2024: A Year in Music

Another new list I started this year was keeping track of all the live music I’ve seen. Thanks to my Music Notes I was able to backdate this several years too, which was fun. Anyway, this first list is all the live music I’ve seen in 2024. Then I am going to rank my top 10 albums of the year:

1. Jamie Saft/Joe Morris/Bobby Previte/Herb Robertson, New Haven, CT
2. Juliana Hatfield Three, Cambridge MA (Hilken Mancini Band opening)
3. Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra, New Haven CT
4. Sunny Sweeney, New Andover, MA
5. Morgan Wade, New Haven CT
6. John Moreland, Portland OR
7. T-Bone Burnett, Eugene OR
8. Sun Ra Arkestra, Newport Jazz Festival, RI
9. Bill Frisell Four, Newport Jazz Festival, RI
10. Galatic with Irma Thomas, Newport Jazz Festival, RI
11. Aja Monet, Newport Jazz Festival, RI
12. Andre 3000, Newport Jazz Festival, RI
13. Die Spitz (Sleater-Kinney canceled for illness), New Haven CT
14. Jobi Riccio (Erin Rae guest), Newport Folk Festival, RI
15. Sierra Ferrell (John C. Reilly and Gillian Welch guests), Newport Folk Festival, RI
16. Taj Mahal (Rhiannon Giddens guest), Newport Folk Festival, RI
17. Dropkick Murphys (Billy Bragg guest), Newport Folk Festival, RI
18. Tinariwen, Newport Folk Festival, RI
19. Brittany Howard, Newport Folk Festival, RI
20. Lee Ranaldo & Medicine Singers, Newport Folk Festival, RI
21. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Newport Folk Festival, RI
22. Wednesday, Newport Folk Festival, RI
23. Allison Russell, Newport Folk Festival, RI
24. Erin, Mat, & Paul, Newport Folk Festival, RI
25. Beck, Newport Folk Festival, RI
26. Adrianne Lenker, Newport Folk Festival, RI
27. Tre Burt, Newport Folk Festival, RI
28. Reyna Tropical, Newport Folk Festival, RI
29. Billy Bragg, Newport Folk Festival, RI
30. Elle King, Newport Folk Festival, RI
31. Rhiannon Giddens (Taj Mahal and Joan Baez special guests, Newport Folk Festival, RI
32. The War on Drugs (Craig Finn guest), Newport Folk Festival, RI
33. Killer Mike, Newport Folk Festival, RI
34. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Newport Folk Festival, RI
35. Jason Isbell (Courtney Marie Andrews opening), Boston MA
36. Mdou Moctar (J.R.G.C. opening), Boston MA
37. Wonder Women of Country, Fall River MA
38. Ben Goldberg’s Invisible Guy, New York NY
39. Adam Rudolph’s Sunrise Quartet, New Haven CT
40. Willi Carlisle (Justin Golden opening), Boston MA
41. James Brandon Lewis & the Messthetics (Roger Clark Miller from Mission to Burma opens with solo guitar project), Somerville MA
42. Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Mansfield, MA
43. Anna Webber’s Shimmer Wince, New Haven
44. Alex Paxton & Oberlin Contemporary Music, Bang on a Can, Brooklyn NY
45. Peter Adriaansz with Ensemble Klang, Bang of a Can
46. Darius Jones’ fLuXkit Sextet, Bang on a Can
47. Immanuel Wilkins (sax) and Jason Moran (piano), Bang on a Can
48. Marc Ribot scoring The Kid, Bang on a Can
49. William Parker’s The Blinking of the Ear, Bang on a Can
50. DoYeon Kim Quartet, Bang on a Can
51. Yacouba Sissoko (kora) and Moussa Diabaté (ngoni),Bang on a Can
52. Rob Mazuerk (trumpet) and Chad Taylor (drums), Bang on a Can
53. Raw Poetic and Damu the Fudgemunk with Chad Taylor (drums) and some other guys, Bang on a Can
54. Robbie Fulks and Patty Larkin (opener), Natick, MA
55. Waxahatchee, Boston, MA
56. Ratboys, New Haven, CT
57. John Zorn with Brian Marsella/Black Oak Ensemble, Revenent Tones Podcast, NYC
58. Jess Williamson, Erin Rae (opener), Portland, OR
59. Irma Thomas, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans, LA
60. Ìfé, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans, LA
61. Chris Thomas King, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans, LA
62. Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans, LA
63. 79rs Gang, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans, LA
64. Papa Gros, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans, LA
65. Leyla McCalla, New Orleans, LA
66. Henry Threadgill’s Very Very Circus, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
67. Third Coast Percussion, special guest Jlin, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
68. Amythyst Kiah, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
69. Adrienne Lenker, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
70. Fred Frith Trio, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
71. Hurray for the Riff Raff, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
72. Joanna Sternberg, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
73. Brandon Ross’ Phantom Station, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
74. Henry Threadgill’s Zooid, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
75. Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
76. Tomeka Reid Quartet, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
77. Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
78. Rhiannon Giddens, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
79. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
80. Min Xiao-Fien (various Chinese instruments) and River Guerguerian (percussion) live scoring Chinese silents, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
81. Sons of Chipotle, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
82. Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
83. Horse Lords, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
84. Dave Holland Quartet, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
85. Rhiannon Giddens/Christian McBride/Francesco Turrisi, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
86. Marc Ribot’s Cermaic Dog, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
87. Bonnie Prince Billy, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
88. Rhiannon Giddens and Silk Road Ensemble, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
89. Fatoumata Diawara, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
90. Henry Threadgill/Vijay Iyer/Dafnis Prieto, Big Ears, Knoxville, TN
91. Ahlechatistas, Big Ears, Knoxville TN
92. Drive By Truckers, Athens, GA
93. Drive By Truckers, Athens, GA, Paranoid Style opening
94. Drive By Truckers, Athens, GA
95. Tomeka Reid Quartet (see above for lineup), Providence, RI
96. Tomas Fujiwara Seven Poets Trio, Providence, RI
97. Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis, Cambridge, MA
98. Brittany Howard, Boston, MA
99. Jerry Joseph, Boston MA

