As far back as I can remember I watched Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years’ Eve on December 31st. Every year’s end, with pretty much the same group of my parent’s friends from the fire house, I would watch band after band and a parade of that year’s hit artists perform. Most years you could see their breath in the cold and the hosts bundled up and no-one seemed to care. The cold didn’t matter to them and when midnight came, everyone rejoiced and couples got engaged and everyone sang some song about friends holding signs. As I got older and began performing, I realized why I was so fascinated with the celebration at Times Square. 

As I stated last week, I absolutely love the end of the year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years’, with its feasts, festivities, and then top it all off with a massive party to welcome the next 365 days. When I saw Times Square on the television, it seemed as though all of New York City was crammed between the buildings on 7th and Broadway. That sea of people all wearing the same upcoming year’s prop glasses and getting a front row seat to the thousands of people in front of them just to see a conglomeration of light bulbs descend into the roof of One Times Square was sight all too fascinating. What drew them all to that spot when my living room was warmer, less cramped, the lavatory was cleaner and closer, and the food was way, WAY, cheaper? I can still hear my mother talking about how the ball is made from Waterford crystals which seemed odd because the Waterford glasses we drank from at the Christmas table needed their own team of white gloved artifact experts just to be washed. If I had dropped one of those glasses with Christmas lights in it on the roof of my house, NYC would not have celebrated that outcome. All that buildup then to prove that millions still remember how to count backwards from 10? Maybe with the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed, that countdown was harder than I thought. All the same, at midnight, the family would hug, kiss, wish everyone a happy new year, and then go back to what we were doing before the countdown. No presents to open, no magic growth spurts, no shooting stars, just one second’s difference between 12/31 and 1/1. Then you grab the last cheese doodle and off to bed. 

And yet, year after year, I wanted to take part in every possible way. One year I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of New Years festivities. On December 31st, 1999, amid massive panic that the world would end at midnight, I was part of the greatest symphony, with the greatest choirs, with the best orchestra under the best director, at Lincoln Center, only a 20 block drive from Times Square. I had no idea what to expect except what I had previously experienced. Every other trip to Lincoln Center, the streets of Manhattan were filled with cars, taxis, buses, and people. But on 12/31/99, we departed Lincoln Center and were welcomed by empty sidewalks and a deserted Broadway. This performance followed by a mysterious leisurely stroll though midtown confirmed my suspicions the people of NYC and the country were either at Times Square or glued to their televisions. We made it back home in record time to see the ball gracefully collide with an enormous digital 2000 on the top of One Times Square. And while the world did not end that night, my life changed forever. 

From that moment on, I knew one day I would be a part of a music group that would have to stop their performance for that all important countdown. I could envision the night just as a young girl sees their wedding day. I saw the suit I would be wearing and the sound of my microphone as I joined in shouting Happy New Year and then lead them in singing “Auld Lang Syne”. I don’t know when, where, or with whom I’ll share this moment. I don’t know if it will be a bar, club, hall, the big show at NYC, or just a small house concert. What I do know is when that moment finally arrives and the clock reads 23:59 on 12/31, the box on my so called bucket list will be checked. That will truly be a Happy New Year. 

From our Keith Rounds Band family to all of our friends, families, and loved ones, we’ll drink a cup of kindness yet, for Auld Lang Syne. 

Happy New Year!