Newt's top 5 Vancouver concerts of 2015: U2, Foos, Skynyrd, Alvins, Emmanuel

Lynyrd Skynyrd at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver on March 20. "When you’ve got three shit-hot guitarists tearing up the place on deathless southern-rock songs you can’t really go wrong, in my book."

U2 (above) at Rogers Arena on May 14: "The encore featured a recording of Stephen Hawking emoting on power and politics and Bono promising an end to the scourge of HIV/AIDS before The Edge comically forgot that you can’t walk on air. For anyone hoping to have a chuckle at the high-and-mighty U2’s expense, it was clearly a 'Beautiful Day'."

The Foo Fighters (above) at Rogers Arena on September 11. "It was the type of fist-pumping, hellraising, anthem-blasting loud-rock show not heard in the ole hockey rink since Metallica blazed through on its Through the Never tour of 2012."

Tommy Emmanuel at the Vogue Theatre on May 16. “I’m not out to prove I’m the world’s greatest guitar player,” Tommy Emmanuel told me back in 1994. But if that’s the case, just what the hell did he think he was doing at the Vogue Theatre last night?

Phil and Dave Alvin (above) at the Electric Owl on June 30. "...turned out to be one of the most exhilirating and inspired roots-rock gigs I’ve seen in over 30 years of getting paid to report on such things."