1. Tanya Tagaq
The Great Hall, November 6
An avant-garde recontextualizing of Inuit throat singing. Tagaq makes the sounds of vomiting, growling, orgasm, childbirth, mourning, joy, fury, defiance and ecstasy seem musical and inspirational.
2. King Diamond
Sound Academy, October 18
The heavy metal Dane’s theatrical, pentagram-spangled show earned a NOW rating of 666 trillion Ns.
3. The Knife
Kool Haus, April 25
The Swedish brother-sister duo ended their career with gleeful subversion of concert conventions. An unabashedly queer mashup of an arena-sized pop show and experimental modern dance theatre.
4. Future Islands/Mac Demarco at NXNE
Tattoo, June 21
Who could possibly follow Samuel T. Herring’s snarling, thrashing, hip-swaying performance? Only Mac DeMarco, who ended the show drunk. Crowd surfing, Jesus references and irreverent covers galore.
5. Nick Cave
Sony Centre, July 31
The Australian goth punk legend delivered his signature ferocity and booming baritone straight into the outstretched arms of his devoted.
6. Sinead O’Connor
Massey Hall, October 24
Intense moments like dedicating a song to Nathan Cirillo, the soldier gunned down in Ottawa, were offset by feel-good pop-rock and deep and meaningful classics. Plus, a stunning rendition of Bob Marley’s War.
7. Childish Gambino
Sound Academy, March 24
Part concert, part art installation, part theatre show, this was a fully realized manifestation of Gambino’s high-concept Because The Internet album.
8. DJ Harvey
99 Sudbury, March 22
Everyone who made it to this rare Toronto gig understands why the UK DJ legend is so revered by serious dance music heads.
9. Bahamas
Danforth Music Hall, November 5
Hypnotic backlights, charming storytelling and those gently swaying songs added up to a perfect night.
10. Miley Cyrus
Air Canada Centre, March 31
A life of showmanship was on full display, with insane visuals, solid moves and crazy-good live vocals – zero backing tracks, y’all.