October’s concert calendar opens with a momentous bang, as two of the most iconic musicians alive, Beyoncé and Bob Dylan, perform in Kansas City on the first day of the month. But music lovers with big ears (and at least a couple hundred dollars) can catch both the splashy pop star and the storied bard — Dylan plays a second night at the Midland Theater.
Though the audio onslaught continues through Halloween, the remaining shows may end up being several degrees less luminous than the auspicious opening salvo. Nonetheless, our other recommendations are extremely worthwhile.
They offer the excitement of catching some promising artists at the onset of their careers. The Kansas City debut of DOMi and JD Beck just might become the stuff of legend. The youthful jazz-adjacent duo is on a steep trajectory upward, and opens for Polyphia at the Uptown Theater on Oct. 16. And, at just 23 years old, Samara Joy has already claimed what’s likely to be a permanent position at the top of the jazz world. The vocalist appears at the Folly Theater on Oct. 14.
Additional standout selections this month include bluegrass hero Billy Strings, and the violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn. From breakneck banjo twang to shimmering violin glissandos, Kansas City’s concertgoers have a lot to look forward to in October.
Beyoncé: October 1
- When: 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1
- Where: Arrowhead Stadium, 1 Arrowhead Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64129
- Tickets: Starting at $136
Swifties are out; the “BeyHive” is in. Nearly three months after Taylor Swift’s two-night residency at Arrowhead Stadium, Beyoncé’s avid fan base will swarm into the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The superstar also known as Queen B is worthy of maniacal devotion. Since the release of her breakout hit as a solo artist, “Crazy in Love,” Beyoncé has been an unstoppable force in popular culture.
She also continues to dictate artistic terms to the music and fashion worlds. Profoundly influential dance songs like “Break My Soul,” from her 2022 album “Renaissance,” will feature prominently in her elaborate stage show to kick off the month.
Bob Dylan: October 1 and 2
- When: 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1; and 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 2
- Where: Midland Theatre, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $52.50
Notoriously inscrutable and creatively restless, Bob Dylan is famously unpredictable. The legend’s so-called Never Ending Tour is among the very few aspects of his career that can be counted on.
Now 82, Dylan is a true rolling stone. He’s performed in the Kansas City area many times, including three concerts at the Midland this millennium. The performances this time are the first of a new leg of Dylan’s “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour.
Given that his career is characterized by reinvention and perpetual change, the enigmatic giant is likely to offer Kansas City some fresh twists on old and new songs.
Boris: October 7
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7
- Where: The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044
- Tickets: $35
Boris operates under a mandate to make the sludgiest, most ponderous rock imaginable. The trio’s approach makes heavy metal pioneers like Black Sabbath sound mild. As if to emphasize their incorrigibility, three of Boris’ more than 25 albums are titled “Heavy Rock.”
The commitment to dark noise has resulted in a small but rabid following. The Japanese band’s cult status is shared by one of its primary reference points. The band’s name was inspired by the opening track of Melvins’ 1991 album, “Bullhead.”
Speaking of: Melvins co-headlines the Twins of Evil tour. The iconic American punk band has challenged listeners since 1983. Earplugs — and some steel-toed footwear for the moshpit — are recommended accessories for the show.
Outer Reaches Festival: October 13 and 14
- When: 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13; and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14
- Where: recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64108
- Tickets: $20 on Friday, $15 on Saturday
Outer Reaches, an annual Kansas City festival dedicated to “the variety of freethinking music around the globe,” is presenting what might be its strongest lineup to date.
Omara “Bombino” Moctar, a Tuarag musician from Niger, is partly responsible for popularizing the hypnotic guitar-rock of the Saharan desert a decade ago. He tops Friday’s bill.
Headlining the festival on Saturday is the critically acclaimed Lawrence, Kansas, duo Sweeping Promises, who are set for a barnstorming tour of Europe later in October. Sweeping Promises’ Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug are giddy punk primitivists. Ten additional acts round out the festival’s ambitious bill.
