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
2. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater
3. Little Joe y La Famalia at the Guadalupe Center
4. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship
5. Blackstarkids at recordBar
6. Angela Winbush, Men at Large and Levelle at Juneteenth KC
7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Roseland Theater (Portland)
8. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater
9. Sparks at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland)
10. Flatland Cavalry at the Truman
11. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater
12. Lucibela at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)
13. Show Me the Body, Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar
14. FKJ and Ohma at the Midland theater
15. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building
16. Salvation Choir at Theis Park
17. Algara, P.S.Y.W.A.R. and New Obsessions at Farewell
18. Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Isata Kanneh-Mason at the Folly Theater
19. Animal Collective and Spirit of the Beehive at the Truman
20. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House
21. Porridge Radio and Blondshell at Doug Fir Lounge (Portland)
22. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House
23. High Pulp at recordBar
24. Escuela Grind at Farewell
25. Phillip Greenlief, Midwestern and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Bushranger Records
26. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar
27. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium
28. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship
29. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall
30. John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett at the Uptown Theater
31. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church
32. Mspaint at Nightjar
33. Babehoven at Farewell KC
34. UMKC’s Conservatory’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” at White Recital Hall
35. Live Skull and Still Ill at recordBar
36. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino
37. Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at World Culture
38. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin
39. Cuong Vu and Ted Poor at Jack London Revue (Portland)
40. Ozomatli at KC Live
41. Gorillaz and EarthGang at the Moda Center (Portland)
42. Escher String Quartet at Polsky Theatre
43. Damien Sneed at the Folly Theater
44. John Waite at Ranch Mart Shopping Center
45. William Baker Singers at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral
46. Raven Chacon at Agnes Arts
47. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge
48. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House
49. Billy Cobham at Dolores Winningstad Theatre (Portland)
50. Roger Waters at the T-Mobile Center