Upstate New York runs on rock and roll. In any given week the region’s stages light up with arena headliners, reunited legends, rising indie acts, and the bar bands that turn a Tuesday into a night worth leaving the house for. The lawn at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the amphitheaters at Darien Lake, CMAC, and Bethel Woods, the riverfront at Artpark, and club rooms like Empire Live in Albany give touring rock a home in every corner of the state.
This page is your live, always-current guide to every rock concert on our radar across Upstate NY — classic rock and arena anthems, hard rock and metal-leaning bills, alt and indie, jam, and everything in between. Shows are listed with the soonest dates first, so the next night out is always at the top.
We cover the whole region: the Capital Region and Saratoga, Western NY and Buffalo, the Hudson Valley, Central NY and Syracuse, the Finger Lakes, the Southern Tier, and the North Country. New tours, festival lineups, and on-sale dates land here as soon as they’re announced, and we flag presales and ticket links so you can lock in seats before they’re gone.
More guides: Country Concerts in Upstate New York · Comedy Shows in Upstate New York · Hip-Hop Concerts in Upstate New York
By region: Rock Concerts in Albany & the Capital Region · Rock Concerts in Buffalo & Western NY · Rock Concerts in the Hudson Valley · Rock Concerts in Syracuse & Central NY · Rock Concerts in the Finger Lakes
John Mayer at Times Union Center — March 31, 2017
John Mayer on The Search for Everything tour at the Times Union Center.
Billy Joel at Palace Theatre — March 30, 1996
Billy Joel at the Palace Theatre — a more intimate setting than his usual arena shows.
Grateful Dead at War Memorial Auditorium (now KeyBank Center area) — March 31, 1973
The Grateful Dead closed out their upstate New York spring 1973 circuit at Buffalo’s War Memorial Auditorium on March 31. A full soundboard recording survives on archive.org.
Sheryl Crow at Recreation and Convocation Center (SUNYA) — March 25, 1995
Sheryl Crow at UAlbany — “All I Wanna Do” had made her a star, and she was touring behind her breakout debut.
Phil Collins at Pepsi Arena — March 25, 1997
Phil Collins on the Trip Into the Light World Tour at the Pepsi Arena.
Coheed and Cambria at Northern Lights — March 26, 2010
Coheed and Cambria on the Year of the Black Rainbow Pre-Album tour at Northern Lights.
Los Lobos at Palace Theatre — March 27, 1987
Los Lobos at the Palace Theatre — right around the time “La Bamba” was about to make them famous.
Grateful Dead at Knickerbocker Arena — March 27, 1993
Yet another Grateful Dead run at the Knickerbocker Arena — Spring 1993. Albany was one of the band’s most reliable markets.
Queens of the Stone Age at Northern Lights — March 27, 2003
Queens of the Stone Age on the Songs for the Deaf tour at Northern Lights. Josh Homme’s band was at their commercial and creative peak.
The Police at Hullabaloo — March 28, 1979
The Police at the Hullabaloo in Rensselaer on their Around the World Tour — Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland were still a scrappy trio playing small clubs. “Roxanne” was…