There Stands the Glass

The Top Ten Albums of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Play Time- Magic Object
My review.

2. Lesley Mok- transient
My review.

3. Charli xcx- Music, Fashion, Film
Pop nihilism.

4. Oscar Maydon- Música En Mi Jetski
The cure for the summertime blues.

5. Matt Otto- Ephemeral
My review.

6. Nu Jazz- Un Jazz
My review.

7. Orquesta Akokán- América!
Mambo!

8. Punch Brothers- The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers
Highfalutin pickin’.

9. Willow- The Thread
Arena-jazz.

10. Jack White- Frozen Charlotte
He’s back in Wichita.

The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Gary Stewart- One Track Mind
Jukin’.

2. Seamus Blake- EH!: Plays the Music of Eddie Harris
Trying to make it real.

3. Nicholas Payton and Butcher Brown- A Supreme Blue
A bad idea made good.

The Top Ten Songs of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Shenseea- “Brucksweat”
Sweltering.

2. Larry June and DJ Fresh- “Organic Motion”
Blurry.

3. Tinashe- “Crash Out”
Psychotic reaction.

4. Ken Carson with Playboi Carti- “deaf note”
What?

5. Fathers- “STUB”
Nate Smith, Kiefer, Carrtoons and Kenny Beats.

6. Dinner Party- "Piece of Mind"
Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder.

7. Syd featuring James Fauntleroy- "Any Time"
Diamonds and pearls.

8. Nick Hakim- “The Reason”
Slow jam.

9. Show Me the Body- “Do What’s Right (Happy)”
Backsliding.

10. Rome Streetz featuring Westside Gunn- "Marathon Or Race"
Tortoise and hare.

The Top Ten Performances of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and John Doe at Starlight Theatre
My review.

2. Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “A Convocation of Exoplanets” at Charlotte Street Foundation
My review.

3. Graham Nash at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

4. Gerald Spaits’ Sax & Violins at Greenwood Social Hall
My review.

5. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at the Ship
My Instagram snapshot.

6. The Overland Park Civic Band at Thompson Park
My Instagram clip.

7. JWB with Ernest Melton at 515 Music Hub
My Instagram clip.

8. Trinity Jazz Ensemble at Prairie Baptist Church
My Instagram clip.

9. Eboni Fondren at Vine Street Brewing
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Sally’s Tomato at Black Dolphin
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Three legendary octogenarian singer-songwriters performed in Kansas City during the past four weeks. Paul Simon behaved like a genial contrarian at Starlight Theatre on June 16. Bob Dylan played his customary role of diffident enigma at the same venue on the Fourth of July. Unlike his contemporaries, Graham Nash gave more than 1,000 nostalgic fans precisely what they longed for at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Tuesday, July 14.

The positive vibrations and indelible melodies delivered by the planet’s last indispensable hippie indicated that the flower-power dream of the 1960s hasn’t been entirely vanquished. Nash and his taut three-piece backing band squeezed a potent batch of hits into a restorative ninety-minute set. (My ticket was comped.)

Paul McCartney aside, Nash is responsible for the rock era’s most substantive and enduring catalog of tender-hearted hits. Once written off as irredeemably soft, “Our House” and “Teach Your Children” are among the Nash songs that have become permanent parts of the cultural fabric.

Nash’s protest songs remain all-too relevant. Revivals of “Chicago,” “Immigration Man” and “Military Madness” were accompanied by pointed political screeds about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Interpretations of songs by Nash’s associates were just as rewarding, among them Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” and Graham Gouldman’s “Bus Stop.”

The majority of the audiences at the Simon and Dylan concerts almost certainly went home thinking the aged icons would never perform in Kansas City again. Nash’s boyish enthusiasm left an entirely different impression. Nash, 84, is nursing a knee injury. Yet not only is he feelin’ groovy, Nash appears to be forever young.

July 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Concert Review: Graham Nash at Muriel Kauffman Theatre