20 must-see concerts happening at Boston's top venues in fall 2024 (2024)

Events

As concerts begin to move indoors, their variety expands. Here's what to expect from September-November.

By Ed Symkus

New bands, old bands, local heroes, international stars, rock and pop, jazz, folk, country, hip-hop, and even some music originally intended for the movie screen make up the 2024 fall concert season at Boston’s top venues.

(Sites include TD Garden, Roadrunner, MGM Music Hall at Fenway, House of Blues, Leader Bank Pavilion, The Wilbur, The Orpheum, Passim, Berklee Performance Center, Scullers Jazz Club, and City Winery. Also check out our separateGillette StadiumandFenway Parkconcert guides; our smaller venue preview is coming soon.All prices listed are face value; for some shows only verified resale tickets may be available.)

Best rock & blues concerts:

St. Vincent at MGM Music Hall

Before re-christening herself, the singer-composer-guitarist-producer St. Vincent was called Annie Clark. Growing up in Dallas, she started on guitar at 12, became a road manager for the folk duo Tuck & Patti (Tuck is her uncle), studied for a while at Berklee, joined the Polyphonic Spree, and was in the backing band of Sufjan Stevens. All the while she was building her own style and sound – a mix of rock, pop, and jazz – resulting in her 2007 album debut “Marry Me.” Multiple albums followed, as did Grammy Awards (Best Alternative Album for “St. Vincent,” Best Rock Song for “Masseducation”), and she was honored with the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts. She’s currently touring behind her 2024 album “All Born Screaming.” Thursday, Sept. 5, 8 p.m., MGM Music Hall, 2 Lansdowne St., Boston. $50-$80.

Megadeth at Leader Bank Pavilion

Though there’s been a constantly changing lineup over the years, Megadeth has always had the mainstay of guitarist-vocalist Dave Mustaine firing up their high-speed, hard-charging thrash metal sound. Mustaine was part of the original Metallica in 1981, and left two years later (reportedly not of his own accord) to start Megadeth. After two more years, there was a first album – “Killing Is My Business … And Business Is Good” – as well as a contract with Capitol. Their records sold well, then 1992’s “Countdown to Extinction” went through the roof, achieving double platinum sales. An injury to Mustaine’s arm and hand led to a breakup in 2002, but the band was back in the studio two years later for “The System Has Failed,” and a handful of releases since then. They scored a Best Metal Performance Grammy for their 2016 song “Dystopia,” and their most recent album is 2022’s “The Sick, the Dying … And the Dead.” (They’re apparently fond of ellipses.) Wednesday, Sept. 11, 6:30 p.m., Leader Bank Pavilion, 290 Northern Ave., Boston. $35-$191.

Jeff Lynne’s ELO at TD Garden

For those who have forgotten, ELO is short for Electric Light Orchestra, the British band that winningly melded pop, rock, and classical, and even added a touch of disco, banging out hit after hit, including “Telephone Line,” “Evil Woman,” and “Don’t Bring Me Down,” during a decade-long run through the ’70s and ’80s. Lynne went on to become a member of The Traveling Wilburys and settled into an additional career as a successful record producer. But in 2014, Lynne got (a version of) ELO back together for a studio album – “Alone in the Universe” – and a tour. Another album – “From Out of Nowhere” – was released in 2019. The current tour, being referred to as the band’s final one, has been dubbed “The Over and Out Tour.” Monday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m., TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston. $114-$329.

The Hives at Roadrunner

Ask a Hives fan to name their favorite song by the Swedish rock outfit, and it’s likely that “Hate to Say I Told You So” from their 2000 album “Veni Vidi Vicious” would get lots of votes. That one is from the days when they were known as accessible garage rockers, who always dressed in black & white. Well, they still dress in black & white, and they still play straightforward garage rock. But they’ve added more ingredients to their mix, with some pop elements, a touch of electronica, and even some brass. If fans were asked to name a favorite track of the group’s most recent record, last year’s “The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons” – their first one in over a decade – a good bet for the most votes would be the big, boisterous, raucous “Bogus Operandi” (or maybe the upbeat “Crash into the Weekend”). Wednesday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m., Roadrunner, 89 Guest St., Boston. $37.50-$79.50.

