The Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform an intimate New Year's Eve gig in Las Vegas.

The "Under the Bridge" hitmakers are set to take a break from large-scale festivals by bringing in the new year with their first Vegas show in seven years on December 31, performing to just 4,000 fans. The rock group will take over the Chelsea concert hall, which has previously hosted special NYE gigs by the likes of Jay-Z, Coldplay and Stevie Wonder. The one-off event will be broadcast live on the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel's outdoor digital marquee.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers - who released their tenth studio album I'm With You in August 2011 - will continue their world tour in January when they play their first ever shows in Australia and South Africa. The band began releasing 18 brand new tracks on August 14, which will be available both digitally and on two-song seven-inch vinyl singles over the next six months.

The extra songs were recorded during sessions for their latest album, and the rockers felt they were so good that they deserved to be heard. "Finding songs that seem to want to join hands with others is a special task that require the right people ... and the right songs! Some songs seem to have a lot more of an agenda than others. Some songs play well with others and some songs need more attention and a little extra care. Here are some songs that seemed to want to pair up and take a later train. Keep your eye on them, they're up to something," said the group's guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer.