2024 Concert Wrap-Up: Top 10 Performances

I like to end every year with a wrap-up of my favorite things, stuff that “made” that year, and other similar topics. 2024 was a very different year for me and I didn’t spend much time doing a lot of the things that I normally do. So although I can’t summarize this year in items, or food, or shows, or any other collection of things, one thing I can summarize this year with is concerts.

2024 was a year of concerts, festivals, and general music entertainment. I went to three different music festivals, attended over a dozen concerts, and saw probably 40+ bands perform. So I thought what better way to wrap up the year than with a list of who I thought put on the best shows in 2024?

10. New Aesthetic – Troubadour

New Aesthetic is an up-and-coming band from San Diego, that I just by pure coincidence ended up seeing twice in the last three months of 2024. For being such a young new band I was fully impressed by both of their performances, but the one that stood out the most to me was when they opened for Hawthorne Heights at The Troubadour.

They put on such a high-energy, fun show. They had people dancing, moshing, and even some stage diving. Despite being younger than the album Hawthorne Heights was celebrating that night, they managed to get a room full of elder emos/millennials on their feet and having a good time.

Right off the bat, they gave me young Blink 182 vibes (and no it has nothing to do with them being a San Diego pop-punk band). Think pre-Travis, and albums like Cheshire Cat. Real garage band vibes, not yet fully refined, but totally talented and something I’m here for.

9. Boys Like Girls – Brooklyn Bowl (When We Were Young Side Show)

Watching Boys Like Girls, let alone putting them in my top musical experiences for the year was not on my 2024 bingo card yet here we are.

Back in 2006 when Boys Like Girls released their first album, I was all over their music. “The Great Escape” and “Head Over Heels” were always on repeat and I’m pretty certain that “Thunder” was my Myspace song at some point. However, after high school, Boys Like Girls slowly drifted from my musical rotation, and if I’m being completely transparent, I began to even find their music a tad annoying.

Fast forward to last year’s When We Were Young, and again being completely transparent, I was a little bummed when Boys Like Girls was announced as one of the opening bands for the Simple Plan sideshow. I mean, there was some relief that at least I’d be seeing a band that I was familiar with, but with so many bands on the festival lineup for 2024, I was hoping for so many other acts.

Overall the entire Brooklyn Bowl sideshow was a shit show (no fault at all to the performers, I just can’t stand the venue, but that’s another story), making the fact that Boys Like Girls made my top 10 list even more impressive.

After struggling to watch Lacey (another amazing opening act I experienced this year) and the start of Madina Lake, my husband and I were honestly contemplating leaving the show. Might have actually done it, had it not been for the fact that our ride was still driving into town. But since we were stuck there and really wanted to see Simple Plan we decided to make the most of things and try our hardest to get a decent view of the show.

And overall I’m pretty happy we made that decision, because, although our view sucked, Boys Like Girls brought enough energy and excitement to their show, that it brought the crowd to life. I had a blast, nearly forgot about my overall frustration, and the performance reminded me why I used to like them so much.

Now, they still haven’t made their way back into my regular musical rotation, but given the chance to see them again, I definitely would!

8. Very Gently

I’ve already talked about my experience with Very Gently – listed them as one of the “5 Musical Artists You Probably Aren’t Listening To (But Should).”

Since I’ve already written about them (and I don’t want to repeat myself), I recommend you check out that post (linked in the sentence above).

For those of you who don’t want to go read, I’ll simply say – they opened for Augustana last year, starting their performance acapala, and causing the room to go silent. They gave me literal chills in the moment, and even now thinking of it.

A group that is less than a year old as of writing this, I’m sure Very Gently is going to go on to create some amazing music!

7. Fall Out Boy – When We Were Young

My all-time favorite band so of course they are on the list (Although for an unbiased opinion, my husband, who is not a Fall Out Boy fan at all, agrees that they put on one of the best shows at When We Were Young.)!

I was lucky to see Fall Out Boy twice this year. Once at the Honda Center and then again at When We Were Young. Both performances were good, but they pulled out all the tricks for When We Were Young, taking the crowd on a visual trip through their entire career and every single one of their records.