The Dresden Dolls at Roadrunner

Do you really need anything beyond a vocalist-pianist-composer and a drummer to put together a strong rock band? Apparently, the Boston-formed duo of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione – AKA The Dresden Dolls – believe the two of them are more than enough. Of course, it doesn’t hurt for the performers to be wearing bowler hats and white mime makeup. Nor has it been problematic – since they started playing together in 2001, after meeting at The Cloud Club in Boston – that their idea of rock includes tastes of listener-friendly pop and theatrical German cabaret. After a trio of albums and a full schedule of touring, the duo went on hiatus in 2008, with Viglione drumming in numerous other bands, and Palmer embarking on a solo career. But they never officially broke up, and did pop-up shows from time to time. And now it’s time for some more. Friday & Saturday, Nov. 1 & 2, 7 p.m., Roadrunner, 89 Guest St., Boston. $45.

Best jazz concerts

Arturo Sandoval at Scullers

Like Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson before him, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval likes to go for the high notes. He’s been playing the horn since he was 12 (he’ll be 74 in a few months), at first studying under classical teachers, but soon discovering jazz and, growing up in Cuba, eventually adding a Latin flavor to his jazz and classical blend. Before putting together his own band, Sandoval was a founding member in the Afro-Cuban fusion group Irakere. In 2001, HBO presented “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story,” which focused on his music and his personal struggles with the Cuban government, featuring Andy Garcia in the title role. Note: Sandoval still sits in from time to time with Garcia’s band, the CineSon All Stars. Sandoval has collaborated with, among others, Tony Bennet, Josh Groban, and his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, and has brought home 10 Grammys, the most recent, in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category, for his 2012 release “Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You).” Friday & Saturday, Sept, 6 & 7, 7 & 9 p.m., Scullers, 400 Soldiers Field Rd., Boston. $50-$160.

Joshua Redman Group at Berklee Performance Center

The plan Joshua Redman had as a young man was to go to Harvard, then Yale Law School, and that was the path he followed … for a while. He graduated Harvard and was accepted at Yale, but music got in the way. As a lad, Redman played guitar, clarinet, recorder, and saxophone. When he was 11, the saxophone won out, and it was the instrument he ended up playing in his high school jazz ensemble. A decade later, it was the idea of becoming a professional musician that won out over Yale. His first album as a leader – “Joshua Redman” – got good notices and has been followed by almost two dozen more, the most recent being last year’s debut on the Blue Note label, “where are we.” It’s a concept record of mostly ballads, about America, with Redman originals as well as familiar covers (Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan”). His touring band features Brian Blade, drums; Aaron Parks, piano; Joe Sanders, bass; and vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa. Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m., Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass. Ave., Boston. $42-$85.

Chris Botti at The Wilbur

The story told about how trumpeter Chris Botti took a left turn from studying classical music as a 9-year-old, growing up in Oregon, to learning everything he could about jazz as a 12-year-old goes like this: Someone played the Miles Davis recording of “My Funny Valentine” for him. That did it! But along the road to becoming one of the most popular purveyors of laid back and lyrical jazz on the scene today, Botti also absorbed a lot of first-hand expertise on pop music, especially when he went out on the road as a sideman for Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, Sting, and many others. His record debut as a leader was 1995’s “First Wish,” which showed early signs of his affinity for mixing pop and rock with jazz. His 2012 release “Impressions” won him a Grammy for Best Instrumental Pop Album. Bringing things around in a circular manner, his 2023 album “Vol. 1” featured violinist Joshua Bell appearing on “My Funny Valentine.” Friday & Saturday, Nov. 29 & 30, 8 p.m., The Wilbur, 270 Tremont St., Boston. $59-$89.

