Best shows of 2024

in no particular order, and if pressed, a couple of them might have more than one show listed as I saw a few bands multiple times so I'm only listing them once...
 

Beat

Stones

Stray Cats

Gilmour

Dylan

Neil Young 

Soft Machine 

David Cross Band

Musical Box

Daniel Donato

The only extended GD family member I saw this year was Melvin who i saw 4 times, but the Garcia Project, JMF, Sam Grisman, JID shows kinda filled in that void for me. 

Good year for live music.   Three festivals, 29 stand alone shows with big touring acts, and countless shows from local bands.   Hard to rate them one to ten generally, but here are 10 standouts:

Widespread Panic at the St. Augustine Amphitheater (Sunday night was the most ass kicking show of the year)

Billy Strings at the Gorge for Outlaw Fest (hottest show temp wise and Billy's first show at the Gorge)

Hulaween (most crazy-ass psychedelic art installations and a good place to be when Phil left us)

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at the Edgefield (wettest show - soaked to the bone and half the crowd left because of the deluge)

Phil at the Warfield (last time I saw the man - RIP)

Rolling Stones at Lumen Field in Seattle (still overrated but big bucket list check)

Billy Strings 4/20 at the St. Augustine Amphitheater (most songs about weed)

lespecial at the Get Down (best new act)

Karl Denson's Tiny Unviverse feat. Nigel Hall from Lettuce at Revolution Hall (funkiest show with a whole set of Stevie Wonder tunes)

Greensky Bluegrass at Hoodoo Ski Area (most lucrative show - partner got bit by the organizer's dog left alone in the parking lot and the incident ended up covering our show costs for the whole year)

Here's to shows in 2025!

1) Acoustic Hot Tuna, 9/19/2024, Lincoln Theater, Mount Vernon, WA and 09/20/2024, Rialto Theater, Tacoma, WA

2) Willie Nelson, 08/10/2024, Outlaw Festival, The Gorge, George, WA

3) Richard Thompson Band, 11/03/2024, Showbox Marketplace, Seattle, WA

4) Billy Strings, 08/10/2024, Outlaw Festival, The Gorge, George, WA

 5) Los Lobos 01/31/2024, The Triple Door, Seattle, WA

6) Bob Dylan, 08/10/2024, Outlaw Festival, The Gorge, George, WA

7) Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin, 07/12/2024, Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA

I did see the Stones at Century Link Stadium, too, but was in a lot of physical pain after having moved a large collection of records and CDs I'd bought a couple of days earlier, and with Joe Bonamassa opening, don't have any real positive memories of that night.

In order

Billy -Berkeley

Billy - Huntsville

Billy - Atlanta

Young

Billy - Atlanta

Billy - Huntsville

Moe

Preservation Hall Jazz Band 

Stones

busy year, don't think i have 10..

Sturgill - SB Bowl

The Third Mind - Troubadour

Charley Crockett/ Asleep at the Wheel/ Junior Brown - LA Greek

Jerry's Middle Finger - Observatory + Troubadour

DNB - Redway

Paul Cauthen - Observatory

In no particular order:

Neil Young & CH

Stergill Simpson

Stones

Beat

David Gilmour

Anders Osborne & Tab Benoit

Daniel Donato

* Acoustic Hot Tuna *

The Brewkats (local Eugene band) - many shows

Sadly, I think that's all the live music I heard this year.

2024 albums in review (without comment):  

Anna Buttress, ‘Mighty Vertebrate’ 

James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg ‘All Gist’ 

Amaro Freitas, ‘Y’Y’ 

Nathan Bowles Trio, ‘Are Possible’ 

Jessica Pratt, ‘Here in the Pitch’ 

Alan Braufman, ‘Intimate Love Intimate Tears’ 

Josh Johnson, ‘Unusual Object’ 

The Octopus Project, ‘Sasquatch Sunset’ (OST) 

Arooj Aftab, ‘Night Reign’ 

Psychic Temple, ‘Doggie Paddlin’ Thru the Cosmic Consciousness’ 

Bill MacKay, ‘Locust Land’ 

Julian Lage, ‘Speak to Me’ 

Wadada Leo Smith, ‘Meditations’ 

