We have officially wrapped our final show of 2025, which means it is time for a quick look back. This was easily our busiest concert year yet, and we were lucky enough to witness a long list of remarkable performances (and one truly execrable piece of dog doo). Let's unpack, shall we?
We attended a staggering 87 shows, saw 152 artists (one twice) across 34 venues, including 7 that we had never visited before! Out of those 151 artists, 123 were acts we had never seen before.
Below are our top five shows of the year, listed alphabetically. Choosing five was difficult enough, ranking them would have been impossible. We did not see a truly bad show this year (well, except for one,) and this list reflects personal taste as much as anything else. What ultimately set these five apart was a certain intangible quality, a moment of ignition between the artist and the audience that elevated the show into something unforgettable.
We also have to acknowledge several other outstanding performances that came very close to making the top tier. Sparks, as always, delivered the goods. The Temperance Movement returned in top form. The crushing double bill of Killer Kin and The Darts was a thing of feral beauty. We also saw standout sets from the Warren Haynes Band, Iron Maiden, Cocorosie, Gang of Four, W.A.S.P., Massive Wagons, Cage The Elephant and Eric Clapton. No weak links in that chain.
Even if they did not quite make the absolute top this year, it was still a thrill to see pop royalty Cyndi Lauper, The Lumineers, the apocalyptic fuzz punk of Osees and A Place To Bury Strangers, veterans like Blue Öyster Cult and Massive Attack, the ever cantankerous Morrissey, a resurgent Lucinda Williams, the jaw dropping wizardry of The SatchVai Band, the new incarnation of Black Flag, the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the sophisticated pop of High Llamas.
Headliners are one thing, but we also need to give props to all the opening acts and support bands, some of which were as good as the main event. Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the best ones we saw this year, again in no particular order: Cryptopsy, The Hot Damn!, Pythies, The DSM IV, Alberta Cross or Sunflower Bean...
Legends, cult heroes, newcomers, future icons... All worth the ticket.
Except one. Who was it, you ask? What band managed to stand out in a year of quality like a turd in a swimming pool, the kind of group that weaponizes mediocrity and somehow fills arenas with it? We do not enjoy negativity, but accountability is important. It is only fair that this band be named, if only as a public service announcement.
This band is...
Click HERE to find out.
Looking back on all those shows, it seems that a trend stands out: there are a lot of post-punk, new wave and psych/fuzz, alt-rock noise bands currently, and they seem to be packing houses. This year alone we saw killer sets by The Horrors, A Place To Bury Strangers, Osees, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, DITZ or Heartworms.
Extreme metal is also getting bigger by the year, it seems. Since it has infiltrated even more accessible genres and become mainstream, some bands are doubling down on the aggression and abrasion. Marduk, Decapitated, Carcass and Suffocation among others have slaughtered our eardrums in the most delectable way.
There were a few disappointments, unfortunately. We missed shows by Tom McRae, Bob Dylan, The Darkness, Wolf Alice, AC/DC, Santana, Helloween, Larkin Poe, Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, Duran Duran, Marilyn Manson, or Sting. Clutch cancelled their Paris date a couple of hours before show time, and Atheist's bus got stuck in England and couldn't make it to Paris... And of course, Limp Bizkit played in a nearly sold-out Accor Arena. But there is no use crying over spilt milk, especially since overall, it's been an exceptional year for concerts.
But 2026 is shaping up to be another great concert year, despite the news that The Rolling Stones will not be touring after all... Huge blockbuster shows by Def Leppard, Scorpions, Guns N' Roses and Iron Maiden have been announced.
We're also stoked that Brandi Carlile will be returning to the Paris-area, in a much larger venue, but that's not all: anonymous metal band President will be making its Paris debut so we can see what the hype is all about. Hard rock guitar legend Michael Schenker will be playing a U.F.O.-only set at Le Trianon, The Gathering are reuniting with singer Anneke to celebrate 30 years of their classic album Mandylion, Jeff Tweedy is temporarily stepping away from Wilco to present his new triple album album Twilight Override in an intimate setting, prog guitar wizard Steve Hackett will resurrect the spirit of 70's Genesis at Salle Pleyel, David Byrne will play two nights at La Seine Musicale right outside of Paris, Thundercat will bring his offbeat humor and jaw-dropping bass virtuosity to the venerable Salle Pleyel, country superstar Luke Combs will be playing a huge show in the summer and Saxon will be playing its rescheduled show with Sortilège at the Zénith.
Punk legends The Damned are going to be playing a one-off all-covers set at Bataclan, Cockney Rejects will be presenting their new line-up in the suburb of Montreuil, John Lydon is bringing Public Image Ltd. back to Le Trianon, Kid Congo Powers is taking his Pink Monkey Birds back to La Maroquinerie, and Agnostic Front will bring New York-style hardcore punk/metal hybrid to Le Forum in east-bumfuck Vauréal.
On the extreme metal front, quite a few brain-rattling packages are going to be passing through town: Mayhem, Marduk and Immolation are bringing their Death Over Europe tour to the French capital, Dimmu Borgir is teaming up with Behemoth and Dark Funeral to bring us a quintessential black metal experience, Sanguisuggabog will give us a Valentine's Day to remember, Kreator will devastate the Zénith with Carcass and Exodus, Napalm Death will headline the ultimate edition of the Paris Tattoo Planetarium...
We're also set to get show by The Sheepdogs, Robert Jon & The Wreck, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Eric Bibb, Wu-Tang Clan, Kula Shaker, prog-rock legend Steve Hackett, Alter Bridge with Daughtry and Sevendust, King Crimson supergroup offshoot Beat, hair metal jokesters Steel Panther, Franz Ferdinand, plus many, many more, some of which have yet to be announced. Keep an eye on our curated Paris-area events calendar to stay up to date!
2025 was also a landmark year for interviews. We caught up with our pals in Suffocation, spoke with David Vincent of Terrorizer and Morbid Angel, sat down with Kathrine Shepard of Sylvaine, talked punk philosophy with Eugene Hütz of Gogol Bordello, had a chat with members of Absu, went to the pub with Gary from Massive Wagons, and got deep with the members of supergroup Drink The Sea.
In 2025, we've also published a bunch of cool playlists, 41 to be exact, on a plethora of different themes, genres or artists. Click HERE to check them out!
Of course, 2025 also came with its fair share of heartbreaks and tragedies as we bid farewell to some pretty towering legends like Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, Ozzy Osbourne, Marianne Faithfull, Sam Moore, Garth Hudson, David Johansen, D'Angelo and his wife Angie Stone, Roy Ayers, Brian James, Palo Schifrin, Jimmy Cliff, Jack DeJohnnette, Steve Cropper or Ace Frehley.
And with that, we call 2025 a wrap. An exhilarating, exhausting, sometimes ridiculous year. The good far outweighed the bad, the highs were towering, and even the lows were memorable.
Onward to 2026!
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