That’s a lot of music.

Probably the best things I saw were the Adirenne Lenker set at Big Ears, the DBT/Paranoid Style show, the three Rhiannon Giddens projects at Big Ears, Marc Ribot scoring The Kid at Bang on a Can, Ife at French Quarter Fest, John Zorn playing his saxophone in my ear when I was at the Studs Terkel event he was also at, Rob Mazuerk and Chad Taylor at Bang on a Can, Willi Carlisle in a little Boston cafe, Brittany Howard at Newport Folk, and Wednesday at Newport Folk. But really, I saw a lot of great fucking music in 2024. Year might have sucked, but not for my ears.

As for my top 10 albums of the year, it was a tough here too. So I just made a top 20 and not in any particular order either. It’s too hard and that kind of ranking is too subjective. Plus I am turning a book chapter in today and I don’t have as much time as I’d like. So here’s 20 great albums from 2024.

1. Willi Carlisle, Critterland
2. Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future
3. Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Past is Still Alive
4. Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter
5. Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers
6. Charlie Crockett, $10 Cowboy
7. Mdou Moctar, Funeral for Justice
8. Rob Brown Quartet, Oblongata
9. Reyna Tropical, Malegria
10. MJ Lenderman, Manning Fireworks
11. Patricia Brennan, Breaking Stretch
12. Meridian Brothers, Mi Latinoamerica Sufre
13. Jake Blount/Mali Obomsawin, Symbiont
14. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash
15. Empress Of, For Your Consideration
16. Swamp Dogg, Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th Street
17. Chuck Prophet, Wake the Dead
18. Kahil El Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me: A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit
19. Vijay Iyer/Linda May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey, Compassion
20. Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood

Let’s talk some 2024 music!