoire of the Strauss family and its contemporaries.
In order to enjoy the full two hours of New Year’s Day Live from Vienna, we will begin Midday Magazine one hour later at 1PM. Fear not, for our program featuring local news and weather will air in full despite the later start time.
The 2PM hour concludes our celebration with the 2016 edition of The Capitol Steps Politics Takes a Holiday New Year’s special--a WAMC favorite! This year, the Capitol Steps take on Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders and the Donald to "Mock the Vote" in 2016!
January 12, 2016 brings us President Obama’s State of the Union Address. WAMC will provide NPR’s special coverage of the address from Washington, DC.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo will host the 2016 New York State of the State and Executive Budget Address on Wednesday, January 13 at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Do not miss WAMC’s coverage of the address starting at 12:30PM. After the address, join us for a special edition of Vox Pop to continue the conversation.