The Top EPs of 2025

Only because the rollout of his recent work was so aggravating, I disqualified Makaya McCraven for this exercise. I dispensed with the four excellent EPs released by the disruptive musician in 2025 by collectively placing them at #9 in this ranking. A few household names are interspersed with weirdos of all stripes in the following list of multi-song sets with run times of less than thirty minutes.

1. Gabriel Jacoby- gutta child
D’Angelo lives.

2. Nathy Peluso- Malportada
Dizzying salsa.

3. Prism Quartet- El Eco de un Tambor
My review.

4. Earl Sweatshirt- Live Laugh Love
More rap songs.

5. Maruja- Tir na nÓg
My review.

6. Adrian Younge- Something About April III
Orchestral MPB.

7. Billy F Gibbons- Cruising with Billy F Gibbons
Beer drinker and hell raiser.

8. Rafiq Bhatia- Each Dream, A Melting Door
Paint them black.

9. Xiao- Control
Swedish power violence.

10. Hyldon- JID023
The Brazilian octogenarian revived and refreshed.

11. Jack White- No Name Live
Back in the garage.

12. Mavi- The Pilot
Underground sobriety.

13. Himari- Himari
Child prodigy.

14. Squint- Drag
Heavier than the Gateway Arch.

15. Stakes Is High- Stakes Is High
KC punx.

16. Lizzie Berchie- Night Shift
Lush neo-soul.

17. Sam Gendel and James McAlister- Diamond Staircase
One of several new Gendel EPs.

18. RMW and Maadcxmmander- Pretty Boy Swag
This, right here.

19. Julius Asal- Siena Tapes
Ravel recital.

20. DJ Python- i was put on this earth
Downcast beats.

21. Anysia Kym- Purity
Beats by Tony Seltzer.

22. Lazerbeak- To Be Tubing
Gently down the (Doomtree) stream.

23. Matt Pryor- The Salton Sea
Adult emo.

24. Flooding- adult 1
Kansas City art-punk.

25. Vince Gill- 50 Years from Home: Secondhand Smoke
Tender mercies.

The Top Performances of 2025

Original image of Jake Heggie at Grant Recital Hall by There Stands the Glass.

I attended 154 concerts at 72 venues on 140 days during the first eleven months of 2025. Club-hopping accounts for the discrepancy. I didn’t attend any major festivals. The most expensive ticket I purchased cost $65. My total outlay for tickets, cover charges and tips for musicians was more than $2,500. A significant change in my personal life as well as the likelihood of my health insurance premiums tripling next year could mean that 2025 was my last hurrah as an avid concertgoer. If that proves to be the case, the fifty performances listed here are all the more meaningful.

1. Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

2. Callie Day and Isaac Cates at Grant Recital Hall
My Instagram clip.

3. Wayne Hancock and IV at Live at the Divide (Bozeman)
My Instagram clips are here and here.

4. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

5. Speed, Whispers, Spine and Stakes Is High at the Ship
My Instagram clips are here and here.

6. Swamp Dogg at the Lawrence Arts Center
My review.

7. 10cc at Ranch Mart Shopping Center
My review.

8. Terence Blanchard with the E-Collective and Turtle Island String Quartet at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

9. OHMA at the 1905 (Portland)
My review.

10. Branford Marsalis Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

11. Jake Heggie’s master class at Grant Recital Hall
My review.

12. Angela Hewitt at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

13. Traxman and Xanna at miniBar
My review.

14. Horsegirl, Sweeping Promises and Godcaster at the Bottleneck
My review.

15. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
My review.

16. Nick Hmeljak, Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Jordan Faught and Jaylen Ward at Westport Coffee House
My review.

17. Hayden Pedigo and Jens Kuross at the Ship
My review.

18. The Gesualdo Six at Village Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

19. Militarie Gun, Liquid Mike and Public Opinion at the Bottleneck
My review.

20. Butch Hancock, Bonnie Whitmore, My Politic, Aaron Lee Tasjan and BJ Barham at the Woody Guthrie Festival (Okemah)
My review.

