Among the 100 or so concerts he attended in 2025, our pop music critic picks his favorites

Philadelphia concert stages were busy in 2025, from the South Philly sports complex to the Mann Center in Fairmount Park, and plenty of intimate venues in between.

This list, sorted by date, gathers a dozen shows that stood out among the 100 or so I saw this year, and also includes two I sadly missed. They were enthusiastically reviewed for The Inquirer by my colleagues Earl Hopkins and Shaun Brady.

March 6, Franklin Music Hall

The German electronic music pioneers served a reminder that they were making music about “The Man-Machine” a half-century before AI threatened to make human labor obsolete. The band whose “Trans Global Express” “became a foundational building block for the New York DJs who created hip-hop in the 1970s, embraced all things electronic early in its career. Its members stood almost completely still last March while making kinetic music that barreled down the “Autobahn” with irresistible momentum.

April 27, Met Philly

This was a two-and-a-half-hour leap “toward love, wonder, meaning, and transcendence,” as Cave put it, with the vampiric Australian goth-punk veteran leading his flock in a thumping Saturday night church service on his “Wild God Tour.” Backed by a band that included whirling dervish violinist Warren Ellis and Radiohead bass player Colin Greenwood, Cave dedicated “Long Dark Night” to late Philly-born music producer Hal Willner and acknowledged the tragic losses in his own life while insisting: “We’ve all had too much sorrow, now is the time for joy.”

May 5, Lincoln Financial Field

Just months after scoring five Grammy wins and headlining the most-watched Super Bowl halftime of all time, Kendrick Lamar continued the victory lap with an electrifying performance. Lamar was joined by R&B star SZA for the “Grand National Tour,” and the two musical supernovas combined their distinct styles and shared hits across eight acts. Lamar transported fans to the Compton streets, while SZA’s sultry tunes brought the audience into her whimsical, moss-covered labyrinth. While the momentum occasionally slowed during the three-hour show, there were few concert moments this year more dazzling than when Kendrick and SZA shared the stage. — Earl Hopkins

May 25, Solar Myth

The Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader and remarkable experimental musician celebrated the beginning of the second year of his second century. The party featured an all-star band that included Andre 3000 of OutKast (not rapping, but playing flute and piano) as well as special guests Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Tara Middleton. The Ars Nova Workshop event celebrated Allen’s new Live in Philadelphia album, recorded with the Ghost Horizons Ensemble.

May 31-June 1, Mann Center

This year, things didn’t go as planned at Philadelphia’s signature summer concert event. D’Angelo, who died of pancreatic cancer later in the year, canceled due to illness. Then torrential rains caused delay, angering ticket holders who waited outside the gates for hours.

Maxwell was the hero of the Picnic’s first night, stepping in as D’Angelo’s super sub and delivering a silky performance that (mostly) made the bad vibes go away. Then on Sunday, the clouds parted and the Picnic got the feel-good sun-baked “Let Love Rule” rock star performance from Kravitz that Questlove & Co. had been hoping for.

June 27, Foundry at the Fillmore and Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia

Philly concert FOMO is an ongoing issue. Why can’t a music-loving person be at two places at once? The beauty of this particular evening was the venues were next to one another. The terrific Philly rocking country band Florry was at the Foundry, the upstairs venue at the Fillmore, where the Francie Medosch-led band was ripping through the ragged and right songs on its new Sounds Like … And the timing was such that I was able to catch almost all of Florry’s set and then run over to the Brooklyn Bowl to catch bar band extraordinaire, the Hold Steady, in the middle of its “Constructive Summer” three-night run.

July 18, Xfinity Mobile Arena

Was this the final fully-staffed Wu-Tang clan show ever? Not only were all nine surviving members, plus Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son Young Dirty Bastard, in the house on the last stop on the Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chapter tour, LL Cool J, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Freeway, and Philadelphia City Council president Kenyatta Johnson, who gave the pioneering hip-hop proclamations of appreciation, were also present. All that, plus a knockout opening act in Run the Jewels.

Was this really a retirement party? The Weeknd — Canadian pop superstar born Abel Tesfaye — says he’s ready to put his character to rest. But at the Linc — where he and Metallica were the only artists to play multiple nights this year — Tesfaye seemed to have a glorious time. Dressed like a wizard, he must have felt like one, as he stood at the 50 yard line of the Linc and listened to 65,000 fans sing along to his every word.

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“The Crooner and the Cowboy Tour” featured retro-leaning R&B singer Bridges, who headlined, and Crockett, the honky-tonk singer who blends blues and soul. The result was an evening that — with the added attraction of opener Reyna Tropical — offered a delightful combo of tough-minded twang and sultry soul from the Texas. The twosome attracted a refreshingly diverse, intergenerational crowd.

Without frontman and songwriter Shane MacGowan, who died in 2023, the Pogues carried on this year with original members Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, and James Fearnley. They were joined by a dozen or so players who have the Irish folk-punk band’s music in their blood. The result was raucous, and restorative. Long live Shane MacGowan!

Fort Mifflin is the coolest festival site in Philadelphia and DJ-impresario David Pianka put the grounds of the Revolutionary War era structure to imaginative use in the fifth year of his internationally renowned electronic music-plus gathering. The three-day fest attracted crowds with its new rave-tastic Option 5 stage and big name acts like Panda Bear, mellow afternoon live band shows like a collaboration between Marshall Allen and harpist Mary Lattimore, and a food and beverage program that outpaces all musical competition.

The first of the former Talking Heads leader’s three shows, Inquirer reviewer Shaun Brady wrote, found “Byrne and his 13-piece band engaged in a vibrant act of communion and celebration.” The musicians all used wireless mics and dressed in pajamalike outfits. The stage “abounds in color and movement,” Brady wrote. “A semicircular video screen surrounds the band, illustrating Byrne’s songs in sometimes literal, sometimes wry fashion.”

Nov. 29, Met Philly

The punk rock poet who grew up in Philadelphia and South Jersey finished the tour for the 50th anniversary of her 1975 debut album, Horses at the Met, and turned it into a celebration of the 215 beginnings that she chronicles in her new Bread of Angels memoir. The still electrifying performer, who identified with downtown New York in the 1970s, reminded her fans that it all started in Philly. “I might have left Philadelphia physically,” she said. “But it’s always been in my heart.”

Dec. 4, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

This only-in-Philly performance was a ragtag wonder, a tribute to the musical comedian who wrote “Hello Mudduh, Hello Faddah.” Inspired by Philly-born musical alchemist Hal Willner, the evening featured killer bands and Philly talent, including Wesley Stace, Adam Weiner, Rodney Anonymous, and the aforementioned Marshall Allen. It also accomplished something far too rare this year: It made me laugh.