Best pop concerts

James Taylor and His All-Star Band at MGM Music Hall

It doesn’t matter what songs are on the set list. Neither does it matter who is playing in the All-Star Band. It’s a James Taylor show. That’s really all that matters. So much has been written about the guy in his five-decade-plus career, what more does one need to know? Here are some tidbits: He was born in Boston, but raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (“Carolina in My Mind”). He spent some depression-related healing time at McLean Hospital (“Knocking ’Round the Zoo”). He was the first non-British artist to have a release on Apple Records (“James Taylor”). He has won six Grammy Awards (“You’ve Got a Friend,” “Handy Man,” “Hourglass,” “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” “How’s the World Treating You,” “American Standard”). He had a dramatic role in one movie (“Two-Lane Blacktop”). He played himself on an episode of “The Simpsons” (“Deep Space Homer”). Monday & Tuesday, Sept. 9 & 10, 8 p.m., MGM Music Hall, 2 Lansdowne St., Boston. $122-$538.

Best Americana/country/folk concerts

John Gorka at Passim

Attending a John Gorka show can be a bit different than going to any other singer-songwriter concert. First of all, you never know what instrument he might play. He travels with an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar, and if there’s a piano on stage, you can bet he’ll be sitting at it for a few numbers. If you’re lucky, he might have brought along his banjo, which he was getting pretty good at before he met his first guitar. If he’s in a storytelling mood, there’s a chance he’ll talk about his fondness of Earl Scruggs’ banjo playing on the theme from “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Gorka – which translates from Polish to “small hill” – has been writing songs since he was 14, and he’s come up with a pile of them, from his first album, “I Know,” in 1987, to his most recent, 2018’s “True in Time.” But that’s the other thing about his concerts – he never uses a set list. Instead, in his words, it’s “kind of a mixture of what people call out and what I feel like playing. Then I try to make sure that the shape of the set is somewhat organized chaos.” Wednesday, Sept. 4, 7 p.m., Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. $40.

Kacey Musgraves at TD Garden

The early musical days of Kacey Musgrove went in all sorts of directions. By the time she was 8, she was playing mandolin. Before a year had passed, she wrote her first song. At 12, she was learning guitar. Around that same period, she was building up a reputation as a gifted yodeler. In between all of this, she was a member of the all-girl band the Texas Two Bits. These days, she’s known as an artist who’s as comfortable with classic country as with mainstream pop. She released a number of independent albums as a teen, but Musgraves made her name as a staff writer at Warner Chappell Music, cranking out songs for other artists, until it was time to move into the studio herself, for Mercury Records. That was in 2012. By 2019, she had been awarded an Album of the Year Grammy for “Golden Hour.” Her recent release, “Deeper Well,” while still country, has more of a folkie flavor. Another move in another direction, and another reason she’s now selling out arenas. Friday & Saturday, Sept. 6 & 7, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston. $79-$229.

Richard Thompson at The Wilbur

So many superlatives have gone Richard Thompson’s way, about so many things. The British folk-rocker, and founding member of Fairport Convention in the late-1960s, is a terrific – in no particular order – guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He’s also hard to keep track of, as far as what music he’s making and with whom. After his four-year stint with Fairport, he went the solo route, releasing the commercially disastrous “Henry the Human Fly.” He followed that album with some semi-successful releases on which he was joined by his wife Linda Thompson, then again moved on to a solo career, which he still maintains. Regularly in the studio and on tour, Thompson had a breakthrough with his 1991 album “Rumor and Sigh,” from which came what now amounts to a folk classic, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.” While he likes to switch back and forth between solo gigs and being joined by other musicians, his upcoming Boston stop will be a full band show, and should feature tunes from his newest release, “Ship to Shore.” Sunday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m., The Wilbur, 270 Tremont St., Boston. $55-$85.

