Illustration by The Globe and Mail; Roy Rochlin/Getty Images, Supplied
High track, Honda, dreams I remember
Long nights drivin’ all through November
Cold room, hard floor, soft shoulders
Snowstorms north, they cancel the show
Or perhaps it is about life on the road for fans. The Globe and Mail’s Mariya Postelnyak and Josh O’Kane recently wrote about the rise in concert cancellations in Canada. As the article explains, travelling concertgoers lose money on the sunk costs of food and transportation, even flights and hotels.
The reasons for cancellations vary. The Steve Miller Band, for example, called off its 2025 tour a month before it was set to start. The cited reason − the possibility of extreme weather conditions put musicians and fans in peril − was probably a cover for poor ticket sales. But, then, Miller was the rock star who in the 1970s famously sang about going from “Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.” It was that kind of inefficient, jet-setting, carbon-footprinting tour routing that contributed to climate change in the first place.
But even when concerts go off without a hitch, as most of them do, fans are saddled with sky-high ticket prices. Michael Rapino has heard the complaints − and he does seem to not care. Speaking in September at the invite-only CNBC and Boardroom’s Game Plan conference, the CEO of concert promotion colossus Live Nation insisted tickets were “underpriced” compared with professional sports events.
Rapino should be more sympathetic with fans. He hails from Thunder Bay and knows how tough it is for Canadian music lovers: Long nights drivin’ all through November …
Here are my 10 favourite concerts I attended in 2025.
The Who, Royal Albert Hall, London
I still don’t know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall, but I do know how many people it takes to fill the Who’s drum seat. One, and it is no longer Zak Starkey, who was fired by the Who apparently because singer Roger Daltrey didn’t like his work at this concert.
Rheostatics at Massey Hall.Matt Forsythe/Supplied
Rheostatics, TD Music Hall, Toronto
The venerable Canadian art-rock ensemble celebrated its sublime new album Great Lakes Suite with a semi-improvised multimedia show. The interplay between violinist Hugh Marsh and guest guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush was magical, and the cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald really gitcheed my gumee.
Brandi Disterheft, Smalls Jazz Club, New York
The Vancouver-born jazz-bass wunderkind lives in New York, where she had crowds lined up around the block for four shows over two nights this fall. The PBRs were ice cold and Disterheft and her three accompanists were red hot.
Ron Sexsmith performs with a with children's ukulele orchestra at Hugh’s Room Live.Supplied
Ron Sexsmith, Hugh’s Room Live/Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
The gentle melodist was upset when he wasn’t invited to participate in the Lightfoot celebration at Massey Hall in 2024, so he performed three sold-out Lightfoot tributes of his own at Hugh’s Room Live this spring. Later in the year, he launched his new album, Hangover Terrace, with a lovely show at Danforth Music Hall that included a troupe of child ukulele players.
Sabrina Carpenter, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
I wasn’t sure the Espresso singer would be my cup of coffee, but the blond Betty Boop of pop dazzled with sexy insouciance, nu-disco effervescence and summery bops.
Boz Scaggs, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago
“Next stop Chi town.” I’ve wanted to see the Lido Shuffle singer ever since he graced the cover of Rolling Stone wearing all-white silk in ’77. Scaggs is 81 years old, but he was at his low-key, bluesy best in a beautiful theatre I wasn’t familiar with previously.
The Weeknd performs at the Rogers Centre in July.Hyghly Alleyne/Supplied
The Weeknd, Rogers Centre, Toronto
Not so much a concert as a pageant, with Toronto’s Abel Tesfaye lording over a stadium like a Roman emperor. When it was over, I was ready to go to war for him.
Feist, Madison Square Garden, New York
Opening for the Who on its farewell tour, Canada’s Leslie Feist out-rocked the British legends. And, frankly, it wasn’t even close.
Cindy Lee at Massey Hall.Matt Forsythe/Supplied
Cindy Lee, Massey Hall, Toronto
Calgary-born Patrick Flegel, in the glamorous but lonely drag queen persona of Cindy Lee, alternated Lynchian girl-group retro pop with brittle, noisy blasts from one of Gibson Guitars’ best electric models. This was concert elevated to performance art.
Bill Frisell performs.Tracey Savein/South Paw Productions/Supplied
Bill Frisell, Hotel Wolfe Island, Marysville, Ont.; Hugh’s Room Live, Toronto
At one point during the quiet-handed jazz guitarist’s set in a fantastic little music room on Wolfe Island, a fan requested You Only Live Twice. “If you’re lucky, Frisell replied. The legend didn’t play the James Bond theme song. But I considered myself lucky to see him twice this summer.