The year that was.
Wrapping up the year that's passed, getting ready for a busy New Year, and listings for recommended new-music performances Dec. 30, 2025–Jan. 6, 2026.
It’s been some time since I’ve considered compiling a tally of the year’s top concert events, and that’s far more true now that my work no longer mainly consists of being out three or more nights a week. The number of noteworthy public events I had to miss this year for one reason or another is substantial enough to disqualify me from any declaration of “best.” So instead, I’m citing 10 performances that moved me then and still do now: an entirely personal and idiosyncratic gesture of recognition and gratitude.
Christopher Cerrone: In a Grove
Paul Appleby, Mikaela Bennett, John Brancy, Chuanyuan Liu, Metropolis Ensemble/Rachel Acevedo Klein
La MaMa ETC
January 17
George Lewis/Claudio Monteverdi: The Comet/Poppea
American Modern Opera Company
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
June 24
Kudos to the Metropolitan Opera for continuing forays into contemporary opera – yes, I did in fact enjoy Antony and Cleopatra and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – but the main thrust of modern music theater in New York City remains elsewhere. In January, PROTOTYPE mounted Christopher Cerrone’s taut, sophisticated murder mystery with economical elegance; in June, the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC) and Lincoln Center devoted considerable ingenuity to George Lewis’s time-tangled fusion of Monteverdi and modernity.
Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan
BAM Fisher
May 9
Arguably I have no business writing up a concert presented at BAM, my full-time employer… but the passion, precision, and infectious exuberance of this genre-obliterating collaboration between Sō Percussion and the two singing composers and multi-instrumentalists of avant-pop duo Ringdown make its inclusion here mandatory. (You can read a longer reflection here.)
New York Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel with Kate Soper
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
May 27
Attending the New York Philharmonic debut of Kate Soper, a charismatic singing composer of wry, brainy chamber works, was every bit the thrill it promised to be. But the unexpected highlight of this program was hearing Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonic musicians playing Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 11 with the authority and commitment it deserved—and seeing Glass in the balcony, responding to the thunderous extended ovation his bedazzling work prompted.
Goose
Madison Square Garden
June 28
Phish
Forest Hills Amphitheater
July 23
Dizgo + Squeaky Feet
The Brooklyn Monarch
October 24
It’s tempting to call this trifecta the past, present, and future of jam-band music—except that Phish, on any good night, is as vibrant and exploratory as ever. The band’s Forest Hills debut was that kind of night; I hesitate in citing it here only because tonight’s Madison Square Garden show could be even stronger. Seeing heir-apparent Goose headline the Garden for the first time was a privilege… and also a gas, as the horn-enhanced band kept on going long past its curfew. And in a double-headliner affair in Brooklyn, the charismatic funk of Indianapolis quartet Dizgo and proggy daredevil moves of Denver’s Squeaky Feet proved the scene’s not getting stuck in a rut.
Quatuor Bozzini
DiMenna Center for Classical Music
August 15
Ivalas Quartet
High School of Fashion Industries
November 8
Poiesis Quartet
Rosen House, Caramoor
November 16
Were I forced to choose a “Best Concert of 2025,” I would have no hesitation pointing to the persuasive assurance and infectious joy shown in a Caramoor concert by the many-awards-winning Poiesis Quartet, a young ensemble determined to make concert music both a living art and an inclusive space. Another young group, the Ivalas Quartet, showed a similar mix of mission, discipline, and exuberance in its Peoples’ Symphony Concerts performance the same month. And in its Time:Spans concert in August, Canada’s Quatuor Bozzini showcased new works by Taylor Brook, Zosha Di Castri, and Cassandra Miller that proved adventurous compositional techniques are completely compatible with deeply emotional, expressive ends.
A musical interlude.
Tyshawn Sorey has generously shared a complete recording of For Bill Frisell, for solo electric guitar, in a performance by Sean Shibe. Hear it while you can.
Ready, set, go.
Far from the quiet interlude it once was, January is now among the busiest, most stimulating months of the year, thanks to the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference, when representatives from venues and presenting organizations from around the world convene in New York City to compare notes and essentially shop for fresh artists and shows they can engage to present at their home venues.
Chief among these for our purposes are PROTOTYPE*, the premier festival for new opera and music theater, which begins on Wednesday, January 7, and Winter JazzFest , which follows on Thursday, January 8. Independent events tend to crop up, too, like Pyroclastic Artists: A Winter Festival at the Jazz Gallery (Jan. 8–10). And there’s even more going on that extends beyond the purview of this newsletter but still merits your notice, including the theater festival Under the Radar (Jan. 7–25) and world-music marathon globalFEST (Jan. 11). So catch your breath this week, and then get ready to get busy.
* Obligatory disclaimer: One PROTOTYPE event, What to wear, is presented in partnership with BAM, my full-time employer.
