The Top Performances of 2025 by Kansas City Musicians
1. Nick Hmeljak, Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Jordan Faught and Jaylen Ward at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.
2. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at the Stray Cat Film Center
Instagram clip.
3. Bram and Lucy Wijnands with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
4. Vanessa Thomas, Kara Smith, Michael Pagán and Steve Rigazzi at the Blue Room
Instagram clip.
5. Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Spencer Reeve and Jade Harvey at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival
Instagram clip.
6. The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “3 Expressions of Light and Sound” at Charlotte Street Foundation
Instagram clip.
7. Matt Villinger, Peter Schlamb, Sebastian Arias and Matt Robertson at the Blue Room
Instagram clip.
8. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.
9. Deborah Brown and George Colligan at Upcycle Piano Craft
Instagram clip.
10. David Chael, Danny Embrey, Gerald Spaits and Brian Steever at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.
The Top Performances of 2025 by Touring Musicians
1. Christian McBride and Brad Mehldau at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Plastic Sax review.
2. Terence Blanchard at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
There Stands the Glass review.
3. Branford Marsalis Quartet at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
4. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
There Stands the Glass review.
5. Devin Gray at the Ship
There Stands the Glass review.
6. Alexander Adams, Jeff Goulet (and Seth Davis) with Kristen Kopper and Shanté Clair at Grand Avenue Temple
Instagram clip.
7. Cory Weeds (with Chris Hazelton) at Westport Coffee House
Plastic Sax review.
8. Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez at Helzberg Hall
Plastic Sax review.
9. Helen Sung (with Bach Aria Soloists) at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
10. Pete Escovedo at the Folly Theater
Plastic Sax review.
Last year’s survey is here.
