The Top Kansas City Albums and EPs of 2026 (so far)

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2026 (so far)
1. Joyce DiDonato and Time For Three- Emily: No Prisoner Be
My associated concert review.

2. Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas and Ted Nash- Triological
My review.

3. Kevin Morby- Little Wide Open
“Alone in the middle of middle America.”

4. Stik Figa and Heather Grey- Cold Comfort
Adult hip-hop.

5. Mike Dillon and Nolatet- Somethin’ to Relax With
My review.

6. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye III+
My review.

7. Samantha Fish- Paper Doll: Live at the Bijou
Knoxville rocks.

8. Hermon Mehari and NO(w) Beauty- (Un)seen
My review.

9. Betty Bryant- Nothin’ Better to Do
My review.

10. Shawn Edward Hansen- Station To Station 3: Sound Installation, Black
Dark hum.

11. Seth Andrew Davis and Project C4- Techno Chapel
My review.

12. LeVelle- All In Love
Grown and sexy R&B.

13. Brandon Draper- Handpan Meditations
A new age for New Age.

14. Metropolis Ensemble, Erik Hall and Sandbox Percussion- Canto Ostinato
Elite new music.

15. Shawn Edward Hansen and Sterling Holman- SHSH
Not so quiet.

16. Joey Cool- Time Will Tell
It’s his time.

17. Jason Stein, Seth Andrew Davis and Adam Shead- Forge
My review.

18. Shawn Edward Hansen and Sean Julian- The God's Script
Semi-sacred.

19. Shawn Edward Hansen and Nathan Pape- Banquets of All Intolerables
Plink plank.

20. Shawn Edward Hansen- Station To Station 2: Sound Installation, Yellow
Ground control.

21. Natalie Prauser- Everything Is Fine
Honky tonkin’.

22. Chris Hazelton- In Rotation
My review.

23. Cheery- All the Life I Long for is Waiting in Liverpool
June 26 release.

24. Shawn Edward Hansen- you can’t take it with you
YOLO.

25. Norman Brown- Authentically Norman
My review.

The Top Ten Kansas City EPs of 2026 (so far)
1. Stik Figa- It mean sumthin’ to me
Consequential.

2. RMW- W
Winning.

3. Mortal Coil/Legalize Homicide- Split
Deadly.

4. Rich The Factor- Rose Out the Concrete 3
KC’s the town.

5. RMW and God’s Computer- God Doesn’t Play Dice
Snake eyes.

6. Alaskan Tapes- Blank Slate, Open Space
Saxophone and piano.

7. Rich The Factor- Orca Alley
Real whale music.

8. RMW- Hermès Link
Name brand.

9. Unity Ticket- Unity Ticket
If the kids are united…

10. RMW- Zombie
Undead.

The year-end tally for 2025 is here.

February 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Staatsoper Wien’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of February 2026
1. Jill Scott- To Whom This May Concern
My review.

2. James Brandon Lewis and the Messthetics- Deface the Currency
Physical graffiti.

3. Bill Frisell- In My Dreams
Where the deer and the antelope play.

4. Charlie XCX- Wuthering Heights
Smoldering art-pop.

5. Tomeka Reid- dance! skip! hop!
With Mary Halvorson, Jason Roebke and Tomas Fujiwara.

6. Mandy, Indiana- Urgh
Yikes.

7. Melissa Aldana- Filin
My review.

8. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye III+
Everything at once.

9. Tigran Hamasyan- Manifeste
My review.

10. J. Cole- The Fall-Off
Farewell.

The Top Three Reissues of February 2026
1. Art Pepper- Everything Happens to Me: 1959, Live at the Cellar
My review.

2. Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical- Galaxia Tropical
Peruvian cumbia from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

3. Alexander Gibson- Opening the Doors
A seven-hour survey of the late Scottish conductor’s work.

The Top Ten Songs of February 2026
1. Jorge Drexler- "Toco madera"
Sparkling MPB #1.

2. Fabiano do Nascimento and Vittor Santos Orchestra-  “O Tempo (Foi O Meu Mestre)”
Sparkling MPB #2.

3. svn4evr- "veil"
Incredulous gospel.

4. Adrian Younge- “Portschute”
My new theme song.

5. LaVelle- "Suga"
Sweet soul music.

6. Ella Mai- "First Day"
Boo’d up.

7. xaviersobased- “Party at My Place”
Don’t bother knocking.

8. Billy Woods featuring Fatboi Sharif- “Funny Games”
Funny, not funny..

9. Willow featuring Kamasi Washington- "Play"
Recess.

10. The Womack Sisters- “You Went Away Too Long”
Family tradition.

The Top Ten Performances of February 2026
1. Joyce DiDonato and Time For Three at the Folly Theater
My review.