Billy Strings: October 13 and 14
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14
- Where: Cable Dahmer Arena, 19100 E. Valley View Parkway, Independence, Missouri 64055
- Tickets: Starting at $49.50
Pickin’ and grinnin’ has rarely been so popular, and bluegrass, usually a niche music, has a personable champion in the crossover star Billy Strings.
The man born William Lee Apostol is a spectacular instrumentalist and a strong vocalist. Yet the key factor behind his ability to perform arena shows on two consecutive nights is his skill as a songwriter.
Compositions like “Dust in a Baggie,” an urgent lament about imprisonment on drug charges, offer immediate commentary on the present rather than the genre’s typical evocations of the past.
Hilary Hahn: October 13
- When: 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13
- Where: Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $25
The Kansas City area is home to one of the world’s most renowned presenters of classical music, the Harriman-Jewell Series, which began bringing stars to the region in the 1960s.
Hilary Hahn made her Harriman-Jewell debut in 2004. Now 43, she’s cemented her position as one of the leading voices of her generation. Her intrepid approach is just as notable as her technical mastery of her instrument.
Her embrace of new music has exposed fresh concepts and contemporary composers to new audiences. Even so, her Kansas City program this month consists entirely of unaccompanied works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Samara Joy: October 14
- When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14
- Where: Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $25
Samara Joy is the standout booking in the 2023-24 season of the Folly Jazz Series. Cited as Best New Artist at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in February, Joy exudes arresting radiance.
While she’s among the freshest faces in jazz, her sound is familiar. Joy evokes bygone chanteuses while retaining energetic vitality on her breakout album, “Linger Awhile.”
Intrepidly applying her dusky voice to the standard “Guess Who I Saw Today,” Joy equals heights reached by Nancy Wilson. The breathless praise comparing Joy to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan is justified.
DOMi and JD Beck: October 16
- When: 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16
- Where: Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64111
- Tickets: Starting at $35
Why are a pair of jazz musicians touring as the opening act for a rock band? In keeping with their idiosyncratic sensibility, DOMi and JD Beck don’t do much the conventional way.
While the duo’s biography insists DOMi is a 12-year-old saxophone prodigy from France and Beck is a 6-year-old sheep investigator from Texas — yes, really — keyboardist Domitille Degalle and drummer JD Beck are the most controversial act in the self-serious world of jazz.
With a combined age of 41, the young prodigies back up their goofball antics with audacious musicality. Hundreds of unsuspecting fans of headliner Polyphia, a rock act with similarly arresting chops, are likely to become jazz converts this month.
Travis Scott: October 20
- When: 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20
- Where: T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri, 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $70
Travis Scott hasn’t let Kanye West’s fall from grace impinge on his success. While controversies have bedeviled his career, including the tragic death of 10 fans at Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival, , he’s avoided the same backlash experienced by his mentor and primary influence.
Scott’s music seems tailor made for people who miss West’s reign as a mainstream star. The Texan, 32, became one of the world’s most popular musicians by adding a glossy sheen to West’s innovations.
Buoyed by the massive success of “Utopia,” his third consecutive chart-topping album, Scott is returning to the T-Mobile Center to perform new hits including “Meltdown.” Teezo Touchdown, one of Scott’s most conspicuous proteges, is the opening act on the Utopia Circus Maximus tour.
Rod Wave: October 23
- When: 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23
- Where: T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri, 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $44.50
Has pop ever been more pitiful? Rod Wave rose to stardom with sad-sack songs about hopelessness and despair. His rap-infused compositions detail childhood trauma, romantic disappointments and self-destructive substance abuse.
Wave’s downcast tone clearly resonates with millions of similarly disaffected listeners. The Floridian bemoans the “aggression that built over the years from my abandoned adolescence” on his most popular song, “Heart on Ice.” Even if Wave finds “The Girl of My Dreams,” he’s braced for “another broken heart or sleepless night.”
Ari Lennox, Toosii, G Herbo and Eelmatic will set the stage for the gloomy star.