Billy Bob Thornton & the Boxmasters at City Winery

Many people are surprised to learn that actor Billy Bob Thornton was a musician long before he thought of stepping in front of a camera. He’d been landing small movie parts since the mid-’80s, and started to catch on in 1991’s “One False Move” and 1996’s “Sling Blade,” eventually hitting it big in films as diverse as “Friday Night Lights” and “Bad Santa.” But he’d been a drummer since he was 12, later working in bands that covered ZZ Top and Creedence Clearwater Revival songs. So, in the midst of his Hollywood success story, he sang and drummed on his first album, 2001’s “Private Radio,” which fused rock and country and folk sensibilities. Half a dozen years later, he formed The Boxmasters and delivered a self-titled album in the alt-country category, featuring a batch of Thornton originals and a few covers. The group hasn’t veered far from their rootsy genre – well, except for one Christmas album – and they’re currently out touring in support of their upcoming “Love & Hate in Desperate Places.” Sunday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m., City Winery, 80 Beverly St., Boston. $45-$75.

Drive-By Truckers at House of Blues

Together since 1996, and hailing from Athens, Georgia, Drive-By Truckers started out with a heady dose of rock in their mix, moved into regions of Southern rock, added in more of an alt-country sound, then got downright political, with a progressive bent, via their lyrics. Although there have been numerous lineup changes over the course of the band’s existence, they were noted for their three-guitar wall of sound. In an unusual move, last year the band released the album “The Complete Dirty South,” a restoration – of sorts – of their 2004 album “The Dirty South.” The original album was supposed to be a double disc, but their label decided it should be pared down to a single – which is how it was released. The “new version” is, indeed, a double, finally available the way the band wanted it to be heard. More unusual news: The current tour will feature the band playing their 2001 release “Southern Rock Opera,” along with some fan favorites. Friday, Oct. 18, 8 p.m., House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston. $35-$59.50.

Sturgill Simpson at MGM Music Hall

Well before Sturgill Simpson emerged as a major country star, he wasn’t sure about his musical tastes. As a kid, his dad turned him on to the TV show “Hee Haw,” where he was knocked out by the musicality of Roy Clark. Then a cousin got him into Cream and Jimi Hendrix. That was followed by the blues, and that by bluegrass. His first band, Sunday Valley, formed in 2004, was all about bluegrass. He moved to Nashville, intent on a career in music, couldn’t make a dent in the market, and quit. He moved again, this time to Salt Lake City where he – wait for it – worked on the railroad. Four years later, the woman who would become his wife talked him into giving music another try in Nashville. He did. There were bands, solo work, and records – his “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” nabbed the Best Country Album Grammy in 2017. With a band now behind him, he’s still performing bluegrass and country … and a great cover of “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 23 & 24, 8 p.m. MGM Music Hall, 2 Lansdowne St., Boston. $66.

Best R&B/hip-hop concerts

The Roots at MGM Music Hall

At first, back in the late-1980s, when drummer Questlove and rapper Black Thought laid the groundwork for a band, they called it the Square Roots, and their “stages” were the street corners of Philadelphia. They became a quartet with the addition of rapper Malik B and bassist Hub, and shortened their name. Only Questlove and Black Thought have remained over the years, but no matter the lineup, the upward trajectory of The Roots has never stopped. By 1991, they were playing in Germany. Their first major label album, “Do You Want More?!!!??!,” was released in 1995, the same year they played at Lollapalooza. Their 1995 album “Things Fall Apart” went platinum. A decade later, while still regularly recording new material, they landed the gig as house band on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” Sure, they’re a rap band, but the variety of the music they play stretches out to include pop and rock and jazz. And they’ve always stood out from the crowd since adding “Tuba Gooding Jr.” on sousaphone. Sunday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m., MGM Music Hall, 2 Lansdowne St., Boston. $101-$113.

Keith Sweat at the Orpheum

Before he found success as a solo R&B singer, Keith Sweat was the vocalist for the band Jamilah, based in his home neighborhood of Harlem. That started in 1975, when he was 14, and he stayed with them until 1984, when he went off on his own. By then, Sweat had earned a college degree in communications, worked at a Wall Street brokerage firm, and started selling his songs to labels. But he really wanted to be the one singing them, resulting in his first album, “Make It Last Forever,” in 1987. And, so, his parade of bestselling albums had begun, his most recent being 2018’s “Playing for Keeps.” Side projects and accolades along the way have included a pair of albums as part of LSG (with Johnny Gill, Eddie Levert, and Gerlad Levert) and receiving the Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Saturday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m., Orpheum, 1 Hamilton Place., Boston. $61-$346.

