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.

October 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Vincenzo Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of October 2025*
1. Clarice Jensen- In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness
Bach-based drones.

2. Patricia Brennan- Of the Near and Far
Infinite.

3. Laura Jurd- Rites & Revelations
New rituals.

4. Charles Lloyd- Figure in Blue
Rapturous sketches.

5. Jakob Bro, Wadada Leo Smith and Marcus Gilmore- Murasaki
Wadada #1.

6. Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith- Angel Falls
Wadada #2.

7. Militarie Gun- God Save the Gun
Firepower.

8. Yazmin Lacey- Teal Dreams
Think Jill Scott, not KC Current.

9. Meredith Monk- Cellular Songs
Primordial.

10. The Necks- Disquiet
Unsettling.

*October 31 releases excluded.

The Top Three Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of October 2025
1. Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska ‘82: Expanded Edition
Reasons to believe.

2. Peggy Lee- Mirrors: Expanded Edition
Existentialism courtesy of Leiber and Stoller.

3. JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown- Scaring the Hoes: Director's Cut
Refreshed version of the disruptive 2023 classic.

The Top Ten Songs of October 2025
1. Nathy Peluso featuring Rawayana- “Malportada”
Bad behavior.

2. Gabito Ballesteros and Fuerza Regida- “Chrome Hearts”
Shiny.

3. Amadou & Mariam- “Bienvenue à la maison”
A fond farewell.

4. SML- “Chicago Four”
Big shoulders.

5. Say She She- “Shop Boy”
C’est chic.

6. Robert Glasper featuring Norah Jones- “Prototype”
Two of a kind.

7. СОЮЗ featuring Tim Bernardes- “Lingua Do Mundo”
Belarus meets Brazil.

8. Silvana Estrada- “El Alma Mia”
Ooh! My soul.

9. Mobb Deep featuring Clipse- “Look at Me”
Seen.

10. Dave- “My 27th Birthday”
The party’s over.

The Top Ten Performances of October 2025
1. Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

2. Terence Blanchard at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

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

4. Militarie Gun, Liquid Mike and Public Opinion at the Bottleneck
My Instagram clip.

5. Destroyer and Jennifer Castle at Warehouse on Broadway
My review.

6. Matt Villinger, Peter Schlamb, Sebastian Arias and Matt Robertson at the Blue Room
My Instagram clip.

7. Pete Escovedo at the Folly Theater
My notes.

8. Michael Shults, Dan Velicer, Dawson Coleman and Andrew Ouellette at Polsky Theatre
My Instagram snapshot.

9. Angela Hewitt’s masterclass at White Recital Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Susan and William Goldenberg at Asbury United Methodist Church
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Concert Review: Terence Blanchard at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

If you were among the approximately 300 people at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Sunday, October 12, you may have wondered why only one person was seated in the first four rows of the opera hall. As the weirdo in question, I too was puzzled by my isolation.

I purchased a $33.50 ticket- the least expensive pricing tier- for a seat in the front row for the Harriman-Jewell Series presentation billed as Terence Blanchard’s “operatic concert production of 'Fire Shut Up in My Bones'.” Why no one else opted to do the same thing is beyond me.

I would have been completely enthralled even if I hadn’t made eye contact with Blanchard, soprano Adrienne Danrich, baritone Justin Austin, guitarist Charles Altura and drummer Oscar Seaton. They simply didn’t have anyone else to look at!

Keyboardist Julian Pollack, bassist Dale Black, and the members of Turtle Island String Quartet were out of my sightline. Video production with live footage overlaid on images allowed everyone to see what was happening and to gain additional insights into Blanchard’s artistic vision.

The first thirty minutes were dedicated to burly material from Blanchard’s 2005 album Flow. The next hour featured a staging of selections from Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.” A concert with elite plugged-in jazz and groundbreaking opera? I’m all about it, even with 300 sets of eyes boring into the back of my head.

The Top Fifty Performances of 2022

Original image of Blackstarkids by There Stands the Glass.

I’ve gone out to hear live music 123 times in 2022. I’m not done yet- I plan to hit a couple gigs this evening. Even without attending a single festival, I’ve taken in more than 225 performances this year. And yes, wise guys, I’ve been the oldest person in the room at a third of the shows listed below. You can’t blame a person for trying to make up for lost time. Unless indicated otherwise, the events took place in the Kansas City area.

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

Review.

2. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

Review.

3. Little Joe y La Famalia at the Guadalupe Center

Review.

4. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

Review.

5. Blackstarkids at recordBar

Review.

6. Angela Winbush, Men at Large and Levelle at Juneteenth KC

Review.