They performed all their hits and brought out iconic imagery and props for every era of their career. It was a stunning visual performance and they sounded amazing!

Like I previously said, my husband isn’t a Fall Out Boy fan and he even enjoyed this show.

6. The Maine – Sad Summer

Another band I had the chance to see multiple times this year, The Maine became my 2024 soundtrack and new happy place I didn’t know I wanted or needed.

Like Boys Like Girls, The Maine was a band I loved in high school. I was obsessed with their song “Girls Do What They Want” and honestly probably had the lyrics to all their songs on their first album Can’t Stop Won’t Stop memorized. After their first album, I did catch a song or two off their following albums, but after a couple of years they pretty much fell off my radar And like Boys Like Girls, their original album just didn’t do anything for me anymore.

Then I got to see them open for Fall Out Boy at the Honda Center, pretty early on last year. Their performance didn’t blow me away, but their energy was enough to get me intrigued. Plus, unlike a lot of these 2000s emo/pop punk bands that I am rediscovering in my 30s, most of the music they played I didn’t recognize.

So after that performance, I went on a deep dive and I fell in love with so much of their music that I had been missing out on. “Blame,” “Dose No. 2,” “Love You A Little,” and later on after it was released, “Touch” all became the soundtrack of my summer. Songs that I could put on and instantly boost my mood.

Songs like “Anxiety in Real Time,” and “The Mood I’m In” made me feel seen.

Watching them live at Sad Summer was a dream I didn’t know I had and was an experience better than I could have ever imagined. They managed to put on a show that was full of energy and joy, while also creating an atmosphere that felt safe and accepting.

One of the main reasons I love live music and this genre of live music (emo/pop punk) so much is for the community and the experience of being in a space with hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of other people signing songs that make you feel seen and therefore making you feel less alone. The Maine at Sad Summer was the perfect example of that experience.

5. Daisy Grenade – Sad Summer

The raining queens of my 2024 concert experience. I saw Daisy Grenade four times last year! And like The Maine, after seeing them for the first time with Fall Out Boy at the Honda Center this powerhouse duo went on to become a major player in my 2024 soundtrack.

Another band to make it onto my previous post “5 Musical Artists You Probably Aren’t Listening To (But Should),” I will let you head on over there to read more about these girls.

(Now that you’re back….right? You read my post…) These girls know how to put on a show and every single one of their performances this year could be on this list, but that didn’t seem fair so I just went with my favorite, Sad Summer Fest.

One of the first performances of the day, they got the crowd up and moving! Full of energy and attitude, Dani and Keaton know how to put on a show and work a crowd! You can’t help but smile and dance, jump, and sing along when they are on stage.

And, I recently learned that I am not as much older than them, as I first thought, so I now don’t feel as lame aspiring to be as cool, and confident, and badass as they both personify on stage.

4. Green Day – House of Blues Anaheim

Somehow, in 2024, I managed to see Green Day not once, but twice (three times in less than 12 months), and even more unbelievable, one of those times was at the House of Blues – Anaheim. I never ever thought I would have the opportunity to see Green Day in such an intimate venue. But I did, and it was a complete dream come true!

Green Day sounds just as good live as they do recorded and they are so full of energy! Watching Billie Joe run back and forth across the stage was everything I imagined it would be.

That night I got to watch them perform all of their new album, Saviors, as well as American Idiot in its entirety and a handful of their old-school songs.

It was a long exhausting night that dreams are made of. The crowd moshed and screamed and danced. There were crowd surfers. The show reminded me of concerts from back when I was in high school and college. Watching the crowd you never would have guessed that it was filled with people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and some even older!

3. All Time Low

A running theme of 2024, rediscovering bands I loved in high school.

Just like The Maine and Boys Like Girls, All Time Low was another band I was really into in high school. However, unlike the previous two I never really stopped listening to All Time Low, I just stopped following them very closely. I heard different singles as they were dropped and would put them on from time to time. Their song “Missing You” somehow always ends up being one of my most played songs year to year. But overall I was a passive fan.