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
30
A Phish After-Party
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St.; Greenwich Village
Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 11:59pm; $55–$125, advance $45–$125
lpr.com
Even if (unlike me) you have no intention to catch Phish during its New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden, this starry late-night rip at LPR should entice lovers of improvised rock and space-bound electric jazz alike. On hand are keyboardist John Medeski and drummer Billy Martin, two-thirds of an outfit famously well-versed in toeing the line betwixt jam and jazz, plus Nels Cline, a jazz guitarist best known for his work in Wilco, and Scott Metzger, whose six-string prowess extends well beyond his stellar-blue work in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.
31
Celebrate responsibly.
1
Recover quickly.
2
Matt Pavolka Quintet
Bar Bayeux
1066 Nostrand Ave.; Brooklyn
Friday, Jan. 2 at 8 & 9:30pm; no cover, one-drink minimum, tips encouraged
barbayeux.com
A nimble bassist and savvy composer vital to creative-music life in New York for a few decades now, Matt Pavolka has always known how to build a band: witness the steely purr of his original Matt Pavolka Band, and the genial lyricism of the Horns Band that followed. Busy lately with the great Gary Bartz, Pavolka turns up with his New Quintet – trumpeter Dave Smith, saxophonist Jason Rigby, pianist Jacob Sacks, and drummer Steven Crammer – showing off selections from a forthcoming album and possibly even newer material. (See Mon 5 for more Jacob Sacks action.)
3
Tim Berne
Barbès
376 9th St.; Brooklyn
Saturday, Jan. 3 at 6pm; $20
viewcy.com
Just two days into the New Year and already it’s Berne, baby, Berne—as in veteran alto and baritone saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Tim Berne, reigning king of Brooklyn’s neighborhood bar hang. Tonight he kicks off what he’s termed “Winter Timfest” with his Capotosta bandmates, guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi and drummer Tom Rainey, plus bassist John Hébert. On Tuesday at Lowlands Bar, the same foursome welcomes a distinguished foreign dignitary, one Harry Covert. You can keep tabs on this bicameral marathon and other assorted Berne notices on Instagram.
4
Cameron Campbell
Close Up
154 Orchard St.; Lower East Side
Sunday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 & 9pm; $20
closeupnyc.com
If you’re a lover of progressive pianism, maybe you just want to pitch a tent somewhere near Close Up, where a trifecta of margin-pushing keyboardists holds court these next three nights. Up first this evening is Cameron Campbell, a Worcester native who demonstrated his fluency in post-bop and hip-hop idioms on Cakewalk, his 2025 LP with guitarist Emmanuel Michael as a slippery foil atop a solid rhythmic foundation. Seen and heard widely with Samara Joy and lately with Bill Frisell, Campbell clearly is one to watch.
GatherNYC
Museum of Arts & Design
2 Columbus Circle; Midtown West
Sunday, Jan. 4 at 11am; $30, under 12 admitted free
gathernyc.org
Cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, the Gather NYC curators and hosts also known as Boyd Meets Girl, take the stage with mezzo-soprano Devony Smith and baritone Jesse Blumberg for an eclectic playlist of old and new songs, including Franz Schubert, Manuel de Falla, and Missy Mazzoli. In addition to the music, all GatherNYC events include a storyteller, an appreciation of silence, and complimentary coffee and pastries.
5
Jacob Sacks Quintet
Close Up
154 Orchard St.; Lower East Side
Monday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 & 9pm; $20
closeupnyc.com
Versatile pianist Jacob Sacks has his name up front for this engagement, but any longtime observer of the scene will recognize this band – saxophonist Chet Doxas, trombonist Jacob Garchik, bassist Eivind Opsvik, and drummer Dan Weiss – is about community, continuity, and connection… matter of fact, Sacks, Garchik, and Weiss first hooked up as Manhattan School students in 1995. Sacks has also anchored bands led by Doxas and Opsvik; tonight’s meet-up should be a master class in how familiarity can facilitate freshness. Can’t help but notice that another longtime Sacks collaborator, vocalist Yoon Sun Choi, helms the club’s 10:30pm set and 11:30pm jam session; might the pianist be burning some midnight oil?
6
Tim Berne
Lowlands Bar
543 3rd Ave., Brooklyn
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 9pm; pass-the-hat
instagram.com/berneornot
See Sat 3, above.
Angelica Sanchez
Close Up
154 Orchard St.; Lower East Side
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7:30 & 9pm; $20
closeupnyc.com
Completing an impromptu Close Up triple play, expressive pianist, composer, and bandleader Angelica Sanchez plies her poetry and liberty in an enticing trio with two distinctive collaborators, soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome and drummer Nasheet Waits.
Thanks so much for sharing Tyshawn's post of 'For Bill Frisell.' Though to my ears, the vibe is much more Sonny Sharrock than Bill F... Shibe is a marvel – there's a guitarist with range.
Thanks for your kind words Steve!!!