7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Roseland Theater (Portland)

Review.

8. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater

Review.

9. Sparks at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland)

Review.

10. Flatland Cavalry at the Truman

Review.

11. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

Review.

12. Lucibela at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

Review.

13. Show Me the Body, Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

Review.

14. FKJ and Ohma at the Midland theater

Review.

15. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building

Review.

16. Salvation Choir at Theis Park

Review.

17. Algara, P.S.Y.W.A.R. and New Obsessions at Farewell

Review.

18. Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Isata Kanneh-Mason at the Folly Theater

Instagram photo.

19. Animal Collective and Spirit of the Beehive at the Truman

Review.

20. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House

Review.

21. Porridge Radio and Blondshell at Doug Fir Lounge (Portland)

Instagram clip.

22. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Review.

23. High Pulp at recordBar

Review.

24. Escuela Grind at Farewell

Review.

25. Phillip Greenlief, Midwestern and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Bushranger Records

Review.

26. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar

Review.

27. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium

Review.

28. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship

Instagram clip.

29. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall

Review.

30. John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett at the Uptown Theater

Review.

31. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Review.

32. Mspaint at Nightjar

Instagram clip.

33. Babehoven at Farewell KC

Instagram clip.

34. UMKC’s Conservatory’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” at White Recital Hall

Instagram photo.

35. Live Skull and Still Ill at recordBar

Review.

36. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino

Review.

37. Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at World Culture

Review.

38. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

Instagram photo.

39. Cuong Vu and Ted Poor at Jack London Revue (Portland)

Review.

40. Ozomatli at KC Live

Instagram clip.

41. Gorillaz and EarthGang at the Moda Center (Portland)

Review.

42. Escher String Quartet at Polsky Theatre

Review.

43. Damien Sneed at the Folly Theater

Review.

44. John Waite at Ranch Mart Shopping Center

Instagram clip.

45. William Baker Singers at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral

Review.

46. Raven Chacon at Agnes Arts

Review.

47. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge

48. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

Instagram clip.

49. Billy Cobham at Dolores Winningstad Theatre (Portland)

Review.

50. Roger Waters at the T-Mobile Center

Review.

October 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Opera North’s reworking of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of October

1. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores

Rapturous beauty.

2. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

My review.

3. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences

My review.

4. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees

Advanced harmolodics.

5. Boston Modern Orchestra Project- Anthony Davis: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X

A new rendering of the neglected opera.

6. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho

Exquisite chamber jazz.

7. Evgueni Galperine- Theory of Becoming

A Ukrainian Morricone.

8. Armani Caesar- The Liz 2

The month’s best Griselda album.

9. Babyface- Girl’s Night Out

Sultry collaborations.

10. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel

I prefer this hushed recording to the widely praised The Blue Hour.

Top Ten Songs of October

1. Plains- "Hurricane"

Leveled.

2. Grupo Marca Registrada and Luis R. Conriquez- "Puro Campeón"

A true champion.

3. iLe- "Lo Que Yo Quería"

Celestial pop.

4. Ozuna featuring El Cherry Scom- "Perreo y Dembow"

Dizzying.

5. Quavo and Takeoff- "Two Infinity Links"

I’m 250 pages into Joe Coscarelli’s Rap Capital.

6. Jamila Woods- "Boundaries"

Blurred lines.

7. LF System- "Hungry (For Love)"

Famished on the dance floor.

8. SleazyWorld Go featuring G Herbo- “Glitches”

Shots fired.

9. Nardo Wick featuring Polo G- "G Nikes"

If the shoe fits…

10. Hardy- "Truck Bed"

Hick-hop goes pop-punk.

Top Ten Performances of October

1. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall

My review.

2. Ohma and FKJ at the Midland Theater

My review.

3. Raven Chacon’s “American Ledger no. 1” at Agnes Arts

My review.

4. Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the Uptown Theater

My review.

5. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium

My review.

6. Alter Destiny at Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

7. Karen Hsiao Savage, Hyeyung Sol Yoon and Gregory Beaver at White Recital Hall

My review.

8. Stan Kessler, Rod Fleeman and Bob Bowman at a driveway concert

Three of Kansas City’s best on a glorious fall afternoon.

9. Esthesis Quartet at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

10. Alex Mallett and Jeff Harshbarger at Market at Meadowbrook

Folklore.

Last month’s survey is here.

Book Review: Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music, by Joseph Horowitz

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I almost dismissed Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music after taking a cursory glance at the index.  How could author Joseph Horowitz properly address the subject without referencing Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis or Wynton Marsalis?  I’m glad I overcame my initial aversion.  

