Friday
7pm - : Mood at the Barba Negra Music Club
After a 17-year break, Hungary’s very own doom metal band Mood reunite for a one-off concert. They kick-start the new year at the Barba Negra Music Club, the largest venue on the Buda side.
8pm - : Taboo Collection Catwalk Concert at Trafó
Contemporary choir Soharóza collaborate with costume designers Fruzsina Nagy and Dóra Halas in their production entitled Taboo. Blood, death, sex and other sensitive topics inspired the clothes of this extravagant costume collection, presented on the catwalk by singing models. The Taboo Collection is being staged at the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts between 4 and 6 January. Shows start at 8pm.
8:30pm - : Bowie 72 – Bowies Keep Swinging at Muzikum Klub & Bisztró
A series of tribute concerts pays homage to the glam-rock icon who would have turned 72 next week. At the Muzikum Klub in District VIII, the Bowies Keep Swinging band perform the biggest hits from a career spanning five decades.
11pm - : Waxman, Jaffa Surfa – All Night Long at Lärm
Captains of Budapest’s house-music scene, Waxman and Jaffa Surfa take audiences on a night-long excursion, swinging past diverse points of this prolific genre.
Saturday
9:30am-11:30am: New Year’s Lucky Run at Népliget
Did you overdo it during the holiday season? If the answer is yes, then this revitalising (and free) New Year’s run might be just the right way to start 2019. Head out to Népliget park to cover the six-kilometre course alongside likeminded runners. Meet at the car park by the intersection of Vajda Péter utca and Könyves Kálmán körút.
4:30pm - : Bad Poems at the Művész Cinema
Everybody’s talking about this stunning new work by Gábor Reisz, who burst onto the scene in 2014 with cult smash For Some Inexplicable Reason. On the strength of its acclaim, Reisz gained a Cannes Residence award and spent time in France to create what many see as a follow-up. Similar to Inexplicable, Bad Poems involves a lovelorn male lead in search of inspiration. This time, though, the male lead is Reisz himself. Is love just a memory? Don’t miss.
7pm-8:30pm: Paris De Nuit by Recirquel at Müpa
Hungary’s award-winning Recirquel take acrobatics to new heights. The ensemble’s ballet-like production My Land was top-rated by critics at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Another stunning new-circus performance by Recirquel, Paris De Nuit, takes central stage at riverfront Müpa on Saturday, where the audience will be transported into the voluptuous world of the impassioned variety shows that defined Parisian nightlife in the 1920s.
8pm - : Áron András ‘Apey’, Papaver Cousins at the Akvárium Klub
These Hungarian indie acts give a joint concert at the focal Akvárium Klub, where soloist Apey and duo Papaver Cousins play soft, melodic rock music, enhanced with thoughtful lyrics.
Sunday
10am-noon: Yoga Brunch in Haris Park
Come for a calming session at the stunning Neo-Renaissance villa of Buda’s Haris Park, hosting the year’s first Yoga Brunch this Sunday. The work-out, taking place in the gorgeous chapel of the building, is followed by a vegan buffet brunch also included in the price. Email yogabrunchbudapest@gmail.com to register.
4:35pm - : The season's last Christmas tram setting off from Jászai Mari tér
For one last time this winter season, passengers can take a sparkling ride aboard scenic tram 2, while the streetcar is enhanced with blue- and white-coloured LED lights. The Christmas tram connects Jászai Mari tér by Margaret Bridge with Közvágóhíd in south Pest, following the curve of the Danube. Regular public-transport tickets and passes are valid for this merry trip.
5pm - : The Kindergarten Teacher at the Művész Cinema
Premiered at Sundance 2018,The Kindergarden Teacher is an eerie yet gripping tale co-written and directed by the award-winning Sara Colangelo of Little Accidents fame. Here the kindergarten teacher in question is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who develops an obsession for the literary talent of a five-year-old boy in her class. The ensuing psychodrama sways the viewer’s moral compass every which way.
7pm-8:15pm: Badora Dance Company – The Pearl Fisher at Müpa
Some pearl fishers dive into the ocean's depths looking for shells, staying underwater for several minutes at a time, risking their lives for a treasure that will later adorn others. Other pearl fishers seek another kind of gem: the truth. Plunging into the depths of the psyche, they dive, risking all to find it, before bringing it to the surface. The show is presented by the National Dance Theatre.
