Our music writers share their fondest memories — big and small — from 2015
%{[ data-embed-type=”image” data-embed-id=”” data-embed-element=”aside” ]}%
%{[ data-embed-type=”image” data-embed-id=”” data-embed-element=”aside” ]}%
Stevie Wonder’s band at Mutual Musicians Foundation, October 23
Those present at Stevie Wonder’s epic October concert at the Sprint Center will be retelling their versions of that night for years, but I will never forget the unofficial after-party that I stumbled upon in the early hours of the morning at the Mutual Musicians Foundation.
A handful of Wonder’s accomplished band members — including saxophonist Ryan Kilgore and harmonica player Frédéric Yonnet — joined in the jam session and let loose for two hours. It was one of those experiences that you feel in your bones — the kind of thing that can make you remember why you wanted to write about music in the first place. Limited to around 40 people, the event was, in a word, transcendent.
— Natalie Gallagher
Fleetwood Mac at the Sprint Center, March 28
When Stevie Nicks introduced “Landslide” at Fleetwood Mac’s Sprint Center show in March, I felt my heart sink. She dedicated the song to her late father, telling the crowd that it was his favorite: “He always thought it was written about him,” she said, with that musical laugh of hers. “Of course, it wasn’t, but I let him think that because it made him feel good, and I like to mention him now because it brings him back to me.”
That moment was so real and so touching that it was no surprise to find most of the audience members around me weeping. I thought of my mom, who died of cancer last year; she played Rumours every Saturday morning when I was a child. “Landslide” was bittersweet: I wished I could call her and hold up the phone, but watching Lindsey Buckingham reach over and tenderly kiss Nicks’ hand before the final verse was oddly comforting.
— N.G.
Josh Berwanger interview, December 8
I’ve interviewed countless musicians, but it’s hard to remember one who has been as honest as Josh Berwanger. When I sat down with the former leader singer of the Anniversary in early December, our conversation ping-ponged around the positives and the negatives — mostly the negatives — of being a working musician and measuring success in the industry. It was a candid, refreshing talk, the kind that’s hard to come by. Berwanger’s rawness was punctuated by the concurrent release of his self-titled EP, a wildly underrated study in power pop that finds Berwanger continuing to battle his demons.
— N.G.
Julia Haile at Ça Va, July 2
After a long, self-imposed exile from the spotlight, singer Julia Haile — formerly of the Good Foot, which retired in 2012 — reintroduced herself quietly with a monthlong July residency at Ça Va in Westport. Well, it was supposed to be quiet, but when I wedged my way into a seat at the bar for her first show July 2, the tiny venue was packed with an audience that had been waiting years for the golden-voiced chanteuse to return. That night was a shining example of just how much Kansas Citians care about their own, and how much support they’re willing to give. (Haile is developing a new musical project with the Elders’ Kian Byrne, guitarist Tim Braun and trumpeter Nick Howell.)
— N.G.
The Rolling Stones at Arrowhead Stadium, June 27
Unforgettable: Tailgating on a perfect, 80-degree summer day before the Rolling Stones’ set at Arrowhead Stadium with thousands of fans. Later, the legendary band lit up the stadium for three hours, showing us what aging into your 70s really can look like. In particular, the band’s performance of “Street Fighting Man” was heaven.
— April Fleming
Stevie Wonder at the Sprint Center, October 23
Stevie Wonder celebrated the Royals’ advance to the World Series by inviting Janelle Monáe onstage. This was after performing Songs in the Key of Life, Wonder’s legendary double-album opus, from front to back.
— A.F.
Sufjan Stevens at the Midland, April 21
It was almost too much to hear Sufjan Stevens deliver an achingly lovely set from this year’s Carrie & Lowell, with a backdrop of shimmering landscapes and vintage photographs.
— A.F.
[page]
Father John Misty at the Granada, April 7
Josh Tillman, who performs as Father John Misty, is an unstoppable showman. He seduced a packed, sweaty house at the Granada on a hot spring day with his best album to date, I Love You, Honeybear.
— A.F.
Taylor Swift at the Sprint Center, September 22
Taylor Swift transfixed the crowd throughout the entire evening with perfectly choreographed pop perfection. It was impossible not to get swept up in the spectacle. The Sprint Center audience pulsed with the glowing wristbands of thousands of Swift fans as she opened her show, belting “Welcome to New York” — and I was right there, dancing along.
— A.F.
The People’s Liberation Big Band at RecordBar, December 6
The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City went out, for now, with exuberant flair. After more than seven years at RecordBar, PLBB played three raucous sets December 6, showing a wall-to-wall crowd the fun of outstanding musicians playing uninhibited original compositions layered with wit.
— Larry Kopitnik
Prairie Village Jazz Festival, September 12
The tap-dancing McFadden Brothers joined the Clint Ashlock–led Kansas City Jazz Orchestra to close the Prairie Village Jazz Festival, and they kept a normally sedate Johnson County suburb joyously up past its bedtime. [Kopitnik helped book this year’s festival.]
— L.K.
Jazz in the Woods, June 19-20
Overland Park’s Jazz in the Woods is this area’s oldest, largest and most financially successful jazz festival. Erudite jazz fans may turn up their noses at its smooth music acts, but I was struck by the diverse crowd that turned out — estimated this year at some 30,000 people.
— L.K.
Young Jazz Masters program, Mutual Musicians Foundation
Each Saturday, students ranging from grade school through college gather for free music lessons in the historic Mutual Musicians Foundation for the Young Jazz Masters program. There’s something magical about watching kids learn jazz in the building where Count Basie rehearsed.
— L.K
Kraftwerk at the Midland, October 9
That thing when you get to see a seminal artist perform but you’re so tired that you can barely stand up and you want just to sit, and you’re afraid you’ll fall asleep — ever had that? Have you also had all that exhaustion wash away the instant the curtain rose, leaving you to sit rapt with giddy attention for the next several hours? Yeah, that’s pretty great.
— Nick Spacek
Weird Al Yankovic at the Midland, June 30
I’m not often one for turning into a fanboy when it comes to meeting musicians, but getting to say a few words to Weird Al Yankovic after his sold-out Midland show might’ve been the highlight of my life. The show itself was an absolute delight, entertaining as both a spectacle and a musical performance, but getting to meet Yankovic was icing on a very amazing cake.
— N.S.
The Girls Rock Lawrence showcase at the Bottleneck, June 6
The Girls Rock Lawrence camp had 20-plus Lawrence girls, ages 13–18, split up into bands. They learned how to write and perform an original song in a week. Everyone in attendance at the showcase thought this would be a charming recital, wherein the girls played their songs, and we clapped politely. We were wrong. These girls churned out tunes that were inspirational and imaginative, while also presenting a concert that left me grinning ear to ear for the entirety of the night.
— N.S.
Radkey at the Bottleneck, September 25
Radkey packed the Bottleneck to celebrate the release of Dark Black Makeup, and the trio killed it. The vibe was loaded with excitement regarding local kids who had made good, and the Radke brothers seemed to feed off that energy and throw it back out. Their set left me bruised and smiling.
— N.S.
George Clinton at Free State Fest, June 24
George Clinton wasn’t so much performing at the Free State Fest street concert as he was conducting. He handed the reins over to a group of young folks to pump out the funk. Nobody in the audience seemed to care, and for good reason. The huge crowd that packed the street in front of the Lawrence Arts Center was there to dance for hours, regardless of who was putting out the sounds.
— N.S.
