Thiessen: The 10 best shows I saw in 2024

As regular readers know, I am on a quest to see all my music heroes live in concert before they die, and to find new, younger performers I can enjoy for many years to come. Here are the best shows I saw and most amazing musical discoveries I made in 2024:

10. The Vindys at the Warner Theater in D.C. Who are the Vindys? I had no idea when I showed up on a hot July night to see newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. But then their opening act came onstage and stole the show. The Vindys started out as a cover band in Youngstown, Ohio, and have blossomed into one of the best new R&B acts in the country. Lead singer Jackie Popovec is a revelation, with a voice like a young Amy Winehouse. When they started playing, the audience was chatting and finding their seats, but one song in they were mesmerized — and by the end they were delivering a raucous standing ovation. See. This. Band. You’ll thank me.

9. Stevie Wonder at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. How much does this conservative columnist love Stevie Wonder? I went to a thinly veiled Kamala Harris rally to see him! The highlight of covering the DNC was seeing Wonder perform “Higher Ground,” so when he announced a 10-night tour of mainly key swing states to rally his fans for Harris, I could not stay away. Although Barack and Michelle Obama came out in Baltimore to introduce him, the night was mostly a celebration of Wonder’s music — and hearing him perform “Sir Duke,” “My Cherie Amour” and “Isn’t She Lovely” signed, sealed and delivered the oft-promised “joy” to my 2024 campaign season.

8. David Gilmour at Madison Square Garden in New York. I’m a huge Pink Floyd fan, but I refuse to see Roger Waters (a Putin-loving antisemite), and Floyd’s incredible 78-year-old guitar maestro David Gilmour rarely tours. So, when Gilmour scheduled a five-night residency at the Garden, I wasn’t going to just wish I was there. I sneaked away from Fox News election week coverage to hear him perform classics such as “Breathe (In the Air),” “Time,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb” — as well as songs from his spellbinding new album “Luck and Strange,” including “Between Two Points,” performed with his daughter Romany. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

7. Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra at Capital One Arena in D.C. He shuffled stiffly across the stage, but 76-year-old Lynne’s guitar was undiminished by age on his incredible farewell tour. Hearing such beloved ELO classics as “Evil Woman,” “Strange Magic” and “Mr. Blue Sky” live one last time was both beautiful and bittersweet.

6. Smoove & Turrell at the Forge in London. You know you’re in for a magical night when music legend Paul Weller walks into a small Camden club, sits at the table next to you, and takes out his iPhone to start filming the band. Smoove & Turrell hail from Newcastle, England, and describe their music as “Northern Coal Funk” — a fusion of funk, soul, hip-hop and electronica. John Turrell’s voice is smooth as silk. Best known for “Slow Down” (which reached No. 1 on the iTunes Soul chart) they mostly tour Britain. It’s time for them to cross the pond for some U.S. shows. They gave one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen.

5. Paul Weller at the Lincoln Theater in D.C. After bumping into the “Modfather” in London, I went to see him on his first U.S. tour in seven years. Weller is one of those rare artists who has continued to produce incredible solo music decades after his 1980s heyday. He played many of his hits from the Style Council and the Jam, as well as such Weller classics as “Above the Clouds” and “Wild Wood” and songs from his new album “66.”

4. Heart at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. Ann and Nancy Wilson were estranged for many years but finally put aside their differences to tour together. At 74, Ann’s voice is as formidable as ever, and Nancy’s guitar powered us through hits such as “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man.” Soon after I saw them, they paused their tour so that Ann could undergo emergency cancer surgery — a reminder that you should never pass up a chance to see your rock heroes when you can. Fortunately, she has recovered and they’ve hit the road again. See them.

3. The Rolling Stones at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Stones are not only still performing into their 80s, they also toured in support of “Hackney Diamonds,” their first new album in 18 years, which includes some of their best work ever. Seeing them perform new music live in 2024 (including the incredible “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”) plus all the Stones classics of the past six decades was an unforgettable experience.

2. Elton John and friends, the Gershwin Prize ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in D.C. Annie Lennox, Metallica, Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile all sang their favorite Elton John and Bernie Taupin songs as the duo received the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize. Jacob Lusk nearly stole the show with his Gospel-inspired rendition of “Bennie and the Jets.” But seeing Sir Elton perform “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “Your Song” in a theater rather than a stadium after retiring from touring was a night to remember.

1. Fool in Love Festival in Inglewood, California. This was the greatest collection of still-living Motown and R&B legends ever assembled at a single venue — 12 hours of nonstop classics on four stages outdoors in the California sun. In a single day, I saw Lionel Richie, Al Green, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, the Pointer Sisters, the O’Jays, the Emotions, Heatwave, Evelyn “Champagne” King, the Isley Brothers, the Temptations, Eric Burdon and the Animals and the Jacksons (one of Tito’s final performances before he died the following month), among others. Every festival forces you to make hard choices, and the artists I missed could make up another full day of music — including Santana, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, War and Morris Day and the Time. The event was an overcrowded, logistical nightmare in the SoFi Stadium parking lot, but an unbelievable day of music made up for the madness.

Other amazing shows I saw this year that did not make my Top 10 include: Madness, Cyndi Lauper, Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, Sammy Hagar (playing all the Van Hagar-era hits I had not heard live for two decades), Foreigner (on their farewell tour), Dave Stewart (playing the Eurythmics Songbook), Bryan Adams, Herb Alpert (still trumpeting at 89!), Zach Bryan, Lauren Daigle, A Flock of Seagulls and Poi Dog Pondering — as well as Duran Duran, General Public, Simple Minds, Heaven 17, Gary Numan and Blondie at the amazing Cruel World Festival.