I’ve seen many, many concerts, across several genres, so I won’t try to list them here. I can’t even list the concerts I’ve been in over the past 14 seasons of singing with The Phil, so there’s no point in getting on that crazy train. I also won’t include other orchestral concerts here for the most part (ones I’ve attended), for the same reason. There are some Phil concerts listed here, however, because the orchestra played backup for a visiting artist who makes my list of favorites. You’ll see what I mean.

• Nickel Creek ~ Okay, my sis and I counted, and we came up with a total of 7 Nickel Creek concerts in a two year period. We blew a lot of dough, and happily. So, obviously, these guys top my list of best concerts. Of their shows, my favorite was probably an open-air concert where Jo and I sat within a few feet of the stage. The show was fantastic, with the atmosphere of the outdoors adding to the energy.
• Switchfoot ~ This would be last week’s concert, which was special in a whole new way, because of what Switchfoot’s music means to me. A friend who attended with me describes it well.
• Heather Headley ~ This was one of those Phil-backed concerts. Headley has a unique, soaring voice, and was better in concert than I could have imagined. She sang a variety of genres – gospel, showtunes, pop songs – with near-perfection. It was a magical night.
• Straight No Chaser ~ I love this group! I’ve seen them twice, and they were excellent both times. The first was my favorite show. They are an acapella group, so the blend of their sound is of utmost importance, and at the second show I attended the amplification was not well done. I’m looking forward to seeing them again this December. This time I’ll be taking Andy, who hasn’t seen them yet. I know he’ll love it.
• Bernadette Peters ~ Bernadette Peters was with The Phil in 2012, and she was, well, Bernadette Peters. She was delightful and poised. She was also guarded – if you were paying attention you could see the act. I sort of expected that from her, though, and didn’t mind it.
• Josh Groban ~ I’ve owned every album since his first. His music is some of my favorite, so I was delighted to get the opportunity to see him in concert a few years ago. Interestingly, this is the only concert on my list that was played in a large arena. I’m not sure I would go see him again at this phase in his career, but that’s got to do with me, not him – I think purchasing the tickets and fighting the crowds at such a large venue sounds awful. Didn’t phase me in the past, so apparently I’ve gotten curmudgeonly in my old age. 🙂

There was also this one time I went to see Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant was a surprise guest, so that was so cool to my inner 10-year-old. Also, I went to see Gordon Lightfoot, and that was bizarre, because he had 60-year-old groupies and he forgot the words to “Sundown”, which is only his most famous song. (This is your brain after drugs, people.) But it was a fun show. Okay, partly because of those things.