1. Dawes @ Webster Hall on October 26th
Pick up the newest issue of Relix for my review
2. Marco Benevento @ Bear Creek Music Festival on November 12th/13th
Maybe it’s unfair to include two shows as one, but it’s hard to pick between Benevento’s two shows at Bear Creek Music Festival. After a brutally cold Friday night at Bear Creek that found sunny Florida transformed into a sub freezing nightmare, Marco Benevento’s early afternoon set under the sun felt like heaven. As the weather elevated everyone’s spirits, Benevento’s gorgeous, colorful melodies served as the perfect wake up call. Roosevelt Collier of The Lee Boys sat for a wild “Twin Killers,” and during the equally stellar Sunday show Benevento was joined by Johnny Vidacovich and Robert Walter.
3. Gov’t Mule @ The Beacon Theatre on December 31st
My write up on the show here
Not too many bands know how to ring in the New Year like Gov’t Mule, who delivered an epic five hour show with an incredible cover of Joe Cocker’s complete Mad Dogs & Englishmen album.
4. Furthur @ Best Buy Theater on March 12th
Though Furthur’s 3/15 show on Phil Lesh’s 71st birthday got the most attention out of the band’s spring run at the Best Buy Theater, having been at both shows, the band was simply more on this night. A high energy first set was followed by a wild and exploratory second set highlighted by a scorching “Mountain Song > I Know You Rider.”
5. Dawes @ Electric Fetus on May 22nd
I really did try hard to not to include multiple performances from the same band/musician on this list, nevermind in my top five, but this performance from Dawes was too good to ignore. Celebrating the upcoming release of Nothing Is Wrong at one of my favorite record stores, the band treated an intimate, spoiled crowd to most of the new album and some songs from their first album North Hills. Accompanied by only Taylor Goldsmith’s soft electric guitar strumming, the sweet vocal harmonies of Taylor, his brother Griffin and Tay Strathairn had the crowd mesmerized in dead silence.
6. Ryan Bingham @ The Dead Horses @ The Varsity Theatre on March 3rd
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses’ impassioned show at Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater showed that Ryan Bingham is not only one of the most talented songwriters in recent memory, but the leader of a dynamite live rock and roll band. Performing in the heart of Dinkytown, the coffee house-filled University of Minnesota neighborhood where Bob Dylan got his start (The Varsity Theater is on the same block as the apartment building that an 18 year old Dylan called home), the show’s highlights were Bingham’s tributes to his hero. He delivered a beautiful version of his own “Mr. Dylan’s Hard Rain” early in the set, while a solo performance of “The Times They Are A Changin’” dedicated to the Madison protesters was one of my favorite concerts moments of the year.
7. Ryan Adams @ Ed Sullivan Theatre on December 5th
My review here
8. Grayson Capps @ Sullivan Hall on October 6th
My review here
9. Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter Jr., Steve Kimock and Nigel Hall @ Sullivan Hall on January 1st
Can rhythm sections get any better than Bill Kreutzmann on drums and George Porter Jr. on bass? Hearing the two of them chase each other around while Steve Kimock’s psychedelic guitar pushed the band into unexplored stratospheres made for quite the jam session.
10. The London Souls @ Brooklyn Bowl on October 3rd
My review here
11. Medeski, Martin & Wood @ Bear Creek Music Festival on November 11th
In Florida’s balmy 26 degree nighttime weather, it was a challenge for me to even be in the crowd during this show. I can only imagine how much of a challenge it was for Medeski, Martin & Wood to get on stage and play in that weather. But celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band, Medeski, Martin & Wood delivered the kind of set only true road warriors like them can and performed an hour and a half of mindblowing experimental jazz. Guitarist Will Bernard joined the band for the second half of their show, while Pee Wee Ellis, Johnny Vidacovich and Stanton Moore also joined in on the fun.