Mk.gee at House of Blues

His music has been labeled “subtle pop.” That tag works just fine. But another description is “future pop” (whatever that means). Others have put him in the R&B category, then stretched it out to “alternative R&B.” Mk.gee – real name Michael Gordon – started out as a pianist, played in a band, started writing his own material, went solo, took up the guitar, and started self-releasing his music. All of this happened by the time he was 21. So, where exactly within the music spectrum does his work fit? It’s definitely part R&B, but it settles into the dreamy side of the genre. His vocals are often soft moans, and his electric guitar playing … well, it frequently sounds likes the instrument is being run through a synthesizer; he sometimes strums the strings, and he usually fingerpicks on them. It’s safe to say that Mk.gee (pronounced McGee) is one of a kind. Thursday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m., House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston. $34.50-$49.50.

Talib Kweli at City Winery

He’s long been known as a solo hip-hop artist, but Talib Kweli has some significant collaborations in his past. In the late-’90s, he worked with the rapper Hi-Tek in Reflection Eternal, and then with his old high school friend Mos Def (known back then as Dante Smith, and now as Yasiin Bey) in Black Star. With the 2002 release “Quality,” he established himself as a solo performer, and his follow-up albums moved him up on the charts. But he wasn’t through with his former rapper pals, and he got back together with Hi-Tek for the Refection Eternal follow-up “Revolutions Per Minute,” and with the members of Black Star for “No Fear of Time.” He’s currently again in the solo groove (with a full band behind him) and, as usual, spinning out intricate rhymes featuring socially conscious messages. Thursday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m., City Winery, 80 Beverly St., Boston. $45-$65.

Best miscellaneous concert

Hans Zimmer at TD Garden

While he got his start in the film industry composing easy-to-take soundtrack music for titles including “My Beautiful Laundrette,” “Rain Man,” and “Driving Miss Daisy,” movie aficionados know Hans Zimmer for his bigger, brasher scores, including “Black Rain,” “The Rock,” and most of Chris Nolan’s films. But you can go back even further for his actual start. Check out “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles on YouTube (note: it was the first video to air on MTV). Though he’s nowhere to be seen for most of it, there, at the 2:51 point, is young Hans Zimmer, dressed in black, playing a synthesizer. Now, a dozen Oscar nominations later (and two gold statues, for “The Lion King” and “Dune: Part One”), he’s been bringing his combination of electronic music and orchestral arrangements on the road, filling arenas with those big, brash – and sometimes small and soothing – sounds, and joined by an 18-piece band and full orchestra. Monday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., TD Garden 100 Legends Way, Boston. $190-$718.

Also of note:

• Chandler Travis, Passim, Sept. 6
• Jamaica Plain Music Festival, Pinebank Field, Jamaica Pond, Sept. 7
• Roger McGuinn, Cary Hall, Sept. 11
• PJ Harvey, MGM Music Hall, Sept. 18
• Billy Novick & Guy Van Duser, Passim, Sept. 18
• James Carter, Scullers, Sept. 21
• Leo Kottke, City Winery, Sept. 28
• Tedeschi Trucks Band, MGM Music Hall, Oct. 1
• Graham Nash and Judy Collins, Shubert Theatre, Oct. 3
• Jim Kweskin and Samoa Wilson, Passim, Oct. 5
• Tom Rush, The Center for Arts in Natick, Oct. 5
• Dispatch, MGM Music Hall, Oct. 18-19
• The Wallflowers, The Wilbur, Nov. 6
• Madeleine Peyroux, City Winery, Nov. 9-10
• Boris Grebenshikov, John Hanco*ck Hall, Nov. 13
• Chris Smither, The Center for Arts in Natick, Nov. 15
• Jane Siberry, City Winery, Nov. 30