Horowitz, a refreshingly combative scholar of classical music, inhabits an entirely different world from my own.  I learned a great deal from his new study inspired by Antonín Dvořák’s faulty prediction that the music developed by Black Americans would become the basis for the country’s classical music.

But was Dvořák wrong?  I’m inclined to believe that jazz is the true classical music of North America.  Horowitz doesn’t entertain the premise, but he’s not averse to jazz.  He repeatedly mocks traditionalists who feared a “jazz threat.”  Instead, he traces the evolution of European classical music in the new world.  Often straying from his theme, Horowitz’s disparate ramblings are consistently interesting.

A passionate champion of Charles Ives, Horowitz introduced me to the startling Concord Sonata.  For that alone, I’m in his debt.  He also has a curious obsession with the role of critics.  Horowitz clearly relishes dismantling the reputation of the Kansas City native Virgil Thomson.

Depictions of the “racial minefield” related to analyses of “Porgy and Bess” are valuable, as is an assertion that the Metropolitan Opera is responsible for diminishing opera from a popular form of music among Americans into “an aloof, elitist playground for the very rich.”  And I enjoyed learning about the intercine rivalries among American composers.

These themes are amplified in a series of illustrative videos.  A portion of my enthusiasm for Dvořák’s Prophecy is likely due to recency bias.  I just took in the PBS broadcast of “Black Lucy and the Bard,” a compelling ballet by Caroline Randall Williams and the accomplished polymath Rhiannon Giddens.  

Samanthe Ege’s piano recital astounded me four months ago. Horowitz shares Ege’s enthusiasm for the neglected composer Florence Price. And in ten days I’ll attend a concert overseen by Terence Blanchard, the composer of the 2019 opera “Fire Shut Up in My Bones”. Dvořák’s prophecy might yet be fulfilled.

April 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot from the trailer of the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” by There Stands the Glass. PBS broadcast the opera on April 1.

Top Ten Albums (Released in April, excluding 4/29 titles)

1. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry

The trio of Kanye, Pharrell and King Push is an unbeatable dream team.

2. Gerald Clayton- Bells on Sand

My review.

3. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

Highbrow hip-hop.

4. Tord Gustavsen Trio- Opening

My review.

5. Myra Melford- For the Love of Fire and Water

The pianist leads a free jazz supergroup.

6. Joel Ross- The Parable of the Poet

Palpably spiritual jazz.

7. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

My review.

8. Sault- Air

My review.

9. Cole Swindell- Stereotype

My review.

10. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

Understated excellence.

Top Ten Songs (Released in April)

1. Miranda Lambert- "Actin' Up"

Call the cops.

2. Kaitlin Butts- "She's Using"

Codeine dreams.

3. Christian Nodal- "Aguardiente"

Poison.

4. Bonnie Raitt- "Love So Strong"

Kombucha for the soul.

5. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

Reggae lion in winter.

6. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

The cat’s pajamas.

7. Young M.A.- “Tip the Surgeon”

Bloody.

8. Doechii- "Crazy"

Time to get right with God.

9. Lele Pons and Kim Loaiza- "Piketona"

Clubbed.

10. Making Movies- "Sala de los Pecadores"

Den of sin.

Top Ten Performances of April

1. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

My review.

2. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

My review.

4. Babehoven at Farewell

My Instagram clip.

5. Kwan Leung Ling, Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

6. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

My Instagram clip.

7. Maul at Vivo

My Instagram clip.

8. Tyrone Clark, Charles Gatschet and Taylor Babb- Green Lady Lounge

The venue’s all-originals policy is paying off.

9. Jeff Harshbarger Quartet at the Blue Room

Standards deviations.

10. A Pile of Dead Horses at 7th Heaven

Fargo noise.

Last month’s survey is here.

Album Review: Sault- Air

The infuriating baptism sequence in “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” is among my favorite scenes in Terence Blanchard’s heart-rending 2019 opera.  I’m haunted by the Metropolitan Opera’s staging broadcast by PBS on April 1.

Neither have I stopped thinking about the Latin vespers presented by the Kansas City choral group Te Deum in a drafty Episcopal church last July.  And just last week I discovered Claude Debussy’s proses lyriques and attended a Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro concert.  

All of which is to say I was unwittingly primed for Sault’s new album Air.  Far removed from the previous output of the anonymous collective, Air is a symphonic choral suite that synthesizes much of my recent listening.

In addition to the music cited above, Air’s expanse nods to Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” the holy minimalism of Arvo Pärt, Brian Wilson’s pop orchestrations and Kanye West’s Sunday Service celebrations. Sing it, my nameless brothers and sisters!