The Majestic Theatre opened on East Houston Street in 1929, designed by John Eberson in the atmospheric style that was briefly the most ambitious thing happening in American theater architecture — ceilings built to suggest open courtyards, plaster clouds, stars you could imagine moving. It was the first air-conditioned theater in Texas, which in San Antonio in August meant something real. The Las Casas Foundation spent $4.5 million restoring the room in 1989, and today it carries three separate historic designations: the National Register of Historic Places, a Texas Historic Landmark, and a National Historic Landmark. On the last night of 2026, Brad Williams walks into that room with The Tall Tales Tour and a 70-to-90-minute headlining set.
There are worse ways to close out a year.
About Brad Williams
Williams started the way a lot of the best working comedians did: pulled onstage at a show he didn’t intend to perform in. He was nineteen, in the audience at a Carlos Mencia performance in Orange County, California, and by the time he left the building he had a new direction. He spent five years on the road as Mencia’s opening act, learning the craft from the circuit, and gradually built into headliner territory. His television credits span The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia, Netflix’s The Degenerates, Dave Attell’s Comedy Underground, and Live at Gotham.
His 2015 Showtime special Fun Size and the 2016 follow-up Daddy Issues widened his national profile considerably. Starfish, released to YouTube, has accumulated more than 8.5 million views. His most recent special, Live On Short Street, is also on YouTube — Williams has consistently priced the work for the widest possible room, which is a philosophy that shows up in his live performance too.
He has also become the first stand-up comedian to headline a Cirque du Soleil production. I mention this because it is genuinely singular, and because it tells you something about what kind of performer he is: someone who understands spectacle without being consumed by it, who knows how to fill an unusual room.
On The Tall Tales Tour — a 2026 run through the US, Canada, and Europe — Williams is working material centered on fatherhood, travel, and the unpredictable chaos of live crowds. The show format runs an opener to set the tone followed by a 70-to-90-minute Williams set with crowd work built in. The San Antonio date lands on New Year’s Eve, which means the room arrives charged before Williams says a word. He has always been good with a charged room.
The Majestic Theatre San Antonio
San Antonio’s oldest and largest atmospheric theatre sits at 224 E Houston St, downtown, within walking distance of the River Walk and the Alamo. Eberson built the room with the atmospheric style’s signature effect: the ceiling is engineered to make you feel like you are sitting outside under an open sky, with plasterwork suggesting clouds and arches evoking a Spanish courtyard that does not quite exist anywhere else. The Las Casas Foundation’s 1989 restoration — $4.5 million — brought the room back to full operational life; ATG Entertainment operates it today.
The theater is fully accessible: step-free entry, wheelchair accommodations, accessible restrooms, and D/deaf and hard-of-hearing services. Bag policy prohibits backpacks and bags larger than 12″ × 6″ × 12″; medical and diaper bags are excepted.
For the full venue profile, see the Majestic Theatre San Antonio venue page. For more upcoming shows in the area: San Antonio concerts.
Tickets & Show Info
Doors open at 6:30 PM CT. Show begins at 7:30 PM CT on Thursday, December 31, 2026. No ticket pricing information is confirmed at time of publication. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and the Majestic Theatre box office.
Get Tickets — Brad Williams at the Majestic, New Year’s Eve 2026