Paul Robicheau
Playing nearly 60 songs across a trio of near-three-hour shows, jam-rockers Widespread Panic certainly made their return to Boston count.
But this wasn’t just a night for the hits. It was an occasion for raw, in-the-trenches rock (none of Aerosmith’s later commercial dreck) and rarely, if ever, played songs.
The band tucked two songs from its new album into a career-spanning 95-minute show tilted toward six tunes from the Black Keys’ 2010 commercial breakthrough “Brothers.”
Newport Jazz sold out all three days in advance for the second year in a row, which made scheduling the primary acts across three stages prone to occasional mismatches between space and demand. But it’s still a golden ticket.
Despite the passing years, personal loss, and shifting musical roles, Wednesday’s 80-minute set proved that everything’s indeed ok with TV on the Radio.
Newport Folk Festival will likely never deliver cameos as ground shaking as those in 2022, when stars aligned for Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon to grace separate tributes. But it doesn’t have to, given that there’s so much talent already on site.
Fans who at least followed the band through its heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s couldn’t have predicted the Mekons would wind it back in 2025 behind a new album just as galvanizing as their past catalog.
For those seeking adventure away from cookie-cutter arena rock, Phish still fit the bill.
The 2025 edition of Boston Calling largely appealed to a younger demographic, despite highlighting some older bearers of nostalgia.
The arty, satirical rockers from Akron, Ohio, remain a singular entity — Devo has been as inspirational as it has been influential.
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