I lost count of how many shows I went to in 2015, but I’m pretty sure I managed to top the amount of shows I went to in 2014, which was a previous record.
You’ll notice a good chunk of the shows that made the cut are established artists playing intimate venues such as Baby’s All Right or Bowery Ballroom. Nothing quite matches getting to see big acts in a great small venue. That’s not to say that a show at a large venue can’t be good, as plenty of big bands playing large venues or dare I say arenas ended up on here as well. There’s a lot of ingredients to a good show, and I don’t discriminate..
Below, find my top 40 shows of 2015 and feel free to click through to each individual show recap to re-live them along with me. We can’t wait to see what 2016 brings to us. All I know is it will be tough to match what I saw in 2015.
40. Ryan Adams at Governors Ball
39. Future Islands at Terminal 5 (January 9)
38. Diarrhea Planet at Bowery Ballroom (April 4)
37. Tallest Man On Earth @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (June 2)
36. FFS at Terminal 5 (October 6)
35. Kishi Bashi at The McKittrick Hotel (November 4)
34. Alvvays at Bowery Ballroom (April 2)
33. My Morning Jacket at Governors Ball
32. Dr. Dog at Music Hall of Williamsburg (January 10)
31. The Growlers at Baby’s All Right (March 7)
30. Panda Bear @ MOMA PS1 (Janaury 11)
29. Savages at Mercury Lounge (January 21)
28. Tobias Jesso Jr at Baby’s All Right (March 27)
26. Kendrick Lamar @ Terminal 5 (November 2)
25. U2 at Madison Square Garden (July 19)
24. Ben Folds at Bowery Ballroom (April 27)
23. Spoon @ Kings Theatre (June 16)
22. Modest Mouse @ Webster Hall (March 19)
21. Tame Impala at Terminal 5 (October 7)
20. Foals at Terminal 5 (December 18)
19. Father John Misty @ Bowery Ballroom (February 14)
18. Death Cab For Cutie at Music Hall of Williamsburg (January 28)
17. Florence + The Machine at Music Hall of Williamsburg
16. Dinosaur Jr. at Bowery Ballroom (December 3)
15. Bjork at Carnegie Hall (March 14)
14. My Morning Jacket at The Beacon (November 25)
13. Blur at Madison Square Garden (October 23)
12. El Vy @ Bowery Ballroom (November 13)
11. Sufjan Stevens @ The Beacon Theatre (April 11)
10. Muse at Webster Hall (May 8)
9. Joanna Newsom at The Apollo Theater(December 11)
8. Sufjan Stevens at Loew’s Jersey Theatre (October 31)
7. Courtney Barnett at Bowery Ballroom (May 19)
6. The Arcs @ Housing Works (9/9)
5. Leon Bridges at Mercury Lounge (February 17)
4. Hot Chip at Baby’s All Right (August 3)
3. Beach House @ Baby’s All Right (August 27)
2. Sleater-Kinney @ Market Hotel (December 16)
1. Blur at Music Hall of Williamsburg (May 1)
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