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
Bon Jovi (w/ Goo Goo Dolls) at Pepsi Arena — March 3, 2003
Bon Jovi’s Bounce tour filled the Pepsi Arena with the Goo Goo Dolls opening — a double bill of radio-rock heavyweights. “Bounce” was Bon Jovi’s post-9/11 album, and the tour…
Talking Heads at Hullabaloo — March 4, 1978
Talking Heads at the Hullabaloo in Rensselaer on the ’77 tour — David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison were still a scrappy four-piece, just months after releasing…
Daryl Hall & John Oates at Palace Theatre — March 4, 2003
The best-selling duo in music history brought their catalog of hits to the Palace Theatre. “Rich Girl,” “Kiss on My List,” “Maneater,” “I Can’t Go for That” — Hall &…
The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem at Troy Armory — March 5, 1965
The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem at the Troy Armory — the godfathers of the Irish folk revival in America. Their matching Aran sweaters and rousing pub songs made them…
Warren Zevon at Saratoga Winners — March 1, 1996
Warren Zevon at Saratoga Winners — the kind of intimate, slightly rough-around-the-edges club show that Zevon thrived in. The “Werewolves of Wall Street” songwriter was deep into his cult-hero era,…
Elton John at Times Union Center — March 1, 2019
Sir Elton John brought his massive Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour to Albany’s Times Union Center. One of the biggest farewell tours in music history, this was a rare chance…
King Crimson at Hullabaloo — March 2, 1982
Robert Fripp’s reformed King Crimson played the Hullabaloo in Rensselaer on the Discipline tour. The 1980s lineup — Fripp, Belew, Levin, Bruford — is widely considered one of the greatest…
Dave Matthews Band at SPAC | July 17, 2026
Dave Matthews Band’s two-night Saratoga Springs stand opens Friday, July 17, 2026 at SPAC — the group’s 50th headline performance at the Albany Med Health System amphitheater and Night 1 of the 2026 On The Road to Zero Waste Tour. Showtime 7:30 PM.
Dave Matthews Band at SPAC | July 18, 2026
DMB’s Saturday return to SPAC marks the band’s 50th headline performance at the Saratoga amphitheater — night two of a two-night summer residency.
Microwave at Town Ballroom Buffalo | April 15, 2026
There are shows you attend and shows you experience. Microwave at Town Ballroom on April 15 falls into the second category.