Hermanos Gutierraz, ‘Sonido Cósmico’ 

Jake Xerxes Fussell, ‘When I’m Called’ 

Gaby Moreno, ‘Dusk’ 

Kamasi Washington, ‘Fearless Movement’ 

Steve Gunn & David Moore, ‘Live in London’ 

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis’ - S\T 

Tomeka Reid Quartet - ‘3+3’ 

Nubya Garcia, ‘Odyssey’ 

Eli Winter, ‘Ghost Notes’ 

Carlos Niño, Nate Mercerau, Idris Ackamoor, ‘Free, Dancing…’ 

Julius Rodriguez, ‘Evergreen’ 

Jenny Schumann, ‘All Species Parade’ 

William Parker, Cooper-Moore, Hamid Drake, ‘Heart Trio’ 

Wilco - ‘Hot Sun Cool Shroud’ 

Kenny Barron, ‘Beyond This Place’ 

Rosali ‘Bite Down’ 

Brandee Younger, ‘Serenity’ 

Shabaka, ‘Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace’ 

Steve Gunn, ‘Clean Floor’ 

Tomin, ‘A Willed and Conscious Balance’ 

Tomin, ‘Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina’ 

Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra - ‘Live at the Adler Planetarium’ 

Jeff Parker and the ETA IVTet, ‘The Way Out of East’ 

Weak Signal, ‘Fine’ 

Trent Reznor, ‘Challengers’ (OST) 

Beak>, ‘>>>>’ 

Luke Stewart, ‘Unknown Rivers’ 

Miguel Zenon, ‘Golden City’ 

BASIC, ‘This Is BASIC’ 

Dorothy Carter, ‘Troubadour’ (reissue) 

SML, ‘Small Medium Large’ 

Erik Friedlander, ‘Dirty Boxing’ 

Beings, ‘There is a Garden’ 

Walter Smith III, ‘three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not’ 

Steve Cropper - ‘Friendlytown’ 

The Los Angeles League of Musicians, ‘LA LOM’ 

Chuck Johnson, ‘Sun Glories’ 

Greg Foat, Sokratis Votskos, ‘Live at Villa Maximus’ 

... he shouted into the void 

be back with a top ten live of the year, maybe

bring it

Great list Ateix!

I didn't see many national acts this year;

Bonnie Raitt
Southern Culture on the Skids
BEAT
PAKT (w/ Percy Jones)
(likely forgetting something)

Saw at least 30 local / regional acts, and shared the stage with a dozen

Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Bob Dylan (2nd row Pit)

The Rolling Stones

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

 The Weight Band

 Oteil and Friends

 JRAD

 Govt Mule

 The Last Q Shows at The Capital.

 Phil and Friends 

 Warren Haynes Band

 Farm Aid

Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts

 Dog's in a Pile

Allman Betts Band

Darkstar Orchestra   ( Thanks Vorty)

Outlaw Music Festival

Duane Betts Horsehoe Music Festival in Jackson Hole Wyoming  3 days  and All Star Production!!!!  (This was Just awesome)

 Pretty awesome 2024, Not bad for an old Fuker!!! I may have missed a few, many little shows too....    Hope to see some freaks out to Rock out in 2025...   

Coyotte~

In no particular order; 

Karina Rykman 7/13

Leftover Salmon 7/3

Phish - night....

KGLW - 8/27

Geese - 8/27

Quay - 12/5

The Philly Orchestra - 12/21

2024:

https://www.concertarchives.org/voodoo-chile/concerts/the-peach-at-the-b...

Hey Coyote!

Dogs were quite good and a surprise.

Literally, I forgot they were in the lineup   

I second Tom's Goose at Frost 9/28

...and PnF at the Warfield 1/13.

I'll add 4/21 Phish at the Sphere ( wish I could have gone all 4 nights).

Gov't Mule @ Oakland Fox 2/17

DSO in Monterey 2/3

Yachtly Crew in Monterey 3/15 ( it was fun lol)

Thievery Corp at Mountain winery 6/1

Oteil & friends in Monterey 9/13

Pretty much it for me.
Can't really add the 2 nights of D &C at the Sphere because overall they were a disappointment except for Mickey Hart, who was awesome!!

