Somehow, the holiday season crept up this year on many of us still recovering from the presidential election and the losses of so many musical legends (RIP, David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, et al).
Fortunately, there were still 12 months of incredible high notes hit by artists that I had the pleasure of enjoying, either as a casual spectator, devoted fan or feature writer/interviewer/reviewer.
Since my personal list of top performers keeps growing each year while the decade zooms toward 2020, I'll keep this intro fairly short and get right to the heart of the matter.
As I have indicated in past years, this purely subjective list formulated primarily from my stories published in either The Huffington Post or No Depression covers -- for the most part -- my favorite genres (rock, pop, folk, Americana). Of the four categories -- album release/premiere, concert, video premiere and interview -- the artists who talked a good game earned valuable bonus points in terms of overall ranking, but the best in other fields also received high marks.
With more responsibilities in my full-time job affecting how much time I could spend writing about my one true passion -- music -- I missed out on seeing a number of concerts or festivals, listening to hundreds of additional albums or conducting interviews with a few more intriguing musicians than I normally would have.
Scheduling conflicts or missed PR connections prevented me from seeing several prime contenders (sorry Garbage, Phantogram, the Pretenders, Stevie Nicks and Margo Price).
Yet some trends developed here that I hope will continue. Representing the opposite sex (from me) are eight fantastic frontwomen (including six among three groups), seven sensational solo singer-songwriters, two halves of two male/female duos and one-fab-fifth of an Alabama supergroup.
Not only was this list dominated by women, but also the emergence of more promising young talent meant discovering artists I never noticed before the calendar turned to 2016.
This Sweet 16 includes four acts that prior to this year were never on my radar and 10 artists I hadn't seen perform live. In 2016, that list was narrowed to four, including the artist of the year (add Denver to your first headlining tour, please).
So without further ado, let's drop the ball for 2016's final countdown (in descending order):
![Eddie Vedder KOTOFM]()
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder holds up a notebook with a KOTO Radio sticker.
![Concert icon]()
16 (tie). PEARL JAM and GRACE POTTER
Concerts: The Ride Festival in Telluride, Colorado, July 9 (Pearl Jam); Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado, Feb. 6 (Grace Potter).
Articles: Published July 10, July 12, July 15 (Pearl Jam); Feb. 16 (Grace Potter).
Unfortunately, neither released a new record or were one of my interview subjects in 2016 but it would be inexcusable to leave both artists out after watching them give the best concerts of the year, at least in my humble opinion.
Pearl Jam's 25th anniversary tour included a headlining stop at the Ride Festival in Telluride, and it was so momentous that Eddie Vedder and Co. were prominently featured in three articles I wrote.
In a year of personal firsts, I was finally introduced to the Seattle grunge rockers who made their Telluride debut in July, five months before they were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Vedder didn't waste any time professing his love for the gorgeous southwestern Colorado town. Sipping from a bottle of Italian wine, he mentioned the local radio station and showed his KOTO sticker that served as a reminder of his introduction to the Centennial State in the group's formative years, quoting Kurt Vonnegut to sum up his feelings on a night that included a majestic sunset while they were onstage: "It doesn't get better than this."
Maybe not, but in a year when a young woman in the front row in Telluride wore a C
Fortunately, there were still 12 months of incredible high notes hit by artists that I had the pleasure of enjoying, either as a casual spectator, devoted fan or feature writer/interviewer/reviewer.
Since my personal list of top performers keeps growing each year while the decade zooms toward 2020, I'll keep this intro fairly short and get right to the heart of the matter.
As I have indicated in past years, this purely subjective list formulated primarily from my stories published in either The Huffington Post or No Depression covers -- for the most part -- my favorite genres (rock, pop, folk, Americana). Of the four categories -- album release/premiere, concert, video premiere and interview -- the artists who talked a good game earned valuable bonus points in terms of overall ranking, but the best in other fields also received high marks.
With more responsibilities in my full-time job affecting how much time I could spend writing about my one true passion -- music -- I missed out on seeing a number of concerts or festivals, listening to hundreds of additional albums or conducting interviews with a few more intriguing musicians than I normally would have.
Scheduling conflicts or missed PR connections prevented me from seeing several prime contenders (sorry Garbage, Phantogram, the Pretenders, Stevie Nicks and Margo Price).
Yet some trends developed here that I hope will continue. Representing the opposite sex (from me) are eight fantastic frontwomen (including six among three groups), seven sensational solo singer-songwriters, two halves of two male/female duos and one-fab-fifth of an Alabama supergroup.
Not only was this list dominated by women, but also the emergence of more promising young talent meant discovering artists I never noticed before the calendar turned to 2016.
This Sweet 16 includes four acts that prior to this year were never on my radar and 10 artists I hadn't seen perform live. In 2016, that list was narrowed to four, including the artist of the year (add Denver to your first headlining tour, please).
So without further ado, let's drop the ball for 2016's final countdown (in descending order):
16 (tie). PEARL JAM and GRACE POTTERConcerts: The Ride Festival in Telluride, Colorado, July 9 (Pearl Jam); Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado, Feb. 6 (Grace Potter).
Articles: Published July 10, July 12, July 15 (Pearl Jam); Feb. 16 (Grace Potter).
Unfortunately, neither released a new record or were one of my interview subjects in 2016 but it would be inexcusable to leave both artists out after watching them give the best concerts of the year, at least in my humble opinion.
Pearl Jam's 25th anniversary tour included a headlining stop at the Ride Festival in Telluride, and it was so momentous that Eddie Vedder and Co. were prominently featured in three articles I wrote.
In a year of personal firsts, I was finally introduced to the Seattle grunge rockers who made their Telluride debut in July, five months before they were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Vedder didn't waste any time professing his love for the gorgeous southwestern Colorado town. Sipping from a bottle of Italian wine, he mentioned the local radio station and showed his KOTO sticker that served as a reminder of his introduction to the Centennial State in the group's formative years, quoting Kurt Vonnegut to sum up his feelings on a night that included a majestic sunset while they were onstage: "It doesn't get better than this."
Maybe not, but in a year when a young woman in the front row in Telluride wore a C