It was a long journey, but we’ve made it to the top 10. Before you get upset that I excluded your favorite album, let me first give a shout out to this year’s honorable mentions: The War on Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding, Algiers’ The Underside of Power, Cigarettes After Sex’s self-titled record,…

Photos: Chloe Catajan Live music has always been a constant for me, but nothing like the way it was in 2017. This year, I’ve attended approximately 30 concerts and three festivals, which I think sets the record for the most times I’ve ever left my house in a year. As…

Kyle Kohner’s five-part series ranking his picks for the 50 best albums of 2017 takes a step closer to revealing the best of the best, as we continue the countdown with numbers 20-11. Missed everything up until now? Start at the beginning. 20. Toro y Moi – Boo Boo With uninspired attempts at…

Phoenix photographed at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on June 10, 2017. Photo: Alessio Neri RIFF doubled in readership in 2017, and as editor-in-chief, so did my workload. As one of five people running our humble little publication on a day-to-day basis, while planning as far out as…

Kyle Kohner’s five-part series ranking the 50 best albums of 2017 continues with numbers 30 to 21. Missed everything up until now? Start at the beginning. 30. Arca – Arca To say that Arca is one of the least accessible artists around is an understatement. At the same time, the Venezuelan producer is a musical…

Kyle Kohner’s five-part series ranking the 50 best albums of 2017 continues with numbers 40 to 31. Missed the first entry? Start at the beginning. 40. Ariel Pink – Dedicated to Baby Jameson Dedicated to Bobby Jameson signals a return to Ariel Pink’s roots with a lo-fi approach, thus making this project feel less manufactured…

Tom Petty and Mudcrutch perform at the Fillmore in San Francisco on June 19, 2016. Photo: Roman Gokhman The year 2016 was bad, for so many reasons, not the least of which was the loss of both David Bowie and Prince. The year 2017 may have been worse; we…

Photo: Jay Demetillo This is the final in a three-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1 and 10 through 6 in PART 2. Favorite Shows 2016 | Favorite Shows 2015 | Favorite Shows 2014 Favorite Shows 2013 | Favorite Shows 2012 5 – TOM PETTY at BottleRock…

  Photo: Jay Demetillo This is the second in a three-part series. Read the introduction to learn how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” in PART 1. Favorite Shows 2016 | Favorite Shows 2015 | Favorite Shows 2014 Favorite Shows 2013 | Favorite Shows 2012 11 – CATHEDRALS at the Mezzanine – June…

Photo: Jay Demetillo Welcome, once again, to my annual countdown of my most entertaining music experiences of the year. I attended 54 concerts this year, up from 51 last year and 41 the year before. In compiling this list, I’m not trying to scientifically list the best or most technically proficient…