Phish @ Dick's 7/30

Tool @ Moody Center 1/31

Andre 3000 @ Moody Theater 9/22

Phish @ MSG 12/29

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Circuit of the Americas 11/15

Osees @ Hotel Vegas 10/31

Billy Strings @ Moody Center 12/14

Beat @ Paramount Theater 8/21

X @ Paramount Theater 10/18

Wilco @ Moody Theater 12/7

I was supposed to hit Phish for the 1st time since like 1990 at Bethel Woods  ( A Freebie) But it was the night of the storm and tornadoes and blew it off, Didn't want to hang out in the rain...  It cleared up for show time and they played great show... Oh well maybe next year Ill try and check them out , after 30 years....

 Coyotte~

Hey Lance. Good to see you. I spent much of the last year getting back in touch with one of my first loves, cinema. Plus, I live in a smaller city now, and there is a bit more travel involved in getting to see a show worth hearing. So, live music took a bit of a back seat. Like you, I hit fewer shows this past year - maybe 25, and about six or seven festivals. And it would be particularly obtuse of me to include the operas and classical performances I attended, though one of two of them would easily break a best-of list. I will shout out some of those festival performances, though.

And that Jenny Scheinman album is great. Glad you got to see her. I'm looking forward to hearing her play in Frisell's band here in a couple of weeks. It was a great year for recorded music, and 2025 is starting off strong, so it's been nice to listen to more new artists while also hearing fresh compositions from some of my favorites.  

Anyway, here are some shows that resonated with me in 2024. Not going to rank 'em, though. To paraphrase Coppola, that's like saying "What's better, the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower? What do you think the Parthenon gets, four stars or five?" These just hit in the right way: 

Tomeka Reid Quartet / Tomas Fujiwara's 7 Poets Trio - Brown University 2/24 
* Both of the artists on the bill get on the list for me, not least of all because Fujiwara and Reid play in one another's groups. Then you add in Mary Halvorson into Reid's Quartet, and what you get is pure alchemy. Nobody plays guitar quite like Halvorson. This was a mind-bending afternoon program. 

Bill Frisell Three - The Narrows 3/2 
* He pops up later on, but this gets on the list for the dynamic interplay between him and Rudy Royston. The configuration was really interesting, with clarinetist Gregory Tardy rounding out the three-piece. Frisell's brand of contemporary jazz / "modern creative" means that each time he approaches a song, it is like landing on a new world, with creative peaks and valleys that he will uniquely explore each time he enters into the composition. I didn't include his album Orchestras on my list of recorded music from 2024, but it includes a rendition of "We Shall Overcome" that will bring you to tears. Potent stuff. 

Julian Lage - The Narrows 3/17 
* Two guitar phenoms in two weeks at the same venue. I had listened to Speak to Me (and others) in anticipation of the concert, but hearing it live landed it a completely different way. Slight changes to the group, but once again we have Rudy Royston on drums (one of the finest percussionists working in mainstream jazz), as well as Jorge Roeder on bass (who I have seen in Lage's band before). The band on the album is intense (includes Kris Davis on keys), but the interplay between the touring band with that core trio was unbelievable. 

Takuya Kuroda Quintet - Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club 3/30 
* On the list if for no other reason than the fun(k) factor. Listen to his album Midnight Crisp; it embodies the feeling of wandering the city at night, cruising past the neon light, funky backbeat behind and propulsive, delightful trumpet up front. Takuya has got a great stage presence, too: a little goofy, a little shy, but commands the audience and the comraderie between him and his bandmates is clear. 

Setting (Nathan Bowles / Jaime Fennelly / Joe Westerlund) - Myrtle 4/21 
* They put out one of my favorite albums of 2023 (Shone a Rainbow Light On, described as "four stately longform pieces [that] sound like a UFO slowly sinking into a peat bog"), and they brought the full mysterious power of that sound to town. Sort of a mix between Popol Vuh and The Necks with a dash of Codona, their set consisted of one long meditative piece that did, indeed, feel like a UFO taking off and landing. 

