TnJ BEST of 2024
-ALBUMS-
01) BOYGENIUS – The Record First of all, I never dreamed we would EVER get a full album from this gay girl guitar group (they released a seemingly one-off EP in 2018). Second of all, I never dreamed it would be this good. I’m a bit of an outlier in the Boygenius fanbase since my favorite of the three is Lucy Dacus, but this proves the old saw that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” I suspected this was the best album of the year on first listen, but seeing them live at Red Rocks clinched it. This is a rare moment. Don’t miss out.
HIGH POINTS: Not Strong Enough, $20, Satanist, True Blue, Cool About It, Leonard Cohen
02) THE NATIONAL – Laugh Track The second of two albums they released in 2023, and though the first (“First Two Pages of Frankenstein”) was exceptional, this is the best “alternative rock album” (or “Indie,” or whatever the kids are calling it now) I’ve heard in about 10 years. It’s easy to dismiss this as the “leftovers” album from The National this year, but it is not. It may be the best album they’ve ever made.
HIGH POINTS: Weird Goodbyes (feat. Bon Iver), Laugh Track (feat. Phoebe Bridgers), Space Invader, Tour Manager, Smoke Detector
03) DUANE BETTS – Wild & Precious Life
I’m inclined to ignore “legacy” acts, but Duane Betts (son of Allman Brothers Band original Dickey Betts) has apparently been keeping these songs close to the vest until just the right moment, and this is it. Breaking out of the Allman Betts Band (albeit temporarily), he’s corralled an impressive gathering of guests (Derek Trucks, Nicki Bluhm, Marcus King) and yet, proves he can stand on his own.
HIGH POINTS: Saints to Sinners, Cold Dark World (feat. Marcus King), Waiting on a Song, Stare at the Sun (feat. Derek Trucks), Forrest Lane
THE MOTET – All Day
GOV’T MULE – Peace…Like a River
CAT POWER – Cat Power Sings Dylan
JASON ISBELL and the 400 UNIT – Weathervanes
KING GIZZARD and the LIZARD WIZARD – The Silver Cord
NEIL YOUNG – Before and After
WILCO – Cousin
-SINGLES-
BRITANNY HOWARD – What Now
GOOSE – Hungersite
BILLY STRINGS w/ WILLIE NELSON – California Sober
THE NATIONAL – Tropic Morning News
PETER GABRIEL – Road to Joy (Bright-Side mix)
SLOW PULP – Doubt
REVIVALISTS – Good Old Days
KASSI VALAZZA – Early Morning Rising
RODRIGO y GABRIELA – Descending to Nowhere
HATAAŁII – Midnight Soldier
-LIVE ALBUMS-
GRATEFUL DEAD – Here Comes Sunshine 1973 (box set)
WILLIE NELSON and FRIENDS- Long Story Short – Willie Nelson 90 (Live at the Hollywood Bowl)
GOOSE – Live at the Salt Shed, Chicago, IL
CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM – Live in London
CORY WONG – The Power Station Tour (West Coast)
-TOUR DIARY-
2/23/23 – DOGS in a PILE – Tumbleroot, Santa Fe, NM
5/3/23 – CHARLEY CROCKETT – Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, NM
6/15/23 – moe. – Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM
6/17/23 – ROBERT PLANT / ALISON KRAUSS – Kit Carson Park, Taos, NM
6/23/23 – WIDESPREAD PANIC – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
8/05/23 – BOYGENIUS – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
8/26/23 – YOLA – Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM
10/3/23 – GOOSE – Pepsi Amphitheater, Flagstaff, AZ
10/8/23 – BOMBINO – Tumbleroot, Santa Fe, NM
10/17/23 – NICKEL CREEK – Revel Entertainment Center, Albuquerque, NM
-BEST LIVE STUNT-
THE DRONES – Dead and Company, 7/16/23 Oracle Park, San Franscisco, CA
HONORABLE MENTION: Phish, Gamehenge in its entirety, 12/31/23 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
-LOCAL FAVORITES-
BARD EDRINGTON V – Fire and Rain
LUMINATRIX – Among Us
ZIVI – Move Along
-POTENTIAL – MORE, PLEASE-
DANIEL DONATO
the LAST DINNER PARTY
SAY SHE SHE
WEDNESDAY
RIPE
VOLORES
JAIMEE HARRIS
MIDNIGHT NORTH
ARKANSAUCE
SAMI BRAMAN
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