2. Isaac Cates & Ordained at Village Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

3. UMKC Conservatory’s “Carmen” at White Theater
My review.

4. Joshua Redman Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

5. Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Porgy and Bess” at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My Instagram snapshot.

6. KC Winter Jazzfest at Cap Gun Studios
My review.

7. Jericho Brown at Arrupe Auditorium
My Instagram snapshot.

8. Robert Stubbs at Country Club Christian Church
My Instagram clip.

9. Matt Otto, Aaron Sizemore, Ben Tervort and Mike Warren at the Music House
My Instagram clip.

10. The International Center for Music at Asbury Methodist Church
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Concert Review: Joyce DiDonato and Time For Three at the Folly Theater

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Joyce DiDonato rolled around on the floor of the Folly Theater stage again on February 14, 2026. In a convincing portrayal of Emily Dickinson, DiDonato writhed, twitched and skipped amid a haunting representation of the poet’s room. 

The Valentine’s Day outing for an audience of almost 1,000 was no less stunning than DiDonato’s physically strenuous 2022 presentation in the same venue. (I bought discounted tickets for the two best seats in the house for $43.50 apiece on Black Friday.)

Accompanied by Time For Three in a rendering of their new collaborative album Emily: No Prisoner Be, DiDonato made her operatic park-and-bark peers look like unfit dullards. A trailer about the project provides a concise explanation of composer Kevin Puts’ intent in scoring Dickenson’s poetry. 

The Victorian undercurrent of "Because I could not stop for death" is among the Emily: No Prisoners Be selections that wouldn’t seem out of place on Wuthering Heights, the string-laden, occasionally quasi-classical new album by pop star Charlie XCX. It was even more alluring live.

The version of the title track concluding the concert was a dead ringer for a new-grass anthem by Nickel Creek, further proof that high art needn’t be or inaccessible That sensibility made DiDonato the There Stands the Glass 2022 Person of the Year. She’s now operating at an even more elevated level.

The Top Kansas City Albums and EPs of 2025

The Top Kansas City Albums of 2025

1. Mister Water Wet- Things Gone and Things Here Still
Astounding.

2. Carl Allen- Tippin’
Plastic Sax review.

3. Brittany Davis- Black Thunder
Plastic Sax review.

4. Emily D’Angelo, Ben Bliss, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Metropolitan Opera- Tesori: Grounded
Ben Bliss’ breakout performance.

5. Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro- Purcell: Dido & Aeneas
Rapturous.

6. Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier- Soul Song
Plastic Sax review.

7. Pete Fucinaro- Little Window
Plastic Sax review.

8. Snocaps- Snocaps
Jangly.

9. Idle Heirs- Life is Violence and Life is Violence: The Instrumentals
Metallic crunch.

10. Tech N9ne- 5816 Forest
There Stands the Glass review.

11. Sandbox Percussion- Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
The only way is up.

12. Seth Andrew Davis and Krista Kopper- Popular Mechanics
Plastic Sax review.

13. Stik Figa- A Small Fortune
Buried treasure.

14. Henry Scamurra- Urban Forum
Plastic Sax review.

15. Kansas City Chorale- The Mirage Calls
Stellar suite.

16. Drew Williams- Demons Hate Fresh Air
Dank.

17. Samantha Fish- Paper Doll
Tougher than leather.

18. RMW- The King of Kansas City
There Stands the Glass review.

19. TheBabeGabe- Honeypop and Honeypop: Reloaded 
Delicious.

20. Jackie Myers- What About the Butterfly
In full flight.

21. Gerald Spaits- Sunday Night Live at Green Lady Lounge
Plastic Sax review.

22. Shiner- Beliveyoume
Truth.

23. Eddie Moore- What Makes Us
Plastic Sax review.

24. Shawn Edward Hansen- Radio Price Tower
Bartlesville ambience.

25. The Freedom Affair- The Freedom Affair
Elite retro-soul.

26. Ty Faizon- Until the War Is Won…
Rap battles.

27. Jake Wesley Rogers- In the Key of Love
In tune.

28. Brian Baggett Trio- Nothing Left to Lose; Live at Green Lady Lounge, Volume 2
Plastic Sax review.

29. Nathan Granner and the Barbary Coast Orchestra - Gordon Getty: Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Nathan Granner shines.

