Rose Hill Drive

New Year's Eve is going to be a little different this year.

Local venues and bands changed up the musical mix for this year's big party -- and they're ready to rock in 2009.

Wednesday night, Rose Hill Drive rocks out at the Boulder Theater, Lotus finally gets to play New Year's at the Fox Theatre and Flogging Molly will be partying at the Fillmore Auditorium.

Let the festivities begin.

Rose Hill Drive

Boulder's Rose Hill Drive knows how to party up New Year's Eve.

Every year, the rock band picks one of its favorite classic records and performs each song in exact album order.

"It's been a really good year for Rose Hill Drive," guitarist Daniel Sproul said. "We released a new record (Moon is the New Earth) and this year has been a slow-but-steady climb.

"We got to tour Europe for awhile and took the time to really see things. That was fun. The audiences were definitely most responsive in Spain -- that's our easiest market there."

Rose Hill Drive also toured the states with Gov't Mule in 2008.

Now, the band's ready to ring in 2009 by performing Led Zeppelin II in its entirety. That record includes the radio hit "Whole Lotta Love."

"This record's always been a part of me," Sproul said. "We thought for New Year's we could go more obscure, but we knew that Led Zeppelin II was a guaranteed party.

"I've heard the album so many times -- and that made it really easy. This was the record that proved that Led Zeppelin was on fire."

Rose Hill Drive plans to cover the Zeppelin CD and play one set of originals for New Year's.

Local fans also can look forward to unique video backdrops and a special light show at the Boulder Theater bash.

Sproul said Rose Hill Drive has one New Year's resolution.

"We're really going to try to do something new and keep things exciting in 2009," Sproul said. "We want to be on the cutting edge of creating and we'll see what happens."

Lotus

Electro-rock band Lotus is taking over the New Year's stage at the Fox Theatre on Wednesday. That will make it a short drive for several band members who now call Colorado home.

"We played Colorado this fall and then we headed for the West Coast," guitarist Luke Miller said. "We also got to play all these festivals across the U.S. in 2008. The best festival was Rothbury."

Lotus is currently touring with its latest CD, Hammerstrike, and locals will get to hear some of the record's raw electronic tracks at the Fox.

"We still have lots of tracks left over, so we may have another record in the spring," Miller said. "We're not sure if it will be an EP or full-length record."

For now, Lotus is getting ready for New Year's Eve.

"Colorado's Front Range is definitely one of our fan strongholds," Miller said. "We've been wanting to play New Year's here for awhile, but it's never worked out.

"We're planning a big light show for New Year's and we'll definitely make midnight the peak of the show.

"We have something special planned."

Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly always puts on a high-energy rock show, but the band really plans to step things up for its New Year's Eve party at Denver's Fillmore.

Bassist Nathan Maxwell is really excited, because he lives a short distance away from the rock club.

"I grew up in California, but I just moved to Colorado," Maxwell said. "My wife's family is here and this is a nice place to live."

Maxwell's been with the Irish rockers since the band's inception and he still loves performing with Flogging Molly.

"We're like one big family. We've been through so much together," Maxwell said. "This band has built up gradually, but that's helped us develop a real core fan base. We were a pub band and now we're touring the world."

Flogging Molly played Denver's Mile High Music Festival this summer. Now, the group's now getting ready for its annual Green 17 tour.

However, the band won't be hitting Denver this spring. Fans needing their Flogging Molly fix will have to hit the Fillmore tonight.

"Denver is definitely top on our fanbase," Maxwell said. "Besides, I barely have to leave my house.

"We're going to mix it up for New Year's. We're also hosting an after-party for fans at Scruffy Murphy's Irish Pub in Denver."