21. Dead Heat, Stakes Is High, Failure Drill and Honey at Howdy
My Instagram clip.

22. Leonidas Kavakos and Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

23. Isaiah Collier at the Old Church (Portland)
My review.

24. Destroyer and Jennifer Castle at the Warehouse on Broadway
My review.

25. David Chael, Danny Embrey, Gerald Spaits and Brian Steever at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

26. Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift at Knuckleheads
My review.

27. Elvis Costello at the Uptown Theater
My Instagram clip.

28. Deborah Brown and George Colligan at Upcycle Piano Craft
My Instagram clip.

29. Alexander Adams, Seth Andrew Davis and Jeff Goulet with Shanté Clair and Krista Kopper at Grand Avenue Temple
My Instagram clip and snapshot.

30. Maria Ioudenitch and Navo Chamber Orchestra at Southminster Presbyterian Church
My Instagram snapshot.

31. Leonkoro String Quartet at the 1900 Building
My Instagram snapshot.

32. Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds and Dan Jones and the Squids at recordBar
My Instagram clip.

33. Made in France at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.

34. Lil Wayne and Tyga at the T-Mobile Center
My review.

35. Bachathon at Village Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

36. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Becoming a Redwood: The Songs of Lori Laitman and Dana Gioia” at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
My Instagram snapshot.

37. Vanessa Thomas, Kara Smith, Michael Pagán and Steve Rigazzi at the Blue Room
My Instagram clip.

38. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino
My review.

39. Joseph Genualdi and Sean Chen at White Recital Hall
My review.

40. Isaac Cates, Oleta Adams and Callie Day at the Church of the Resurrection
My Instagram clip.

41. claire rousey and Gretchen Korsmo at Holocene (Portland)
My review.

42. Garibaldi Trio at the 1900 Building
My review.

43. Les Arts Florissants with Théotime Langlois de Swarte at the Folly Theater
My Instagram clip.

44. Bram and Lucy Wijnands with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestraa at the Folly Theater
My review.

45. Vine Street Rumble at Shawnee Town
My Instagram snapshot.

46. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Cruzar” with Mariachi los Camperos at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

47. David Finckel and Wu Han at the Old Church (Portland)
My Instagram snapshot.

48. Devin Gray at the Ship
My review.

49. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram clip.

50. Deftones, Idles at the Barbarians of California at the T-Mobile Center
My review.

Last year’s concert ranking is here.

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.

May 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Festspielhaus Baden-Baden’s production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of May 2025

1. Billy Woods- Golliwog
Darkness.

2. Cosmic Ear- Traces
My review.

3. Barbara Hannigan- Electric Fields
Splendor.

4. Grupo Firme- Evolución
Tijuana’s finest.

5. Arve Henriksen- Arcanum
Tomorrow is (still) the question.

6. Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons- Live in Philadelphia
Traveling turbulent spaceways.

7. Milena Casado- Reflection of Another Self
My review.

8. Morgan Wallen- I’m the Problem
Same.

9. Mike and Tony Selzer- Pinball II
Slurry.

10. James Brandon Lewis- Abstraction is Deliverance
Clearly defined.

The Top Three Reissues, Reimaginings and Broadsides of May 2025

1. Irène Schweizer- Irène’s Hot Four
At Internationales Jazzfestival Zürich in 1981.

2. Pink Floyd- Live at Pompeii MCMLXXII
Steven Wilson’s remix of the 1971 concert.

3. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band- Land of Hope & Dreams
Chimes of freedom flashing.