Fast forward to 2023 When We Were Young. All Time Low was on the lineup and they were on my list of “would like to see.” However, for some reason, we ended up doing something that caused me to miss most of their set. We may have gone to grab a bite to eat or maybe there was another band my husband wanted to see and we compromised, I’m not sure, but no matter the cause I ended up missing almost all their set. I did however catch the last few songs of their set and was blown away by their performance.

They had so much energy and put on such a fun show, it became my goal for 2024 to see them live.

And my goal was fulfilled in the best way possible. Not only did I get to see them live I got to do so at The Troubadour – a historical staple in LA’s music scene and an incredibly intimate venue with a max capacity of about 500.

The room was packed and filled with energy. The crowd was amazing and the show was better than I could have asked for. They interacted with the audience, matched the crowd’s energy, and crammed so much amazing music into one night.

2. Taking Back Sunday – The Glass House

A controversial pick, especially so high on the list. And if you are a member of this scene you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. And to all the Taking Back Sunday concert haters I say, “F**k you.”

I got to see Taking Back Sunday twice this year. Once at a small local venue, The Glass House, and at When We Were Young. And, I will admit, When We Were Young was not the performance you want at a festival, but at the same time I can recognize that it is almost exactly what they do at a small venue and that is a magical experience and the experience I want to talk about. (And that is all I will say about When We Were Young.)

I actually started a blog post last year titled “The Magic of a Taking Back Sunday Show” but I only got it about halfway written, and now so much time has passed I doubt it will ever see the light of day, so I’ll use some of that material here.

There is something so incredibly special that happens at a Taking Back Sunday. Something you need to actually experience for yourself. Something I’m not even sure can be put into words, but I am going to do my best to do so.

As a former emo kid, elder emo, whatever you’d like to call me, I’ve obviously had Taking Back Sunday on rotation since middle school. I knew all the hits like “Cute Without the ‘E'” and “You’re So Last Summer.” I even purchased Louder Now, you know instead of just “borrowing” copies from my friends.

But was I the biggest fan? No.

I knew the important songs of the scene, got pumped when the hits would come on, and would never complain if someone played them, but that’s about it. I didn’t follow their career. I didn’t seek out their shows. They just pleasantly existed in my brain.

I saw Taking Back Sunday for the first time in 2017, while I was still living in Hawaii and this night became one of the most memorable nights of my life. That concert was one of the best shows I have ever been to, even now. Their performance was amazing, the crowd had so much energy and was so fun to be in. Everyone knew all the words to every song and the entire crowd sang and danced the entire night.

Fast forward to today and that is still a show I hold as a top-tier experience and talk about all the time. I tell everyone that if they ever have a chance to see Taking Back Sunday live they need to. So of course, when I heard they would be performing locally, I needed to go.

And I will admit I was worried that I had over-hyped them or that seven years may have changed them, but leaving the concert that night, my husband confirmed that I did not oversell. He too ranks this show as one of the best shows he’s ever been to.

Just like in Hawaii, that night in Pomona, the crowd sang along to every word of every song. We all danced, and moshed, and screamed at the top of our lungs.

I touched on this while talking about The Maine, but a Taking Back Sunday show (a small venue) is a similar experience. It is a place where I feel safe, and seen, and welcome. It’s everything I want in a concert experience and the reason I love going to shows. Even not knowing another person in the crowd (part of my Hawaii experience I didn’t get to share), I don’t feel alone.

1. Sum 41

I was lucky enough to see Sum 41 on their farewell tour and if I had to describe a perfect performance or everything I want in a show, this would be it. No complaints, nothing I would change, zero. And of course, I may never get to experience this again, which breaks my heart.

This was another band that I passively enjoyed over the years and was reintroduced and reinvigorated by their 2023 When We Were Young Performance. (I actually saw Sum 41 perform back in 2008, I believe, at Warped Tour, but I had forgotten how good they are.)

They had one of the best sets at When We Were Young 2023, so when they announced their farewell tour we had to go! And my husband somehow managed to get us pit tickets. So worth it and a dream come true.

They were so good in fact that I came home and wrote them their own blog post (one of the few I actually completed last year, which must tell you something.) Rather than repeating myself I will wrap this one up and direct you here, to see what I had to say.