My Favorite Shows of 2025

By Floodgate

I went to more than 30 shows and festivals in 2025. These ranged from festivals in Spain to listening parties in Argentina to raves in New York City. I looked through my camera roll and ranked my 10 favorite experiences. They're not ranked by performance, but by overall vibe and fun.

Before we get into the actual I list, I wanna give a few honorable mentions.

Firstly to Maxon's show with Protect in Miami. Maxon's music has always been so great and I'm really glad to have gotten to see it live. My friends and I were on stage with him in this skinny, long venue. It was super hot and sweaty which is one of the reasons this isn't higher. Maxon's set was also pretty short, but I loved it. I was surprised by how many people were singing the songs word-for-word.

Also to Osamason's show in Fort Lauderdale and BLP Kosher's show in Miami. BLP Kosher brought out Bay Flogo, who jumped onstage alongside a goat wearing a Gucci outfit. I felt bad for the goat but he was eating hay and chilling so I think he was fine.

Ok now let's get into the top 10.

10. The Hellp DJ set in Miami

The Hellp had a show in Miami during Art Basel week. It was in the trenches but a pretty cool venue that I'd never been to. I went with a few friends, shoutout to Mason Norris for having us. They played cool music, including their own songs in addition to 2hollis, EsDeeKid and more. My only complaint is that the venue was super hot plus I was designated driver so I couldn't drink.

9. Deftones in Sunrise

I bought Deftones tickets for my ex and I but then I broke up with her so I went with Tino instead. I have noticed a pattern where whenever I buy concert tickets for a girl, we end up parting ways before attending said show. Maybe I should keep this in mind. Deftones was fire though, we snuck down to get closer seats and everyone was really nice. This was the only arena show I attended in 2025 and I kinda fucked with it. I was wearing a red jacket and was literally the only person in an ounce of color, everyone else was in full black outfits.

8. Playboi Carti at Rolling Loud Los Angeles

This was Carti's first performance following the release of his long-awaited MUSIC album. I have seen him live plenty of times but this was definitely one of the more emotional sets. It felt more like a celebration than a performance. I missed a lot of the set and had a bad view for another large chunk, but I caught the end of it with my friends and it was beautiful.

7. 2hollis at III Points in Miami

My first time seeing 2hollis and I was not disappointed. He's a really good performer and made the set feel like an actual "show." He was one of the only artists I cared to see at this predominately EDM festival and I was able to get right in front of the stage. Props to the lighting because that was one of the coolest parts.

6. Snow Strippers in NYC

I had seen Snow Strippers live once prior but this show was much cooler. Openers included the likes of Cece Natalie, Lazer Dim, evilgiane, Ian, and some other people that I can't even remember. The venue was really cool even though they tried to kick me out on two separate occasions. I even got to meet Fakemink there, along with a bunch of other music friends. The Snow Strippers set was definitely the highlight of the night and when Under Your Spell played it felt like I was ascending to another dimension.

5. Swaggerboyz in Asturias, Spain

The Swaggerboyz had long been on the top of bucket list of artists to see. Summer of 2025 my wish finally came true when I traveled to Spain for the Riverland festival. I didn't know what to expect but these dudes had thousands of Spaniards moshing to their music. Stiffy and Agus have some of the best stage chemistry and presence of anyone I've ever watched. Go on YouTube and search a Swaggerboyz set, you'll see what I'm talking about. Not to mention, this festival was in the most beautiful setting that you could imagine. It was in Arriondas, a small town in Asturias up in Northern Spain. Nestled in between mountains, valleys, and rivers, was this music festival. I hope to go back in the upcoming years.

4. Random Guy Radiohead Karaoke in Miami

This was honestly one of the most touching and goosebumps shows of my year. I went to a movie with my friends and afterwards we headed to this random bar. It happened to be karaoke night and one of the dudes did Creep by Radiohead. Radiohead has long been one of my favorite bands and I feel especially attached to this track. If this dude doing karaoke could make my list then imagine what a live Radiohead show would do.

3. Bladee, Black Kray & Nettspend in NYC

Here is yet another show that I traveled for. Bladee, Black Kray and Nettspend are all artists which I would consider some of my favorites, so to have them all under one bridge, I had to be there. The Nettspend set had some audio issues but was still cool, even though these two dudes in front of me got into a fist fight. The Bladee set was so great and it was my first time seeing a solo show of his after listening to him for more than 6 years. He even brought out Kray for a couple songs which was so sick. What a night.

2. PILF Listening Party in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dude I wish I had better photos of this event. All I have is this screenshot of a video I took, though I think it communicates the vibe pretty well. PILF are the coolest rap group in the world right now and this night proved it. They had thousands of people in attendance for the listening party of an album that hadn't even dropped yet. They performed on top of a bus which drove in at the start of the show.

1. Fakemink & Nettspend in NYC

I think that this show will go down as one of the coolest rap moments of the 2020's. Fakemink had a private show during NYFW, less than a week after his NYC tour date. There was probably 200-300 people there, along with an open bar and crazy list of openers. These included the likes of Anna Luna, Jaeychino, Kuru, Illumitati, and more. The highlight of the show was obviously Fakemink's set though, with a lot of my love for it being personal reasons. Not only did he give me the best footage ever, but he took my phone for a video and also handed me the microphone. His set concluded with a big surprise when he brought out Nettspend, a rumor which had been circulating the show. They performed songs which they had just previewed on Instagram live only moments before and they were so good. Unfortunately, it seems as if their friendship has ended so I'm not sure if they will ever release, but I am very happy to have seen them live.

As a lifelong music fan, looking back on 2025 is insane. I got to see my favorite artists all over the world, alongside some of my closest friends. None of this would have been possible without the Sadprt community so thank you for everything. I hope you got to see some awesome shows last year and get to see even better ones in 2026. Bye now.