Summer concerts: Our tipsheet of the hottest live music coming to Orlando

Summer concerts are coming in as hot as the earlier-than-usual near 100-degree heat index this year (we joke to keep from weeping; must preserve any and all hydration). Orlando is getting plenty of love from big-time touring acts like the Weeknd, Maxwell, Shakira and Kali Uchis — all of which are going to be hotly contested tickets over the coming weeks. Elsewhere Chris Isaak, Garbage, Jojo Siwa, Illuminati Hotties, Thievery Corporation and the Aquabats are playing in more intimate rooms. And keep an ear to the underground for gigs from Quintron with Aaron Dilloway, MC Chris, Planning for Burial and Profanatica. Over the next two pages we’ve got listings on the gigs local music-heads will be buzzing about, and we polled a few of our music writers for some of their hot tips for can’t-miss summer shows.

Wednesday, June 4: Shakira

Whenever, wherever is, in this case, Orlando. Shakira brings her mega “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour” to an Orlando stadium in June. The Colombian singer and multi-Grammy winner may have postponed her 2024 North American tour to this year, but she added more tour stops and upgraded to stadiums because her fans demanded it. And now their patience is paying off. (7:30 p.m., Camping World Stadium, 1 Citrus Bowl Place, campingworldstadium.com, $73-$598)

Tuesday, June 10: Post Malone and Jelly Roll

Singer and rapper Post Malone is out on a “Big Ass Stadium Tour” heading Orlando’s way with Jelly Roll and Sierra Ferrell in tow. There are only two Florida dates on this run — Miami and Orlando. Malone’s nightly setlists are a mix of old faves and newer songs from country-curious recent album F-1 Trillion. Yee-haw, y’all. (7:30 p.m., Camping World Stadium, 1 Citrus Bowl Place, campingworldstadium.com, $45.50-$345)

Friday, June 20: Quintron and Aaron Dilloway

This one is going to redefine that much-overused descriptor of weird. On the one hand, you’ve got party-magus, polymath and inventor Quintron playing a solo set — which just might veer far afield from his usual alien boogie — and he’s joined not by his usual creative companion Miss Pussycat, but noise god Aaron Dilloway. Through stints in Wolf Eyes, running Hanson Records and amassing a towering discography of tapes, Dilloway has a CV like no other. His performances are a thing of feral, possessed intensity and his might just be the set of the year. (8 p.m., Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave., willspub.org, $15-$20)

Saturday, June 22: Thievery Corporation

When electronic hitmakers and international party-starters Thievery Corporation played Orlando last summer, they ended up soundtracking a wedding proposal. (She said yes!) So how will they top that feat? Who knows, but what is known is that this dance collective led by Eric Hilton and Rob Garza brings a world of grooves, powerhouse vocalists and mood lighting to spare. (7 p.m., The Plaza Live, 425 N. Bumby Ave., plazaliveorlando.org, $59-$90)

Wednesday, June 25: BUÑUEL & Today Is the Day

This is a show custom-made for the freaks and the margin-walkers. BUÑUEL is the newest project from Oxbow legend Eugene S. Robinson, which he’s concentrating fully on after Oxbow fragmented after decades. BUÑUEL finds Robinson doing what he does best: creating bruising and bruised post-metal that is unparalleled in urgent strength. Live, the hulking Robinson is like Henry Rollins but 100 times more intimidating. Meanwhile, cult favorites Today Is the Day are a roar of pure metallized hatred. (7 p.m., Conduit, 6700 Aloma Ave., Winter Park, conduitfl.com, $20)

Friday, June 27: Heart

Class-rock legends and OG Seattle rockers Heart are out on a surprising tour this summer, promising all the hits for their Orlando fans. The band, led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, bring their perhaps too on-the-nose monikered “An Evening With Us” tour to the Kia Center. Each night Heart will perform two sets with no openers. These shows are notable in that they will be Ann Wilson’s first concerts back with the band since treatment for cancer last year. And that’s very much worth celebrating. (8 p.m., Kia Center, 400 W. Church St., kiacenter.com, $55.50- $185)

Friday, June 27: MC Chris

Nerdcore leading light and Aqua Teen Hunger Force troublemaker MC Chris retired from touring last year after a lengthy run of dates, but thought better of it. And now he’s heading out on the road for an even longer jaunt celebrating 20 years of touring. This is a broken promise worth rewarding. (7 p.m., Conduit, 6700 Aloma Ave., Winter Park, conduitfl.com, $20)

