Total Music Awards is now going strong

For any folks still following along here, I'm now writing full-time on the music website Total Music Awards. We cover award shows like the Grammys, as well as the Billboard charts and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I have a huge list (150+ artists) of the biggest Rock Hall snubs, topped by bands like Joy Division and the B-52s. I have also have in-depth features on the best music podcasts (Hit Parade!) and the early leaders for 2027 Grammy predictions.

I saw some incredible concerts in 2025, starting with Lady Gaga in Seattle on the Mayhem Tour, plus a shockingly great Doechii show at Lollapalooza, which I attended for the first time in a decade.

Here's my new, updated list of the greatest concerts I've ever seen!

1 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Chicago, 2012

2 Radiohead, Cleveland 2001

3 Radiohead, Cleveland 2003

4 Sigur Ros, Cleveland 2013

5 Paul McCartney, Chicago 2011

6 Lady Gaga, Seattle, 2025

7 Leonard Cohen, Chicago 2009

8 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Pittsburgh 2002

9 U2, Pittsburgh 2001

10 Prince, State College 2004

11 Doechii, Lollapalooza 2025

12 Sigur Ros, Pittsburgh, 2003

13 Dave Matthews Band, Hershey 2001

14 Metallica, Bonnaroo 2008

15 Beyonce, Seattle, 2023

16 Aretha Franklin, Chicago 2011

17 Rodrigo y Gabriela, Lollapalooza 2007

18 Kanye West, Bonnaroo 2008

One other note: I also have a website for one of my favorite national parks, Guadalupe Mountains. It's an underrated desert park in Texas with a lot of great hiking.