30. Drifter- Grigori
Doom.

The Top Kansas City EPs of 2025

1. Prism Quartet- El Eco de un Tambor
Plastic Sax review.

2. Stakes Is High- Stakes Is High
Frenetic.

3. Matt Pryor- The Salton Sea and The Salton Sea Demos
Middle-aged emo.

4. Flooding- object 1
Slowcore.

5. Lorna Kay- Lorna Kay
Burn another honky tonk down.

6. Rich the Factor- NFT Scritch 3
KC currency.

7. Greg LaFollette- Liturgical Songs, Volume One
Holy, holy, holy.

8. Flora From Kansas- Homesick
There’s no place like home.

9. The Almighty Trouble Brothers- A History of Poor Decisions
Up to no good.

10. Radkey- Victory
For the win.

Explanatory note: Each artist was limited to one release to prevent multiple recordings by the prolific Seth Davis, Greg LaFollette, Hermon Mehari, Rich Tha Factor, RMW, Stik Figa and Drew Williams from dominating the rankings. Last year’s tabulation is here.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year

Original image of the view from Mozart’s second home in Salzburg by There Stands the Glass.

I’m a walking advertisement for music tourism. I’ve wheeled trips to North American cities including Chicago, Knoxville, New York, Portland and Toronto around a variety of concerts and festivals in recent years. I expanded my range in 2024.

As a natural progression of my snowballing obsession with classical music, I traveled to Austria to visit the two cities most associated with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Treks to the genius’ childhood homes in Salzburg left me breathless. Attending worship services in Mozart-affiliated churches in Salzburg and Vienna provided even more meaningful experiences.

More significantly, I felt at home in Vienna, a subdued city filled with cafés, bookshops and classical music. Even though I don’t speak the language, wear fashionable clothes or smoke cigarettes, I’m aligned with the Viennese. I’m sympathetic to their bookish stoicism, cultural elitism and judgemental temperament. 

I discovered my aesthetic home thanks to Mozart. That’s just one of the many reasons Mozart is my artist of the year. Honorable mentions: Zach Bryan, Anna Butterss and Nick Shoulders. Previous recipients of There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year designation are Hilary Hahn (2023), Joyce DiDonato (2022), Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of the Past 25 Years (excluding jazz)

Geographically isolated and persistently ostracized by coastal tastemakers, Kansas City’s various music communities have developed unhealthy underdog postures since 2000. The wrong artists, consequently, are often embraced for erroneous reasons. The following ranking of one observer’s favorite albums by Kansas City artists released in the first 25 years of the new millennium is intended as a benevolent corrective. It’s also a celebration of excellence. Artists are limited to single selections. A corresponding list of jazz albums is here. 

1. Fat Tone- Only in Killa City (2002)

2. Tech N9ne- Everready (2006)

3. Joyce DiDonato- Diva, Divo (2011)

4. Blackstarkids- Surf (2020)

5. Making Movies- A La Deriva (2014)

6. Mac Lethal- 11:11 (2007)

7. Ron Ron- Mr. No It All (2007)

8. Janelle Monaé- The ArchAndroid (2010)

9. Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys- The Spectacular Sadness of… (2000)

10. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be (2022)

11. Huerco S.- Plonk (2022)

12. The Grisly Hand- Country Singles (2013)

13. Little Hatch- Rock With Me Baby (2003)

14. Rich the Factor- Rose Out the Concrete (2016)

15. Kelly Hunt- Even the Sparrow (2019)

16. Sandbox Percussion- Seven Pillars (2021)

17. Stik Figa- The City Under the City (2013)

18. Samantha Fish- Chills & Fever (2017)

19. Coalesce- Ox (2009)

20. Waxahatchee- Tigers Blood (2024)

21. Ces Cru- Capture Enemy Soldiers (2004)

22. The Get Up Kids- There Are Rules (2011)

23. Ebony Tusks- Heal Thyself (2020)

24. Krystle Warren- Circles (2009)

25. Reggie and the Full Effect- Songs Not to Get Married To (2005)

January 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Oper Graz’s production of Giuseppi Verdi’s Macbeth by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of January

1. Willi Carlisle- Critterland
Folk masterstroke.

2. Abdullah Ibrahim- 3
The octogenarian in peak form.

3. Piotr Anderszewski- Bartók, Janáček, Szymanowski
On an overgrown path.

4. Philip Glass- Solo
Greatest hits hits hits hits hits hits hits hits.

5. Kali Uchis- Orquídeas
Panoramic pop.

6. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin’
My review.

