Tonight: RENAIDDANCE: Beyoncé Celebration at Union Stage

Even after two nights of FedExField shows in August that drew A-list attendees like Vice President Kamala Harris, or the recent Renaissance Tour movie that sold out theaters across the District and broke box office records, the DMV (and the world, if we’re being honest) still can’t get enough of Beyoncé. Whether you were at the concert or not, you can dance like you’re in Club Renaissance on Dec. 21 when Union Stage hosts the event of the holiday season for the most devoted members of the BeyHive: RENAIDDANCE: Beyoncé Celebration, a dance party dedicated to the already iconic album. The event’s DJs tell partygoers to expect to hear every song on the album, artful transitions and all, making for a perfect pre-Christmas break dance party. Put on your shiniest glitter that will make even your worst enemy say “it should cost a billion to look that good,” and grab your friends, co-workers, roommates, partners, and crushes to dance the night away before much of the city scatters for holiday travel. As queen Béy says, “Move out the way, I’m with my girls and we all need space.” See you on the dance floor. The party starts at 9 p.m. on Dec. 21 at Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. unionstage.com. $25.  —Serena Zets 

Saturday: What Goes On: Teen-Beat Edition at the Black Cat

Justin Gellerson (aka DJ Just–in–Time) hosts a rock music dance party at the Black Cat called What Goes On that sometimes showcases D.C. sounds. This month’s “Teenbeat Edition,” named after the seminal indie label Teen-Beat, will feature the label’s head, Mark Robinson, and Gellerson spinning tunes from Robinson’s once locally based company. The now Massachusetts-based Robinson, best known as the singer and guitarist of Unrest, has released often artsy, sometimes straight-ahead pop and punk music by a range of acts including D.C.-area outfits Tuscadero, Eggs, and Robinson’s own bands. Before COVID, Robinson used to regularly host an annual Teen-Beat holiday gig in the D.C. area. The event will also screen Robinson’s 2019 film, Amateur on Plastic, a story on eccentric outsider rock musician Butch Willis. The film includes 1980s through 2010s footage of the mullet-haired Maryland singer in archival public-access show footage (some from Jeff Krulik, director of Heavy Metal Parking Lot, who managed Willis for a time), home video, and real and fake interviews. Willis, who was fond of wearing fluorescent blue spandex pants and cowboy boots, notes in the documentary his earlier fondness for doing drugs, and that he was once kicked in the head by a horse. Onstage, he applies his scratchy but tuneful vocals to songs with his band the Rocks, which included both folks on standard rock band instruments as well as throat guitarist Al Breon, who made unusual sounds while chopping the front of his neck with his hand. While the performances vary from rocking to funny, the Willis interviews often have a bittersweet aspect, especially one from an older, gray-haired Willis proclaiming his disinterest in talking about his earlier rock music life. What Goes On: Teen-Beat Edition starts at 7 p.m. on Dec. 23 in the Black Cat’s Red Room, 1811 14th St. NW. blackcatdc.com. $10–$15. —Steve Kiviat

Friday, Dec. 29: Disco Biblioteca at People’s Book

Earlier this year, City Paper highlighted some of the region’s most unique book clubs and the strong communities they’ve formed here. Since we dug into those book clubs, the locally owned independent People’s Book opened in Takoma Park. Already, in its first six months of operation, People’s Book has become a community hub by hosting monthly clubs, multiple author talks, and a poetry reading series spearheaded by Elizabeth Bryant and Takoma Park’s Poet Laureate Taylor Johnson. A strong addition to the area’s diverse book club offerings, People’s Book’s Disco Biblioteca hosts its next gathering on Dec. 29. The club is facilitated by Takoma Radio’s own Night Nurse and is soundtracked by a playlist curated to match the topic and vibe of each month’s read. This round is digging into Gayle Wald’s 2007 book, Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, about the “godmother of rock and roll” Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Ring in the new year with some rock ’n’ roll and new book club friends! Make sure to check out People’s Book’s unrivaled zine and graphic novel collection too. Disco Biblioteca starts at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 at People’s Book, 7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park. peoplesbooktakoma.com. Free. —Serena Zets