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - The Thing in the Spring 5/18 
* Fiery, angry punk jazz. I was just thrilled to finally get to hear Ribot play with this group; it seems like Shahzad Ismaely is everywhere these days, including backing Wadada Leo Smith at this very festival (astounding) but to hear the insanity that is Ribot, Ismaely and Ches Smith was a revelation. 

Charles Lloyd Sky Trio - Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club 6/2/24 
* Bit of a prestige inclusion on the list, but it was a birthday show and I don't know how many times I'll get the chance to see Charles Lloyd perform with Brian Blade and Larry Grenadier in the future. Blade is a quiet force of nature, compelling to watch and the interplay between him and Grenadier was fascinating.  

Bill Frisell Four - Newport Jazz 8/2/24 
* A set that started slow, like breathing in before diving deep into the ethereal space that it created on a warm summer Friday afternoon. A totally different lineup than the Bill Frisell Three, this group (like many of Bill's projects) transformed standards into transcendental anthems, cowboy songs into plaintive meditations on the American landscape and generally levitated the entire audience. It was fun hearing the young musicians behind me (who I had heard play at a street festival a few weeks prior) identifying his variations on pop tunes and jazz standards as he weaved and wove them into something else entirely. Johnathan Blake on drums here, plus Gerald Clayton on piano and, again, Gregory Tardy on clarinet. An absolute spell of a set. 

Johnathan Blake Pentad - Newport Jazz 8/3/24 
* Pound for pound one of the most talented (if not the most talented) units that I saw perform this year. Pentad consists of Joel Ross (vibes), Immanuel Wilkins (reeds), Dezron Douglas (bass; you know him from TAB), David Virelles (piano) and of course Blake on drums, as leader and primary composer/arranger. Improvisation and interplay on another level. Blake had a wonderful year, and has found a lifelong fan in me. 

Amaro Freitas - Newport Jazz 8/4/24 
* One of the sets I was most looking forward to at Newport Jazz, Freitas (employing both conventional and prepared techniques, at one point imitating the sounds of the Brazilian rainforest by manipulating the innards of his piano) brought his great Brazilian trio and transported the audience into some mystical space. His rhythm section of Dave Zinno and Rafael Barata (a suitable name) absolutely complimented and accented the nuances of the journey. 

Makaya Mcraven & Jeff Parker - Newport Jazz 8/4/24 
* Picture-perfect conclusion to a weekend of great improvisational music, theirs was a set consisting entirely of spontaneous composition. With Junius Paul on bass and Josh Johnson on saxophone and electronics, there was an improvisatory push-and-pull between these guys that never felt hurried or forced but slowly unfolded in its brilliance. I had heard Junius Paul and Makaya Mcraven backing Brandee Younger on some Alice Coltrane music earlier in the weekend, so I was familiar with their game, but this set was a highlight (if not the highlight) of the weekend.

Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders - Deep in the Valley III 8/10/24 
* In an afternoon of deep-fried psychedelic groups, Jeffery Alexander stood out with a set that consisted only of a 45 minute rendition of "Dark Star." Totally fried and went to some cool spaces. 

Los Lobos - The Narrows 10/10/24 
*  Another prestige inclusion, but I have seen Los Lobos maybe fifteen times now and, for as consistently great as they are, each performance highlights something new from their world that I hadn't seen them explore before. Obviously they bring out their 50s-inflected rock 'n roll almost each and every show, but here they deployed a few songs that I hadn't heard, before eventually culminating in a tour-de-force cover of "Crossroads" that had Hidalgo raining fire and lightning through his Telecaster. Masters of their craft. 

Hamilton De Holanda Trio - URI and Mandolin Festival 10/19/24 
* Another for the Brazilian music lovers, Hamilton De Holanda's trio consisted of him on electric mandolin plus a keyboardist that doubled on Moog synth and a real mean drummer. I've been into this music since I located a copy of that collection Grisman did of Jacob Do Bandolim's choro music, and De Holanda's music is like a logical evolution of that style. He brings in a freer, more improvisatory approach and incorporates elements of MBP and contemporary jazz, but at its heart this is dance music that you turn on and turn up for a good time. 

The irony of course is that for many of these, this likely was just another nite for the artist - but for me, it was a highlight and the art that they brought was something I have thought about time and time again since hearing it performed. 

And a tip of the hat to you for keeping the tradition alive.