Original image of J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits at the Blue Room by There Stands the Glass.
The pandemic nixed my annual resolution to attend 365 gigs per year. I began making up for lost time after receiving my second vaccination shot on April 27. I’m extremely pleased to have once again caught up with road warriors like Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson and to have finally made it to shows by notable artists including Marc Anthony and Renée Fleming. Aside from a delusional period of post-vaccination euphoria in May and June, I wore a mask throughout every performance.
1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room
2. Mary Lattimore- Lied Center
3. Pat Metheny- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)
4. Anthony Roth Constanzo- Folly Theater
5. St. Vincent- Grinder’s KC
6. Erykah Badu- Midland theater
7. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)
8. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena
9. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park
10. Rod Fleeman Trio- Green Lady Lounge (multiple shows)
Fleeman is Plastic Sax's 2021 Person of the Year.
11. José James at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)
12. Oleta Adams with Isaac Cates & Ordained- Old Mission United Methodist Church
13. Te Deum- St. Mary's Episcopal Church
14. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre
15. Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation
16. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box- The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City
17. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State
18. UMKC Opera’s George Frideric Handel’s “Acis and Galatea”- White Recital Hall
19. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest
20. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation
21. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building
22. Brentano Quartet- Lincoln Recital Hall (Portland)
23. Flooding- 7th Heaven
24. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena
25. Mary Gauthier- Knuckleheads
26. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall
27. Pistol Pete- recordBar
28. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House
29. Dare- 7th Heaven
30. The Kansas City Symphony’s “Coming to America”- Helzberg Hall
31. Renée Fleming- Helzberg Hall
32. Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne, Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh- Charlotte Street Foundation
33. Guitar Elation- Green Lady Lounge (several shows)
34. Kansas Virtuosi- Yardley Hall
35. UMKC Conservatory’s “Jazz at the Playhouse”- University Playhouse
36. Granger Smith- KC Live
37. Sentenced 2 Die- 7th Heaven
38. Jackie Myers, Matt Hopper and Ben Tervort- Market at Meadowbrook
39. Summerfest Chamber Music Festival- Atonement Lutheran Church
40. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
41. Mike Stover- Campground
42. Richard Thompson- Folly Theater
43. Ben Tervort Quartet- Westport Coffeehouse
44. Roman Alexander- KC Live
45. Béla Fleck- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland)
46. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
47. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church
48. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater
49. Lyric Opera of Kansas City- Meadowbrook Park
50. Paris Williams- Lemonade Park
There Stands the Glass also ranked the The Top 50 Songs of 2021 and The Top 50 Albums of 2021. Pat Metheny is this site’s Artist of the Year. Rod Fleeman is Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year. A list of There Stands the Glass’ top performances of 2020 is here.