Friday, Saturday, and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 29, 30, 31: Adam Conover at Arlington Drafthouse

Stand-up comics don’t need to be preachers or “truth tellers.” Some of the best are, but it’s not a prerequisite. Personal anecdotes and well-written jokes are more important than hot takes. This is true even in the case of Adam Conover. The stand-up comic, made famous by the excellent Adam Ruins Everything on TruTV and The G Word with Adam Conover on Netflix, is mostly known for being the worst guest ever on The Joe Rogan Experience. But first and foremost, he’s a stand-up. Like Greg Proops and Marc Maron, Conover is a left-leaning, highly educated performer also known for his podcasts and television shows. But his stand-up isn’t like his podcast, shows, or YouTube channel. It’s full of personal anecdotes and well-written jokes about his ADD, email inbox maintenance, and vaccines. While Conover’s YouTube channel is full of Adams Ruins Everything type truths, the stand-up has more levity—ideal for New Year’s Eve. (The late show on NYE includes a champagne toast with ball drop broadcast on the big screen.) Adam Conover performs  at 7:30 p.m on Dec. 29; 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 30; and 7 and 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Arlington Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. arlingtondrafthouse.com. $28—$38. —Brandon Wetherbee

Saturday, Dec. 30: Diva at the National Gallery of Art

Who would have thought that one of the films that pioneered an influx of punk-inflected French film in the ’80s would center around an aria from a 19th-century opera? That’s what happened with director Jean–Jacques Beineix’s stylish 1981 thriller Diva, which operated at the crossroads of high culture and evil, bald Frenchmen with sunglasses (Dominique Pinon, whose comic-book mug was the epitome of cool then and now). Frédéric Andréi stars as Jules, a Paris postman obsessed with Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhelmenia Fernandez), a soprano who forbids recordings of her performances, feeling that no reproduction could do justice to the acoustics of a real opera house. But Jules sneaks a portable recorder into a recital. When she bursts into the aria from “La Wally,” it’s pure excitement—at the beauty of such music, and at the marvels of cinema, taking such a timeworn art form and, with the utmost reverence, making it new. Based on a novel by Daniel Odier, the film traffics in the staccato conventions of crime drama, but for his remarkable first feature, Beineix approaches the subgenre with the youthful vigor of someone discovering the excitement of a chase scene for the very first time. On its initial commercial run, Diva played the infamously tiny screens of Connecticut Avenue’s KB Janus Theater. But more than 40 years later, showcasing a new 35mm print, you can watch it on the East Wing’s generous screen, several times larger than the postage-stamp presentation in that long-defunct Dupont Circle theater. Diva screens at 2 p.m. on Dec. 30 at the National Gallery of Art, 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. nga.gov. Free. —Pat Padua

New Year’s Eve: When Harry Met Sally… at Alamo Drafthouse

“I’ll have what she’s having” is what you’ll say when you see a girl next to you chowing down on the Blueberry Donut French Toast Bake served at the Alamo’s brunch showing of When Harry Met Sally…. What better way to keep warm in the District’s December chill than bundled up in a cozy movie theater, dining al-screeno from a brunch menu, with a classic film guaranteed to warm your heart? With this New Year’s Eve day showing, go ahead and manifest a meet-cute with the partner of your dreams for the new year. Enemies to lovers? Coffee shop romance? Whichever trope you chose, this rom-com holiday classic starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal is archived in the Library of Congress for a reason. Will love always find a way? Is our soulmate destined by a string of fated encounters or simply designed by our own innocuous choices? Most of all, When Harry Met Sally… asks the age-old question: Can men and women ever just be friends? Take your gal or guy or nonbinary pal to the screening and put this query to the test. While you can’t watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve like Harry, you can watch this classic tension-filled will-they-won’t-they story at this screening full of fate, festivities, fervid romance, fantastic food, and a fortuitous film to bring in the New Year. When Harry Met Sally… screens at 11 a.m. on Dec. 31 at Alamo Drafthouse, 630 Rhode Island Ave. NE. drafthouse.com. $11. —Simone Goldstone 

