James Taylor review – 70s legend’s golden baritone shines best when stripped bare
The AI-style backing videos are terrible and his accomplished band can be overly slick at times, but Taylor’s civility and grace cuts through it all
Gracie Abrams: Daughter from Hell review – bloodless anthems hit like a faceful of icing sugar
Despite their goth-coded attempts at emotional turbulence, the saccharine songs of Abrams’ third album feel adolescent in their melodrama
Bon Jovi review – rockers make a surprisingly poignant return to the stage
After vocal cord surgery, Jon Bon Jovi and band make a sturdy return with hit-packed show
Baby Rose: Yearnalism review – gloriously cinematic soul from the edge of emotional collapse
The US songwriter paints an impressively wide variety of shades on her third album, from vintage R&B to melodic soft-rock and balladry worthy of Nina Simone
Jack White: Frozen Charlotte review – brutal, squalid blues-rock that just about sells its own ridiculousness
Following the superb No Name, White continues his fan service with stripped back songs and nasty, anarchic riffs – though it all ends up feeling a little samey
BTS review – pure joy and astonishing versatility at K-pop titans’ first UK show in seven years
Fans and cynics are putty in the boyband’s hands as the lads lark their way through a catalogue of tracks that ricochet from hard rap to buttery pop
The Rolling Stones: Foreign Tongues review – stomping blues and anti-Musk politics make this another late triumph
Continuing the rejuvenated sound of 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, there’s touching vulnerability from Keith Richards while Jagger confronts war and autocracy
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts review – rip-roaring rock history, but why is she playing Gary Glitter?
In her first UK headline show in 16 years, Jett has a terrific knack for a cover version, though she’s a touch nonchalant – and there’s a real misstep
Sienna Spiro: Visitor review – will she be the ‘new Adele’? Not with this merely competent debut
Amid signs of greatness, the already hugely popular British singer fails to live up to her potential, lacking vocal agility and lyrical subtlety
Alabama Shakes review – US rockers’ first UK gig in a decade is suffused with hope for the future
As they tee up a long-awaited third album, the deep south band are variously slick and raw as they ruminate on overcoming tough times
Madonna: Confessions II review – nostalgic dancefloor trip sparks her most vital album in two decades
After years spent chasing trends like trap and Latin pop, Madonna settles back nicely into old-school dance music to tell vivid vignettes of life in 80s New York
My Chemical Romance review – fire! Nuclear war! Killer pierrots! This is stadium rock at its most monumentally madcap
Adding eye-popping spectacle to this anniversary reprise of The Black Parade is fun, but what really stands out is the tremendous songcraft
The Black Lights review – Mica Levi, Moin and Klein thrill at an awesome addition to the UK festival circuit
Tapping into the kitsch and romance of a Blackpool weekender, this debut offering from Manchester’s White Hotel becomes a triumph of pan-genre experimentalism
Bad Bunny review – dynamic Latin superstar hosts thrilling party
The Puerto Rican musician kicks off in a white suit fronting a salsa band in full flow, then switches up with a swaggering, chaotic rave in a replica island home
Metallica review – metal legends break out the pyrotechnics … and a Proclaimers cover
Armed with four drum kits, an arsenal of hits and a 50,000-strong snake pit, Lars Ulrich and co deliver a masterclasss on their marathon world tour