Wednesday, July 16: Planning for Burial

The solo project of Pennsylvanian Thom Wasluck gets seriously heavy in July when he plays Orlando for the first time since 2022. Planning for Burial craft a thick and viscous sonic mix of metal haze and shoegaze shimmer that enchants and disquiets in equal measure. (7 p.m., Conduit, 6700 Aloma Ave., Winter Park, conduitfl.com, $20)

Sunday, Aug. 3: Chris Isaak

Ghostly-voiced and eternally debonair crooner Isaak plays an intimate Orlando gig, during the perfect time of year to hear sweaty, tormented ballads like “Wicked Game” and “Baby Did a Bad Thing.” For over 30 years, the platinum-selling and Grammy-nominated singer and actor has had his cake and eaten it too in ways that few others in the pop game have. He’s had his own eponymous TV show, acted in a David Lynch film and done soundtrack work for Stanley Kubrick all while being a staple on MTV. (8 p.m., Hard Rock Live, 6050 Universal Blvd., entertainment.hardrock.com, $84-$344)

Saturday, Aug. 9: Maxwell

R&B innovator Maxwell is heading out on tour this summer, and he’s ready to serenade Orlando. The Grammy-winning singer will be out on a new summertime leg of his ongoing “Serenade Tour” and it’s the perfect time to hear Maxwell’s sultry catalog in the flesh. Expect the hits, and as per usual with this unique and mercurial star, deep dives into his discography and an unexpected cover or two. Lucky Daye is the touring opener. (8 p.m., Kia Center, 400 W. Church St., kiacenter.com, $71-$480)

Wednesday, Sept. 3: Garbage

Nineties alt-rock rampagers Garbage hit the road in the U.S. for their first headlining run in a decade, the “Happy Endings” tour. And it has a very happy beginning: right here in Orlando. The Shirley Manson-led band takes their latest album, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light (out May 30), across the country starting September. And that’s big bragging rights for the local alt-rock faithful. (8 p.m., Hard Rock Live, 6050 Universal Blvd., entertainment.hardrock.com, $71-$307)

Tuesday, Sept. 16: Benson Boone

Pop-star-in-the-making Boone comes to Orlando in the tail end of summer as part of a big headlining tour. Boone, co-signed by the likes of Brian May for you rockers out there, brings his old-soul pop-rock to town after game-changing performances at Coachella and on Saturday Night Live. Maybe this is a good one for parents and kids to bond over? (8 p.m., Kia Center, 400 W. Church St., kiacenter.com, $113-$490)

Summer buzz: Five crucial gigs you can’t miss

But wait, there’s more! We turned to five Orlando Weekly scribes to get their personal picks of the shows they’re most looking forward to in the next few months. From futuristic R&B at a stadium to Riot Grrrl-redux at a coffee shop, it’s all here.

May 30: S.M.O.P.
Bynx, 420 E. Church St., bynx.co, free

S.M.O.P. are teenage firebrands birthed from Orlando Girls Rock Camp who keep the cathartic energy flowing with an exuberance and focus that honors their Riot Grrrl influences while not erring into faux nostalgia. Whenever they are playing … go. — Anthony Mauss

June 9: Illuminati Hotties
Conduit, 6700 Aloma Ave., Winter Park, conduitfl.com, $20

I didn’t even know L.A.’s Illuminati Hotties were playing in Orlando until I started researching for this piece and all of a sudden my summer prospects went from despair to (you’re) better than ever. The indie rockers are bringing their perfectly blended tenderpunk to Conduit for an evening of sweat and kaleidosopic feels. — Ida V. Eskamani

Aug. 24: The Weeknd
Camping World Stadium, 1 Citrus Bowl Place, campingworldstadium.com, $66-$543

When the mainstream masses and I are in the same fanatical, shit-losing camp, it must be over one undeniable juggernaut. Well, reigning R&B icon The Weeknd is already one of the greatest singers of not just his time but all time, and his massive Orlando appearance is as big a deal as it gets. — Bao Le-Huu

Sept. 4: Kali Uchis
Kia Center, Kia Center, 400 W. Church St., kiacenter.com, $52-$325

Uchis’ first-ever arena tour stops in Orlando late this summer, and she’ll be showing off her deeply intimate fifth studio album, Sincerely,. R&B opener Thee Sacred Souls perfectly complements Uchis’ transcendent sounds. — Lola Fontanez

Sept. 13: My Chemical Romance
Raymond James Stadium, 4201 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, raymondjamesstadium.com, $92-$1,049

The only essential summer show is My Chemical Romance and Evanescence marching through Tampa in September. These two acts together are my middle-school emo self’s dream team. I can’t wait to be crying in the pit. — Ashton Colbert

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This article appears in Summer Guide 2025.