The world mostly opened back up, just in time for Russia to try and blow everything up. Another European plan for world domination aside, see what I got up to this year. Between during the “post-pandemic” era, threat of nuclear annihilation, monkeypox, and inflation, the hardest hit in my pursuit of seeing 100 shows wasn’t my health, but rather my bank account. Man, that took quite the beating. While I saw 100 shows, technically I worked 26 of them. I’m always on the main floor for shows I work, so it’s not hard to watch the show and do my job. If, say, I was assigned to the door or the upstairs hallway, I wouldn’t count those.

But that’s never happened.

For multiple artists on the same day, like the Boston Calling lineup, I count each day as 1 concert. Opening acts typically truncate sets to fit the daily bunch, leaving room for the main headliner to play the longest set. Summerfest shows (Disturbed through Taking Back Sunday) are set up to highlight each artist. The side stages reserve a two-hour chunk of set + changeover time. This way a small band can play their full normal set as they would in a headlining slot without pressure to shorten their set for an oncoming act. Obviously these times are for more up-and-coming artists so even hour-long sets are plenty and often exhaust their playable touring/rehearsed songs.

I don’t have a comedy ranking system yet, but Bert Kreischer at Red Rocks easily took the top spot. Quite frankly that show was right behind Metallica day and my last-minute decision to see Pitbull as my best shows of the year. Rounding out the Top 5 would be The Outlaw Music Festival and Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown.

If anyone wants to see 100 shows and doesn’t work in the industry — don’t. OK, maybe try one time.

Let’s face it, living in Grand Rapids is great if you love country, bluegrass, jam bands, EDM and metal. The rest? There’s a glaring lack of Hip Hop, Rap, R&B, and Soul that I’d definitely like to see more of, but costs don’t justify drives and/or overnight stays in Detroit or Chicago. One hundred shows was tough, and some months were slogs to get through, like November.

It was a good year. A fun, solid, unrepeatable-for-the-sake-of-my-sanity year.

C = Comedy

123 = Indicates ranking at the time of the show, not overall standing. Click to see the full running list.

100 Shows, Over 225 Artists, Over 230 Unique Sets

Want to follow along? I added my favorite songs from each concert. Whether you play the previews or sit back with all 6 hours, here’s a glimpse of what I most enjoyed about this year.

And if you’re interested in see what’s in store for 2023, or my past lists, click here.

January

170. mewithoutyou

229. Ashley McBryde [Ashland Craft]

217. Walker Hayes

February

146. Railroad Earth

161. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong [Tauk]

122. Caamp

51. Ghost [Volbeat, Twin Temple]

142. Waxahatchee [Madi Diaz]

143. Beach House [Colloboh]

151. Dylan Scott [Dylan Marlowe]

March

C. Whitney Cummings [Ricky Velez]

153. Mat Kearney [Jordy Searcy]

83. Coheed & Cambria [Sheer Mag]

188. Caroline Rose

75. Reba McIntire [Reyna Roberts]

65. The Midnight [Nightly]

113. Animal Collective [L'Rain]

25. Car Seat Headrest

C. Ari Shaffir, Big Jay Oakerson, Robert Kelly

92. Trampled by Turtles [Elizabeth Cook]

April

110. Wolf Alice [Charlie Hickey]

149. Chris Lane [Tyler Rich, Lily Rose]

82. Jack White [Olivia Jean]

C. Dwight Simmons [Thaddaeus McKee, David Louis, Shanda Sung (MC)]

150. Megadeth [Lamb of God]

197. Big Thief [Kara-Lis Coverdale]

111. Kaleo [Bones Owens]

102. Sevendust [All Good Things, Plush, Deadfall]

May

99. Sting [Joe Sumner]

71. Spanish Love Songs [Save Face, Camp Trash]

67. Houndmouth [Sam Filiatreau]

129. The Rumjacks, Flatfoot 56 [Oi!l Change]

36. Matt Andersen [Terra Lightfoot]

117. Built to Spill [Sunbathe, Distant Family]

22. Boston Calling Day 1 [Nine Inch Nails, Haim, Avril Lavigne ft. Mod Sun, Rüfüs Du Sol, Miranda Rae, Mob Rich ft. Grandson, Grandson]

34. Boston Calling Day 2 [NIN, Run the Jewels, Dutch Tulips, Hinds]

8. Boston Calling Day 3 [Metallica, Weezer, Glass Animals, Modest Mouse, Cults]

June

C. Nikki Glaser [Anya Marina, Andrew Collin]

36. Wallows [Spill Tab]

143. We Were Promised Jetpacks [Weakened Friends]

59. CHVRCHES [fanclubwallet]

72. Fitz & the Tantrums [St. Paul & the Broken Bones]

101. Old Crow Medicine Show [Jaime Wyatt]

19. Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown [Tank and the Bangas, Big Freedia, Cyril Neville, George Porter Jr, Dumpstaphunk, Soul Rebels]

15. Outlaw Music Festival [Willie Nelson & Family, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Charley Crockett, Brittany Spencer]

75. The Wrecks [girlhouse]

104. Disturbed [Lamb of God, Chevelle]

July

162. Dean Lewis

199. The New Pornographers

94. Alessia Cara

147. Hockey Dad

87. Taking Back Sunday

130. Corinne Bailey Rae [The War and Treaty]

113. Death Cab for Cutie [Illuminati Hotties]

63. Spoon [Bodega]

44. Norah Jones [Emily King]

110. Wilderado [Toledo]

150. Drive-By Truckers [Lydia Loveless]

46. Rod Stewart [Cheap Trick]

August

206. Hanson [AMMM]

134. The Dead South [Tejon Street Corner Thieves]

28. The Wild Hearts Tour [Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Julien Baker, Quinn Christopherson]

162. Dermot Kennedy [Kwaician Traylor]

154. The Devil Wears Prada

91. Rise Against [The Used, Senses Fail]

154. Plain White T's

200. Weird Al [Emo Phillips]

10. Pitbull [Iggy Azalea]

September

140. Emmylou Harris [Mary Chapin Carpenter]

113. 311 [Tropidelic]

68. PUP [Palehound]

98. Dayseeker [The World Alive, Moodring]

C. Nick Swardson [Jeff Bodart]

162. Minnesota [Mlotik, Chef Boyarbeatz, Zeke Beats]

30. The National [Lucy Dacus]

C. Bert Kriescher [Mark Normand, Shane Gillis, Carter Cruise (DJ Set)]

45. Bleachers [Isaac Dunbar]

34. The Front Bottoms [The Joy Formidable, Mobley]

174. Julia Jacklin [Katy Kirby]

145. Marcus King [Neal Francis, Ashland Craft]

107. Peach Pit [The Districts]

71. Brother Ali [MaLLy, DJ Last Word]

177. Bad Bad Hats [Wildermiss, Phabies]

October

101. The Gaslight Anthem [Jeff Rosenstock]

52. Hippo Campus [Chai]

73. Sabaton [Epica]

101. Highly Suspect [Dead Poet Society]

161. Dan Rodriguez

147. Durry [Low Phase]

100. Amanda Shires [Autumn Nicholas]

November

288. lovelytheband [DJ Composition]

43. Bright Eyes [Hurray for the Riff Raff]

222. Will Sheff [Mmeadows]

130. Smallpools [Dreamers, Young Rising Son]

201. Will Hoge, Dave Hause, Tim Hause

242. Steel Panther [Harmless Habit]

December

C. Laurie Kilmartin [Chloe Radcliffe, Simon Carlson, Alexa Stanton]

211. Twiddle

199. Escape the Fate

142. The Wallflowers [Brother Elsey]