New Year’s Eve: Oh He Dead at Union Stage

There are rites of passage that all baby bands go through as they climb the ladder of success. One very important rung that D.C. act Oh He Dead reached in 2023 is upgrading to a sprinter van for their first West Coast tour. “It’s fantastic,” gushes guitarist Andy Valenti, speaking to City Paper from the fourth row of the van on their way to a gig in Seattle. “We were very, very, very excited to all pile in this van. Usually we split up between our own personal cars and this is the first time we’re all together in a big van and there’s enough space for all of us! No one’s cramped!” Reaching sprinter van-level success is one of the many highlights the band experienced during 2023 and something they will celebrate at their Union Stage show on Dec. 31. Another massive milestone that took place was performing at Wolf Trap’s Out & About Festival in June, which culminated with a performance on the main stage with headliner Brandi Carlile. “She invited us on stage during the last song so we literally were arm in arm with all these artists that we look up to,” says Valenti. “Just to play Wolf Trap as a D.C. band was a bucket list let alone doing it with Brandi Carlile, one of the greatest living songwriters … we’ve had a really great year.” Oh He Dead play at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. unionstage.com $35–$60. —Christina Smart

New Year’s Eve: A Gothic Prom at Songbyrd

Do you have a perfect black lace bustier corset bell-sleeve gauzy dress just hanging in your closet and waiting to be worn? Good news! You can rock it while paying homage to D.C.’s iconic dark subculture history at Sling and Arrow’s Gothic Prom. A tradition of old D.C.’s blooming—er, darkly wilting—goth scene, Sling and Arrow has brought the morose ball back to life for New Year’s Eve. Celebrate the joy of the new year—or the melancholic loss of the past year—with vibrantly dark spins from DJ Vampyre Noire, DJ Vlad, and DJ Rinesin. In addition, the local goth scene’s best and newest designers will showcase their looks on a literal runway, so wear your gloomiest, deadliest, maudlin-edgiest pieces for the chance to be crowned goth fashion darkling of the night. Celebrate the counterculture and be part of the ethereal explosion of punk and glam that is D.C. goth at the best prom night around. Be a creature of the night when you put 2023 to rest. Gothic Prom starts at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Songbyrd, 540 Penn St. NE. songbyrddc.com. $10–$20. —Simone Goldstone 

Ongoing: Etched by Light: Photogravures from the Collection at NGA

The National Gallery of Art is exhibiting a small collection of photogravures—versions of photographs that can be mechanically reproduced—that span a century, from 1840 to 1940. Unexpectedly, the most compelling are the oldest and most technologically primitive. One image from 1852, by British photographic pioneer William Henry Fox Talbot, features a delicate rendering of a fern frond. Another is an image of Paris’ city hall by Hippolyte Fizeau—the first-ever reproduction of a photograph in a book, created by a complicated process of tracing, etching, and printing. Yet another is Charles Nègre’s 1854 image of the cathedral at Chartres, France, with its depiction of both the edifice’s breathtakingly detailed medieval facade and the proto-modernist straight lines of its steps. By the 1880s, the technique morphed into a tool for pictorialists such as P.H. Emerson, Gertrude Käsebier, and Clarence White, who were more interested in its ability to communicate imaginative blurriness than its precision. In the first few decades of the 20th century, top-tier art photographers created photogravures, including Alfred Stieglitz, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Paul Strand, and Man Ray. But their images possess neither the bold new technological look of the exhibit’s earliest examples, nor the pictorialist approach that leaned into the medium’s gauziness. Ultimately, by 1940, the photogravure was phased out by other halftone processes. The one late example in the exhibit that manages to push the technology’s frontiers in an interesting direction is a 1931 bound volume of 20 scientific micrographs by Laure Albin Guillot that are notable for their abstract patterns, including a stunning arrangement of crimson- and copper-colored shapes on metal. Etched by Light runs through Feb. 4 at the National Gallery of Art, 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. nga.gov. Free. —Louis Jacobson