It was another sensational year for live music in the Bay Area.
It started off in the winter, with such former hitmakers as Bryan Adams and Air Supply delivering fun shows, and then continued right into the spring with multi-act showcases like Punk in the Park (with the Dead Kennedys!) and BottleRock Napa Valley.
Summertime was a blast, as Megan Thee Stallion visited Chase Center and Sabrina Carpenter headlined Outside Lands. Then it was time for fall, which brought the world’s best free music festival — Hardly Strictly Bluegrass — and so much more. (And see our picks for Top Albums of 2024 with Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, more.)
So many fun shows. But there were some that truly stood out and will likely stick with us for months, if not years, to come.
These are those 10 shows, listed in order of greatness:
1. Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Sept. 1, Chase Center, San Francisco
It was the chance to experience one of the greatest catalogs in popular music history — that of the Electric Light Orchestra — one last time in the Bay Area as the Lynne and company brought their farewell tour to the house of the Golden State Warriors.
And what a grand goodbye it was, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and his extremely talented 12-piece backing band delivered one stone cold classic after another during the 19-song set.
The arrangements simply sparkled, as the musicians managed to artfully usher ELO’s meticulous rock-meets-classical studio recordings into the live arena. Those all-time great tunes — “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” “Strange Magic,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” etc. — were further bolstered by a mind-blowing array of special effects, laser lights and videos, combing to create what was nothing short of the most visually entertaining rock show of the year.
The fact that we were witnessing all of this for what was most likely the final time – given that Lynne doesn’t appear to be one of those rock stars who’d go back on his word – just made the whole evening feel even more poignant and special.
Read full Jeff Lynne’s ELO review here.
2. Olivia Rodrigo, Aug. 2, Chase Center
“Welcome to the Guts Tour,” Rodrigo said at the start of the show. “Tonight is going to be so much (expletive) fun.”
She’d then back up those words — and how — by performing what was certainly one of the most deliriously joyous and exuberantly entertaining pop music spectacles that we’ve seen in the first half of this decade.
Yeah, this former Disney Channel star is the real deal, having already managed to fashion a full headlining show’s worth of tremendous tunes from just two album releases.
She’s sensational with the up-tempo numbers — launching 15,000 fans into full-on dance mania — and even better with the slow somber ballads, filled with lines that translate like diary entries whispered into your ear.
Plus, her ability to connect with the crowd is on the same ridiculously high level as Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey, resulting in moments of synergy that make everyone in the house — parents included — feel like they are existing in the very center of the universe.
Read full Olivia Rodrigo review here.
3. Bruce Springsteen, April 1, Chase Center
Springsteen and his legendary E Street Band put on an amazing show on March 28 at Chase, filled with heroic performances of some of the finest rocks songs of all time. Springsteen’s energy level was off the charts and his vocals were terrific. Just a tremendous evening of rock ‘n’ roll, all around.
The crazy thing was, however, that he’d then return to the same venue a few nights later and deliver an even bigger and better show.
That’s why we call him The Boss.
Changing up the setlist significantly from Night 1, Springsteen lifted this April Fools’ Day gig to towering heights as he added such A-listers as “Light of Day,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “My City of Ruins” and “Glory Days” — as well as an exuberant encore cover of “Twist and Shout” — to the fold.
Both Springsteen shows at Chase were brilliant, but if I had to pick — and I do, since it’s my job — I’ll say Night 2 was shone just a bit more brightly.
Read Bruce Springsteen Night 1 review here.
Read Bruce Springsteen Night 2 review here.
4. Danny Elfman, Nov. 3, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View
“I can’t believe I’m back,” Elfman said in bewilderment. “I can’t believe I’m alive. I mean, what the (expletive)? Really?”
Oh, he was very much back — and very much alive — during an all-too-rare concert performance in the Bay Area just a few nights after Halloween.
Backed by a grand ensemble of musicians — including a full orchestra with brass, string and woodwind sections — Elfman used the occasion to touch upon numerous facets of his wondrous career, from the ska-influenced new wave of Oingo Boingo to his Oscar-nominated film scores to the industrial rock of the solo effort “Big Mess.”
Trying to tie all those disparate areas together in one performance could have indeed turned out to be one “Big Mess. That the 32-song set instead felt like such a cohesive and profound musical statement just underscores that Elfman is one of the greatest artists of our time.
Read full Danny Elfman review here.
