The 2025 NYLON Nights Awards

To be a NYLON editor is to be “outside,” as it were. This means our nights in were few and far between in 2025, as we were too busy providing boots-on-the-ground scene reports of the buzziest new bars in town or showing face at the season’s hottest parties — and perhaps most critically, we were front row at just about every concert that came through the Greater New York City Metropolitan Area.

If it seemed like every major musical act was on tour this year, you’re not wrong: There was a two-month period when MSG opened its doors to a rotating roster of pop girlies every week, and even the brothers from Manchester were able to kiss and make up for the sake of their fans. We witnessed our fair share of arrests and enough Sallies to fill an arena, so for our second-annual NYLON Nights Awards, we’re giving the year in live music the send-off it deserves by honoring the best tours, festivals, and performances we saw in 2025.

Best Breakout Act

Adéla

Pop music (and entertainment at large) is affected by the AI-slop-leaning tendencies of culture, with pleasing-to-all songs and stars offending no one — and meaning very little. Adéla is the antithesis of this all: brash, sure of herself, and not afraid to raise eyebrows (or be a little ugly). Her single “SexOnTheBeat” is some of the best three minutes of pop bliss this year, and her 500-person show at Le Poisson Rouge was, in her words, the last time she’ll play a room that small. Based on the ravenous fans and her larger-than-life, ballet-meets-Madonna dance moves, she’s correct. — Kevin LeBlanc, style editor

Best Debut Tour

Addison Rae

Is anyone having more fun being alive right now than Addison Rae? Her infectious joie de vivre was palpable from every corner of Terminal 5, which was packed to the brim with both girls of the moment (Julia Fox, Richie Shazam) and longtime fans. Rae’s trust in her vision results in the most refreshing, honest pop tour of the year. Her vocals aren’t perfect, but that’s not the point — the point is pure artistry, executed with one of the best teams on tour (Dara on styling, Imogene Strauss on creative, Lexee Smith on choreography) that demands you let your guard down and put your headphones on. — LeBlanc

Best Comeback

Rilo Kiley

Over the past decade, we’ve seen countless bands from the early aughts stage a reunion tour, but there was one hold out we’ve been waiting for with bated breath. Thankfully, 2025 brought the exhale: Rilo Kiley is back! Kicking off with a headlining slot at Just Like Heaven, the band brought their catalog to the stage with a rip-roaring set list that confirmed what’s long been known: Rilo Kiley is one of the best musical acts to come out of the past few decades, and Jenny Lewis remains the coolest to do it. — Lauren McCarthy, editor-in-chief

Best Venue

Forest Hills Stadium

Because putting an amphitheater in the middle of New York City would be impractical (and impossible), us New Yorkers have to get our outdoor-concert fill at Forest Hills. It’s the only venue in the city that provides us with that open-air experience that makes summer shows unforgettable, and takes all the hard work out of tailgating (thanks to the many food vendor stands situated just outside the stadium walls). Plus, the 10 p.m. curfew comes with an unspoken guarantee that you’ll be home at a reasonable hour. — Jillian Giandurco, editorial associate

Best Stadium Show

Oasis

Against all odds, the Gallagher brothers made it through their 16-year feud — and a triumphant makeup it was. Sure, MetLife partly fumbled the Poznań during “Cigarettes and Alcohol,” but the roaring crowd (consisting anywhere between fans old enough to remember their debut and kids clearly born post-break-up) was just as electric as the hit-heavy set. Between Liam’s cheeky humor and Noel’s typically-straight face cracking a grin while playing songs like “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” the band delivered an unforgettable moment Britpop lovers had been manifesting for years. — Katherine Diermissen, social editor

Best Opener

Olivia Dean

It’s rare to see an arena nearly full for an opening act, but when NYLON cover girl Olivia Dean opened for Sabrina Carpenter at MSG on the second leg of her Short N’ Sweet tour, everybody made sure to be in their seats by the time she sang her first note. (Not to mention everyone knew all the words to her songs — also a rarity.) Dean has the stage presence of a much more established artist, and she seemed so comfortably in her element performing to a room of 20,000 people. — Giandurco

Best Costume

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan is the operatic festival camp queen fashion deserves: Wherever she goes, a full custom fantasy that can be seen from the last row follows. We couldn’t pick just one to dissect — our two favorites include the custom Valentino fairy cape and jester suit she wore at Primavera and the phantom-bride McQueen she donned for Corona Capital. It’s fantastical, balls-to-the-walls commitment to couture and style that we must tip our hat off to. — LeBlanc

