Let’s face it: The star-power presented on Kansas City’s stages dims every December. The combination of winter weather and holiday bustle among the family-oriented residents of the region dissuade most of the biggest acts from visiting.
Yet the concert calendar still holds plenty of interest for intrepid music lovers. The contemporary country band Old Dominion will oversee a massive singalong to its inescapable new hit “Memory Lane” at the T-Mobile Center.
Grupo Frontera, one of 2023’s most notable breakout acts, entertains at the Midland Theatre. And two concerts, Maddie & Tae at the Truman and JD McPherson at Knuckleheads, will feature plenty of holiday ditties.
Of the venues hosting our recommendations, The Ship and Knuckleheads offer the most local flavor. But don’t forget Green Lady Lounge presents live jazz 365 days a year — yes, even on Christmas — and the Blue Room and Mutual Musicians Foundation offer entertainment that’s unique to Kansas City.
Maddie & Tae: December 1
- When: 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1
- Where: The Truman, 601 E. Truman Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $30
Long accustomed to serving as an opening act on tours by top-tier country stars including Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood, Maddie & Tae get a rare opportunity to serve as headliners in Kansas City at a benefit concert for Operation Breakthrough.
The duo of Maddie Font and Tae Kerr made a splash with their debut single, “Girl in a Country Song,” in 2014. It pushed back against dismissive portrayals of women in hits by some of their male counterparts, and set the tone for their singular career.
Gleeful revelers at this Ugly Christmas Sweater Party will sing along with a mix of country favorites and selections like “We Need Christmas,” the title track of Maddie & Tae’s latest album.
Grupo Frontera: December 3
- When: 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3
- Where: The Midland Theatre, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $53
Grupo Frontera’s concert could have been booked at the nearby T-Mobile Center. Nearly all of the approximately 3,000 tickets for The Midland’s concert were quickly snapped up by fans of this Texas band.
With more than 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Grupo Frontera ranks among the streaming service’s top 100 most popular artists.
The appeal is easy to understand. Released in August, Grupo Frontera’s debut album, “El Comienzo,” is loaded with deeply melodic, accordion-heavy hits like “No Se Va.” Bad Bunny is among the guest stars who give a twist to traditional sounds on songs including “un x100to.” Milla 22 opens the show.
Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung: December 5
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5
- Where: Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
- Tickets: Starting at $34
Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung are dream clients for people who work in classical music marketing departments. In addition to being extraordinarily accomplished musicians, the young pianists are quite photogenic.
The duo’s uncommonly high profile within the rarified realm of classical music should translate to healthy attendance at the recital presented by The Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City.
Specialty repertoire by Claude Debussy, Astor Piazzolla, Francis Poulenc, and Maurice Ravel, written or arranged for four hands, should provide an evening of musical and visual glamor.
Thelma and the Sleaze: December 5
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5
- Where: The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044
- Tickets: $12
The members of Thelma and the Sleaze may undersell themselves in their audacious claim as “the greatest DIY queer Southern rock band of all time.”
Dirty, raw, and rebellious, the band’s music exemplifies the unbridled spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. Students of the music they love, the musicians based in Tennessee explore a variety of sounds on “Holey Water.”
The ambitious new album features offhanded takes on heartland rock, the girl group sound of the 1960s, and the undervalued 1970s fusion of disco and rock. Gloom Girl MFG, The Black Mariah Theater and Car Microwave open the show.
Sunny War: December 6
- When: 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6
- Where: The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64101
- Tickets: $15
Aside from her willingness to employ electric instruments, Sunny War represents almost everything the politicized folk icon Pete Seeger believed in.
The title of War’s most recent album, “Anarchist Gospel,” exemplifies her confrontational but righteous approach to protest songs about social issues and domestic strife.
“I am trying to save the world with my bare hands,” War sighs, while comparing herself to Nina Simone on 2021’s “Like Nina.” The rising star will demonstrate why she’s become the face of progressive folk in the West Bottoms.
Old Dominion: December 8
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8
- Where: T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64106
- Tickets: Starting at $29
Old Dominion specializes in feel-good songs carefully constructed for heavy rotation at commercial country radio stations. Purists favoring Merle Haggard and George Jones may not like the stuff, but the Nashville quintet is finely attuned to the needs of radio program directors.
With its Caribbean rhythm and reference to “key-lime therapy,” “No Hard Feelings” is among the Old Dominion songs that act as homage to the late Jimmy Buffet. “Make It Sweet” is among the perky tracks evoking lite-rock hits of the 1970s.
Yet the sentimental “Memory Lane,” one of the defining country hits of 2023, is likely to be the best-received song during Old Dominion’s stop at the T-Mobile Center. Chase Rice and Kylie Morgan open the concert.
John Waite: December 8
- When: 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8
- Where: Ameristar Casino Hotel, 3200 N. Ameristar Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64161
- Tickets: Starting at $35
At 71, John Waite still possesses the sort of sassy swagger associated with the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. Waite’s charismatic rasp, a bit like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, is at the core of several radio favorites from decades past.
It was surreal, consequently, to find Waite belting out 1977’s “Isn't It Time” and 1984’s “Missing You” for a couple hundred people at a free show at Ranch Mart Shopping Center in Prairie Village last year.
The big stage at Ameristar Casino Hotel is a more suitable setting for Waite’s talent. He’ll revitalize old favorites from his tenure as the front man for the Babys and Bad English, as well as from his enduring solo career, at the casino’s Star Pavilion.
JD McPherson: December 11
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11
- Where: Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64120
- Tickets: Starting at $30
It’s no secret most Christmas albums are perfunctory, by-the-numbers affairs. But “Socks,” JD McPherson’s 2018 holiday album, is no mere cash-grab.
The Tulsa based roots-rock artist delivers original songs like “Hey Skinny Santa!” with as much conviction as he invests in his nonseasonal repertoire.
To open the show, Chicago jazz guitarist Joel Paterson will perform selections from a new Christmas album he released in November, called “The More the Merrier.”
The Menzingers: December 14
- When: 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14
- Where: Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044
- Tickets: Starting at $34
Punk rock fans coming to grips with their first gray hairs or seeking momentary escape from preschool tuition funding woes will congregate at Liberty Hall in December. They’ll find catharsis in a strong bill of four bands specializing in beery singalongs.
The Menzingers, the evening’s headlining act, are beloved for shouty, angst-ridden anthems about navigating the transition from wild-eyed adolescence to functional adulthood.
Microwave, Cloud Nothings and Rodeo Boys are touring with the Menzingers.
Joe Samba: December 14
- When: 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14
- Where: Encore Room, 3700 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64111
- Tickets: $13
A warm breeze will blow through Midtown when reggae artist Joe Samba imbues the Encore Room with the sultry sound of the Caribbean.
Although Samba is based in New Hampshire, his lilting music is infectious enough to win over even the most skeptical Jamaican. Samba marries lyrics imbued with positivity to dance-ready reggae rhythms.
Joey Harkum, a Maryland singer-songwriter who incorporates elements of reggae into his music, will prime the audience for Samba’s summery sound.