7. Luis R Conriquez- Corridos Bélicos, Vol. IV
What border?

8. Danielle Nicole- The Love You Bleed
My audio feature for KCUR.

9. The Smile- Wall of Eyes
Frippery.

10. Behzod Abduraimov- Shadows of My Ancestors
Prokofiev, Saidaminova and Ravel.

Top Ten Songs of January

1. Joel Ross- “bach (God the Father in Eternity)”
Sanctified.

2. Brian Harnetty- "The Workbench"
A loving sound collage.

3. Mary Halvorson- “Desiderata”
Now that’s what I call shredding!

4. Idles- "Gift Horse"
Ugly as homemade sin.

5. Sleater-Kinney- "Small Finds"
Needles.

6. Sprints- "Heavy"
Gravity.

7. Erick the Architect featuring George Clinton- "Ezekiel's Wheel"
Cosmic slop.

8. SleazyWorld Go- ​​"32 Bars"
Shots fired.

9. Ana Tijoux featuring Pablo Chili-E- "Dime que"
Chee-chee-chee, lay-lay-lay.

10. Ufo361 featuring lucidbeats and Ken Carson- "RICK OWENS"
If the shoe fits…

Top Ten Concerts of January

1. Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Helzberg Hall
My review.

2. UMKC Conservatory’s “Suor Angelica” at the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
My Instagram photo.

3. Joyce DiDonato’s master class at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram photo.

4. Joyce DiDonato with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall
My review.

5. Arnold Young’s RoughTet at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram clip.

6. Wire Town at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

7. Bryan Hicks, Matt Otto and Charles Gatschet at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram photo.

8. Cynthia van Roden at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.

9. Jun Iwasaki’s violin master class at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram photo.

10. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s master class at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
My Instagram photo.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Concert Review: Joyce DiDonato at Helzberg Hall

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Deanna Ray Eberhart fangirled during her session at a master class conducted by Joyce DiDonato at Helzberg Hall on Thursday, January 11. Rather than responding appropriately to a vocal example provided by DiDonato, Eberhart exclaimed something like “hearing that up close is so cool!”

I completely sympathize with Eberhart. DiDonato, the iconic international star from Prairie Village, Kansas, was my 2022 Artist of the Year. DiDonato’s innovation approach has been a key component of my gradual embrace of operatic music. Her magnificent voice is among my favorite instruments.

I spent $39 for a lousy seat high above the stage during the first of DiDonato’s three concerts with the Kansas City Symphony on Friday, January 12. Yet for a moment I felt something akin to Eberhart’s experience. Due to an odd acoustical effect, the first offstage missive made by DiDonato in her dramatic entrance to Charles Ives’ ethereal “The Unanswered Question” seemed as if it had been whispered directly into my ear.

Nothing else in the lengthy program equaled the Ives, although a rendition of Gustav Mahler’s "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" appeared to be excellent from my dicey location. I also relished DiDonato’s separate encores of Strauss’ “Morgen!” and sappy but heartrending readings of “Danny Boy” and “Shenandoah”.

I won’t include my opinions about the remainder of the program here, other than to note intriguing new pieces by Joel Thompson and Chen Yi and Zhou Long were performed. Rather than splurging on a good seat for the two repeat performances this weekend, I might binge on a few of the hours of previous DiDonato master classes online.

Opera Review: The Metropolitan Opera’s “The Hours”

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I correctly assumed the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere production of "The Hours" would eventually make its way to PBS.  What I didn’t anticipate is how difficult the opera would be to watch.  The unflinching depiction of hopeless despair is unbearably grim.  I repeatedly paused the three-hour broadcast lest I fall into a sympathetic depression.  The three stars- Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming and Kelli O’Hara- portray the suicidal gloom devised by Kevin Puts and librettist Greg Pierce, based on a novel by Michael Cunningham and inspired by the work and life of Virginia Woolf, with upsetting fidelity.  Everything about “The Hours” is outstanding- and that’s why it’s almost unendurable.

Joyce DiDonato: There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year

Original image of promotional bookmark picturing Kelli O’Hara, Joyc DiDonato and Renée Fleming by There Stands the Glass.

Friends and family remain mystified by my embrace of opera.  The widespread assumption that the form is the exclusive domain of wealthy elitists is pervasive- and deservedly so.  Yet until approximately 100 years ago, opera was a ubiquitous form of popular music.  The music didn’t change.  Instead, the ways in which the music was presented became cost-prohibitive and classist.  Joyce DiDonato is aware of opera’s image problem.  The celebrity soprano dedicated a significant portion of her energy in 2022 to audience outreach.  Without compromising her artistry, DiDonato’s concerts in support of the glorious album Eden and her other projects rendered opera relevant and accessible.  Harmonious with my own attitude, DiDonato’s initiatives make her There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year.

Honorable mention: Mary Halvorson, Moor Mother and Sault.  The previous winners of the Artist of the Year designation are Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).