Best Surprise Guest

Robert Smith & Olivia Rodrigo

From name-checking Billy Joel in “Deja Vu” to paying homage to Courtney Love, Olivia Rodrigo has always worn her appreciation for legacy artists on her sleeve, but duetting with The Cure lead singer Robert Smith on the Glastonbury stage is some next-level sh*t. It’s pretty baller way to acknowledge your own position in culture; instead of bringing out one of her peers and engineering a Pop Crave-able moment, Rodrigo took it as a chance to honor a true legend and educate her younger fanbase in the process. None of the new pop girls are doing it like her. — Giandurco

Best Encore

Dua Lipa

Thinking of sneaking out early to beat the traffic? Don’t you dare — especially not at the Radical Optimism tour. Imagine having so many hits that your encore alone has gone platinum nine times over in the United States, racked up five Grammy nominations, and even short-listed for an Oscar? In just four songs, Lipa hits the thesis of the entire show: She’s here to show you a good time, and she’s gonna look damn good while doing so. — McCarthy

Best Televised Performance

Doechii at the Grammys

It’s not every day you can pinpoint the exact moment an artist becomes a household name. For Doechii, that day was the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The performance is only about three minutes long, but she makes every second count, flexing in poses that’ve never been assumed on stage (or in custom Thom Browne) before, demonstrating her impressive breath control and creative point of view at the same time, and raising the bar not just for hip-hop artists, but acts of all genres. By the end, she had the likes of Jay-Z, SZA, and Billie Eilish on their feet in awe. — Giandurco

Best Set Design

Japanese Breakfast

How do you translate one of the year’s most otherworldly albums to the stage? Well, a giant clam shell is a hell of a way to start. For Japanese Breakfast’s Melancholy tour, lighting and set designer Kat Borderud created a surrealist under-the-sea landscape, bringing the ethereal nature of Michelle Zauner’s music and lyrics to life. — McCarthy

Tour of the Year

Mayhem Ball

Not since Born This Way have we seen Mother Monster operating at this level. I was lucky enough to see her the night she filmed her VMAs performance, and instead of offsetting the show schedule by cutting songs or scripting her speeches of appreciation, she still gave us the full two-and-half-hour performance that we paid for, taking her final bow at 11:54 p.m. The costumes, choreo, vocals, makeup, and set list were all a 10/10, and what a privilege it was to see a stadium artist like Gaga perform in an arena setting. I have chills just thinking about it. — Giandurco

Best Dressed Fans

Gracie Abrams

If there’s a bow shortage in your area, blame Gracie Abrams. The singer-songwriter may have pivoted to bandanas as her go-to hair accessory recently, but her teen fans are still at the restaurant — and it comes with a strict dress code: hair bow, yellow top, and long white skirt. And godd*mn if it wasn’t the cutest I’ve ever seen the stands at Madison Square Garden. — McCarthy

Best Festival

Primavera Sound (Barcelona)

Coachella went Brat and Gaga-pilled, and Gov Ball had a coterie of our favorites, but the lineup at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound couldn’t be beat this year. Not only did it enlist The Dare, Haim, Charli, Troye, Chappell, and Sabrina, but the festival grounds are well laid-out, the Spanish hotties are well-dressed, the food is actually good, and the muy española set times mean you can siesta until 6 p.m. to make it until 3 a.m., when LCD Soundsystem brings the vibe somewhere else entirely. — LeBlanc

Best Live Vocals

Beyoncé

Somehow, at 44 years old, even after spending the better part of the last three decades touring, Beyoncé’s vocals are stronger and more powerful than ever. Her resonance can fill an entire stadium, her agility is a thing of miracles, and her skill level is at an all-time high — 10, 10, 10s, across the board. — Giandurco

Best Choreo

Tate McRae

I won’t say I was apprehensive about Tate McRae commanding Madison Square Garden, but I wasn’t fully convinced she had what it took. Consider me the fool: Her bucking, splits, kicks, and dips, all done in a purple lace bra and sweatpants, had every mom and teenager rapt from the first song. Her movement is kinetic, of the moment, and her command over her body is second to none. — LeBlanc

Loudest Audience

Lorde

Fair warning: If you get the chance to see Lorde live, be prepared for the crowd’s excited screams to pierce right through your earplugs. That’s because every Lorde show doubles as an emotional release for fans, and every song inspires shouts of collective joy, sorrow, relief, and frustration. It’s the most energy you’ll ever feel in an arena, and the most raw concert experience imaginable. — Giandurco

Best Onstage Outfit

Kendrick Lamar, Super Bowl LIX

It was the pair of flare pants heard ’round the world. Taylor McNeill — the super stylist behind Timotheé Chalamet’s Y2Chaos and Lorde’s Virgin era — was the mastermind behind Kendrick Lamar’s Celine Marco jeans paired with a leather varsity jacket and low-ride sneakers. In the landscape of super-baggy denim, these made waves toward a newer silhouette and became the most-searched fashion item of Q1, according to Lyst. Who else could instantly sell out a pair of $1,200 jeans? — LeBlanc