The Top Ten Songs of May 2025

1. Badbadnotgood and V.C.R- “Found a Light (Beale Street)”
Illuminated.

2. Brandee Younger- “Gadabout Season”
Flittering.

3. Kali Uchis- “Sugar! Honey! Love!”
Sweet.

4. Lizzie Berchie- "Happiness"
It’s possible.

5. Karol G- “Milagros”
Yet another minor miracle.

6. HiTech featuring Lovesexy- “Empty Bus Stop”
Decadence.

7. Bruiser Wolf- “Air Fryer”
High comedy.

8. Stereolab- “Vermona F Transistor”
Spare parts.

9. Evan Bartels- "Montana"
My review.

10. Hardy- “Girl with a Gun”
Hands up.

The Top Ten Performances of May 2025

1. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

2. Speed, Whispers, Spine and Stakes Is High at the Ship
My Instagram clips here and here.

3. Maria Ioudenitch and Navo Chamber Orchestra at Southminster Presbyterian Church
My Instagram snapshot.

4. Bachathon at Village Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

5. Rod Fleeman, Gerald Spaits and Ray DeMarchi at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

6. Stephanie Larsen, Maria Crosby, Duncan Steele and Sunho Kim at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
My Instagram snapshot.

7. Vine Street Rumble at Shawnee Town 1929 Museum
My Instagram snapshot.

8. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box at Meadowbrook Park
My Instagram clip.

9. Aztlan at Guadalupe Center
My Instagram clip.

10. Ken Stringfellow at Knuckleheads
My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly recap is here.

March 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for the Royal Opera’s production of Charles Gounod’s Faust by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of March 2025
1. Vijay Iyer and Leo Wadada Smith- Defiant Life
Resistance.

2. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Bone Bells
“What tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells.”

3. Destroyer- Dan’s Boogie
Regrettably, I know just what he means.

4. Nels Cline- Consentrik Quartet
My review.

5. clipping.- Dead Channel Sky
Overcast.

6. Anouar Brahem- After the Last Sky
Light in darkness.

7. Jan Lisiecki- Preludes by Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Messiaen, Górecki
All killer, no filler.

8. Bob James and Dave Koz- Just Us
My review.

9. Slim Thug and Propain- Double Cup
Still tippin’.

10. Stik Figa and DJ Sean P- A Small Fortune
Buried treasure.

The Top Three Reissues, Repackagings and Reimaginings of March 2025
1. Art Pepper- Geneva 1980
Late-career fire.

2. Neil Young- Oceanside Countryside
Previously unreleased 1977 album.

3. Branford Marsalis Quartet- Belonging
A replication of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 album.

The Top Ten Songs of March 2025
1. Nathy Peluso- “Erotika”
Salsa. 

2. PremRock featuring Cavalier and Elucid- “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
Bad guys.

3. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal- “Misery”
Muck and mire.

4. feeble little horse- “This Is Real”
Debaser.

5. Mackenzie Carpenter- “Gone Fishing”
Hook, line and sinker.

6. Maren Morris- “Carry Me Through”
Self help.

7. Black Country, New Road- “Happy Birthday”
Fourpenny opera.

8. Dierks Bentley featuring Stephen Wilson Jr.- "Cold Beer Can"
Pop a top.

9. Little Simz- "Free"
Priceless.

10. TheBabeGabe and The Human featuring Monogram- "1999"
They were dreaming when they wrote this.

The Top Ten Performances of March 2025
1. Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift at Knuckleheads
My review.

2. Branford Marsalis Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

3. Dead Heat, Stakes Is High, Failure Drill and Honey at Howdy
My Instagram clip.

4. Leonidas Kavakos and Danil Trifonov at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

5. Leonkoro at the 1900 Building
My Instagram snapshot.

6. Bram and Lucy Wijnands and the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at the Folly Theater
My review.

7. Thomas Dunford at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
My Instagram snapshot.

8. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Becoming a Redwood: The Songs of Lori Laitman and Dana Gioia” at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
My Instagram snapshot.

9. Dawson Jones at Green Lady Lounge
My review.

10. The Lyric Opera’s “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna” with Mariachi los Camperos at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

The previous monthly recap is here.