5. Xscape, SWV, June 27, Toyota Pavilion, Concord
The two iconic ‘90s R&B acts put an end to their differences and squabbling — which was well documented on the Bravo channel reality TV mini-series “SWV & Xscape: The Queens of R&B” in 2023 — to put on a co-headlining tour that was an absolute joy to behold.
Performing in front of a packed house in Concord on the tour’s opening night, Xscape and SWV mixed and matched their songs and performances during one jumbo-sized set (as opposed to two separate performances, like one typically gets during co-headlining treks).
The most memorable moments came when the two trios took the stage together and blended all six of their voices on the Clark Sisters’ powerful gospel number “You Brought the Sunshine (Into My Life),” the gorgeous Xscape ballad “The Arms of the One Who Loves You” and the fun show-closing cover of Lil’ Kim’s “Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix).”
Read full Xscape, SWA review here.
6. Pulp, Sept. 16, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
Jarvis Cocker and company were only playing five cities on their 2024 North America. Thankfully, one of those happened to be in the Bay Area.
Pulp used to the occasion to illustrate all the reasons why it’s the finest Brit-pop band to break big in the ‘90s, moving through 19 equally articulate and artistic cuts in just over two hours during what was the group’s first Bay Area date in over a dozen years. (Pulp’s prior S.F. outing was April 17, 2012 at the Warfield — which was also an excellent show.)
The whole group sounded great, but Cocker — as always — was the focus of the crowd’s attention throughout the night as he twisted and contorted his body in bizarrely hypnotic ways while crooning in his own dashingly charismatic fashion.
Plus, “Common People” remains a song that basically all rock fans should experience live in concert at least once.
7. Cowboy Junkies, June 9, Bimbo’s 365 Club, San Francisco
The Canadian quartet has been the most consistently excellent act of the last 35 years, having first caught the public’s attention with the definitive lo-fi masterpiece “The Trinity Session” in 1988 and then went on to release one gorgeous offering after another through the decades.
Still featuring all four of its original members — Timmins siblings Margo (vocals), Michael (guitar/songwriter) and Peter (drums) as well as bassist Alan Anton — the Junkies also continue to be an absolute joy onstage, even when they are wading through (as they often do) utterly bleak and desperate topic matter. The push and pull of Margo’s alluring vocal work with brother Michael’s harrowing lines continues to fuel this band to such great heights.
Read full Cowboy Junkies review here.
8, Stanley Clarke, Hiromi, Sept. 5 SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco
Talk about a great way to get the party started, as Terence Blanchard kicked off his official inaugural season as SFJAZZ’s executive artistic director by presenting this pairing of topnotch talents.
The two jazz powerhouses would certainly do Blanchard proud as they combined forces for 90 minutes of superb musicianship on opening night of SFJAZZ’s 2024-25 season.
Hiromi displayed a staggering degree of musical virtuosity on the piano, yet it was the undeniable joy that she found in creating the music that really made her performance so special.
And Clarke definitely lived up to his mighty legend, using those mighty mitts of his to coax and command such amazing sounds from the bass.
Read full Stanley Clarke, Hiromi review here.
9. Pablo Cruise, May 9, Guild Theatre, Menlo Park
These ‘70s hitmakers from Sausalito — whose career was resurrected in large part due to Will Ferrell wearing a Pablo Cruise shirt in the 2008 comedy “Step Brothers” — did a great job showcasing their versatility and overall musical value while delivering a 14-song set that balanced radio friendly pop, jammed-out instrumentals, CSN-style folk and, of course, plenty of yacht rock.
The group sounded superb from start to finish, underscoring once again that Pablo Cruise may well be the most underrated band in Bay Area music history.
Read full Pablo Cruise review here.
10. Buzzcocks, March 14, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
The greatest pop-punk band of all time was playing its first Bay Area concert since lead singer Pete Shelley died at the age of 63 in December 2018. And, understandably, there were a lot of concerns going into the show about whether the Buzzcocks would still be worth seeing without Shelley’s famously high and nasally vocal work.
Steve Diggle understood that and — taking the band entirely under his wing — managed to deliver a show that did justice to the Buzzcocks’ mighty legacy. Fueled by Diggle’s best-in-the-punk-business guitar work, the band sounded stellar as it mined its deep back catalog and added a few newer gems as well.
Read full Buzzcocks review here.
