The Uproxx Music Travel Hot List series is sponsored by Priceline, where you can go to book your next music travel adventure.
We’re a little over halfway through 2025, and it’s already felt like five years. If you’re a music fan, that goes double; the music news has flown fast and furiously, from new albums popping up in the middle of the night three days after they were announced to massive comebacks from some of the biggest acts on the planet. And that was in the same weekend!
Of course, that’s to say nothing of catching your favorite artists live. Whether they’re making their returns or saying their farewells, many of our favorite acts are hitting the road hard, even in a tougher climate than ever for live entertainment. Here are just a few of the shows worth traveling for before the end of the year — and why.
Aminé – Portland
I’m going to go to bat for my birthday twin here; Aminé deserves more attention than he gets. The innovative Northwesterner has a new album out, 13 Months Of Sunshine, and is putting on for his region, his roots, and for fun, freewheeling rap with nothing to prove. He’s gearing up for his Tour De Dance promoting the new album, and of course, the best place to catch him perform is in his hometown, Portland, at his very own festival, Best Day Ever on September 13-14. Hometown shows are always special, but in this case, you also get to catch left-field favorites like Smino, Thundercat, and Zack Fox. You can find more info here.
Clipse – Virginia Beach
In the same vein, there’s likely no better place to catch Clipse than in their hometown on August 10. The brother duo put out their first album in nearly 16 years a week ago, so the odds are that this will be your first chance to see them in at least that long. Against a lot of odds, Let God Sort Em Out has been the buzzy release that the sleepy first quarter release schedule seemed to be missing, so of course, there’s a big groundswell of support behind their tour promoting it. They’ve given us well-received previews of what their live performances will look like with a Tiny Desk Concert proving their chemistry is as sharp as ever, so you can get your tickets here.
Laufey – Norfolk, Chautauqua, Cuyahoga Falls, Saratoga Springs
The other day, I was at a street festival outside Staples Center — fine, Crypto.com Arena (sigh) — and I was kind of shocked to see Laufey billed to play there. Not because I don’t think the Icelandic singer isn’t massively popular — and for good reason — but it’s kind of wild to think of her low-key, jazzy production filling up arenas while she does her quirky, kind of awkward TikTok-approved choreo for “Lover Girl.” Fortunately, at select venues on her A Matter Of Time Tour, she’ll be backed by a full symphony orchestra to make the most of the lush compositions on her latest album, also named A Matter Of Time. If you get a chance to see her live with an orchestra, it’ll make all the difference. Find more info here.
Lil Wayne – Miami
Speaking of hometown shows… look, we get it: Wayne was a little disappointed he didn’t get to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. I’m not entirely sure why The Big Easy isn’t on his route for Tha Carter VI Tour, but since he spends most of his time in Miami these days anyway, I think it’d be fair to consider it a hometown show. The October 2nd West Palm Beach show is also the tour’s finale, which is usually a good time. And while I’m sure there’s an argument to be made that he deserves to play at least an arena capacity-wise, as a veteran concertgoer, I will always advocate for smaller venues like amphitheaters — especially for hip-hop shows — because they sound better, the energy is more focused, and hip-hop is best felt face-to-face, not looking down from an upper bowl seat. You can find out for yourself here.
PinkPantheress – Chicago
You may be wondering, “Why Chicago?” After all, the experimental, millennial pop culture-influenced dance music aficionado hails from across the pond, effectively nixing my “hometown show” motif.
Au contraire, mon frere: As we at Uproxx keep reminding you, Chicago is widely considered to be the birthplace of so-called “oontz-oontz music” (her words, not mine). If you’ve ever shook booty or pumped your fists to the familiar “boots-and-pants” four-on-the-floor beat, you have The Windy City to thank. And while PP jumps genres from house to 2-step and even slips in some DnB, there’s probably no better place to hear her do so on her An Evening With PinkPantheress mini-tour than the Chicago date on November 1. More info here.
Sailorr – Los Angeles/New York
Once again, my immaculate theming is ruined by routing! J/k, but here’s why you should check out From Florida’s Finest singer Sailorr in LA or New York, as cliché as it might seem. One, The Roxy and Bowery Ballroom are legendary venues, and the way things are going, independent venues with as much history as them are rapidly following velociraptors and kiwi birds into extinction. You should see them while you still have the chance. And two, whatever happens with small venues in the future, you probably won’t be seeing much of Sailorr at those places in the future anyway; the “Bitches Brew” singer is due for a big breakout, and probably won’t be playing anything under 2,000 cap on her next one. As someone who’s got more “I saw them back when” stories than average, I’d say it’s worth the trip to put a few in your own memory banks. You can find tickets here.