Our music critics’ top 10 Twin Cities concerts of 2025

The White Stripes frontman tops my list for the second year in a row with his no-nonsense, no-set list, full-tilt underplay shows. If you were lucky enough to go, you know. (April 7, Palace Theatre)

The kickoff date for hip-hop’s highest-grossing tour ever didn’t skimp on production, with enough high-energy dancers and hi-fi visual pizzazz to rival Queen Bey’s last tours. Still, the biggest wows were from K.Dot’s uncanny lyrical prowess and SZA’s tender vocal power. (April 19, U.S. Bank Stadium)

Two-stepping or moshing were both acceptable on the Cedar’s golden-wood dance floor as these Louisiana music mainstays from Lafayette played Cajun waltzes with a punk-rock spirit. (June 25, Cedar Cultural Center)

There seriously wasn’t a dull or uninspired set all day. Everyone (especially Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff and Wynonna) tried hard to live up to the good cause and (ahem) high standard set by Willie Nelson, whose emotional performance right around midnight was worth the wait. (Sept. 20, Huntington Bank Stadium)

Similar to 2018’s landmark American Utopia Tour the way he and his band synced their movement to the video screen effects, it was still unlike any tour I’ve seen and had some choice Talking Heads album cuts, too. (Nov. 4, Orpheum Theatre)

Elizabeth Stokes and her New Zealand bandmates offered the basics — sharp hooks, tight power-pop riffage, tender romance and gnarly angst — in uncommonly good form. (Nov. 22, Palace Theatre)

The Los Angeles rap brat was in a good mood and exuberant shape in the kickoff date to his Chromakopia Tour, which was more highly staged and slick than his 2022 arena debut but still wildly fun. (Feb. 4, Xcel Energy Center)

Angus Young still brings it. That’s really what this fiery mega-rock show boiled down to. (April 10, U.S. Bank Stadium)

The young and heavy Texas punk quartet generated a bonkers mosh pit and lots of smiles in their local headlining debut. Look (out) for them at Minnesota Yacht Club next summer. (Nov. 10, Fine Line)

These weren’t cameo performances like the original Farm Aid but substantive, impassioned performances by cherished vets (Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson) and impressive newer names (Madeline Edwards, Jesse Welles, Eric Burton), creating one of the all-time best concerts in Minnesota. (Sept. 20, U.S. Bank Stadium)

In a staging like his indelibly groundbreaking 2018 American Utopia Tour, Byrne and troupe delivered another brilliantly conceived show that was stagey, magical and awe-inspiring. (Nov. 3, Orpheum Theatre)

Brittany Howard reunited with Alabama Shakes after a seven-year hiatus, showing that she’s a world-class vocalist of deep emotion and Etta James-ian drama. (July 18, Minnesota Yacht Club, Harriet Island)

On the opening night of this massive stadium tour, the hip-hop genius and the soulful siren artfully alternated and braided their performances, elevating their artistry to new heights. (April 19, U.S. Bank Stadium)

She brought the feminist flair of Shania Twain, the twangy folksiness of Reba McEntire and the freeing freshness of Carrie Underwood yet Wilson was a total original, with her cowgirl-hippie Western persona and small-town Southern charm. (Oct. 18, Grand Casino Arena)

Chances are that you’ll never witness a veteran performer whose voice sounded as entrancingly angelic at age 89 as it did in his heyday seven decades earlier. (March 8, Mystic Lake Showroom)

In a Springsteenian marathon, nice-guy Gill demonstrated his considerable gifts as a guitarist, songwriter, singer, humorist and bandleader, giving all his players moments to shine. (May 22, Orpheum Theatre)

On the final night of his tour, his usually sweet voice was road-weary husky, adding a new emotional layer to the practiced casualness of his jazzy rock-soul, buoyed by guest Justin Vernon’s slide guitar. (Dec. 12, Fillmore Minneapolis)