The best opening act you've ever seen & heard?

Eric ..."my woman".....cool vanacular 🤘

Chrissy Steele. Opening act for Jethro Tull in mid 90’s.   Best female rocker I ever saw and what a voice. 

Deerhoof for From Montreal and REM for Gang of Four.

My Morning Jacket, Syracuse, NY September 2025 was pretty cool. 

August 7, 1972 The Eagles were the opening act for a double bill of Yes and Edgar Winter at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Ticket was $4.00

That same year The Rolling Stones started their North American tour in Vancouver with Stevie Wonder as the opening act. Stevie was "Wonderful".

November 17, 1974 Electric Light Orchestra opened for Deep Purple. Didn't stay around for Deep Purple.

August 4, 1977 The Little River Band opened for Nils Lofgren at the Orpheum Theatre and stole the show.

April 2, 1971 John Mayall was the headliner, but in one of the worst decisions ever, they chose Johnny Winter And as the opening act. Johnny at his peak, accompanied by Rick Derringer on guitar and Double Trouble on bass and drums, blistered through their high tempo set, got a standing ovation, but when John Mayall tried to follow up with quiet slow blues the atmosphere died.

March 18, 1973 Linda Ronstadt opened for Neil Young and so began my total love affair with her. A voice that touches my soul.

Shea Stadium in New York October 1981.  The Clash opened for The Who.  They shot their video for Should I Stay or Should I Go that night.  Runner up, Montrose opened for Black Sabbath at the Providence Civic Center.  My 1st concert.  Ronnie Montrose and Tony Iommi.   Sammy Hagar and Ozzie.  A great start.  

Hmmmm . . . once I bought real expensive tickets for Tom Petty and company because I wanted to see Lucinda Williams and her band who was opening for him.

I thought Patty Griffin was a good opener for Lucinda and her band back in The Car Wheels days.

Back in (I think) 1980 we went to see South Side Johnny And The Asbury Jukes at The Kiel Opera House and I thought that John Mellencamp (who was John Cougar at the time) put on a better show.

Going back even further, Sammy Hagar opening for Boston and on another occasion Thin Lizzy opening for Nazareth. 

I saw Jill Sobule open for Warren Zevon a couple of times and I always thought she was pretty good.

@immatthewj I saw John Cougar Mellencamp open for KISS. Maybe 1979? I'd never heard of him and he was really good.

Papa Roach opened for Shinedown several years ago. Both shows were awesome. 

@bassbuyer - when I first moved to San Francisco in 1973, I went to a show at Winterland with Wishbone Ash headlining, I think. The first band came on, who I never heard of before, and they tore the roof off the sucker. Montrose. I had friends in other parts of the country who had a similar experience with the original Montrose band. If they'd stayed together, I think they could have been the American Led Zeppelin.  

@larsman - Wishbone Ash and Montrose, what a show!  Man, we had some good music back then.

I have a few good warm-up memories (like Billy Idol for Def Leppard) but limited to people/groups that I didn't really know well at the time, it would be:

• Charles Brown (historical blues idol) for Bonnie Raitt
• Peter Frampton (the summer before Comes Alive! was released) for Yes

@immatthewj I saw John Cougar Mellencamp open for KISS. Maybe 1979? I’d never heard of him and he was really good.

Come to think of it, @sls883 , it was 1979! I had to ponder it, but I hadn’t moved off base yet so it would have had to have been ’79. Anyway, I enjoyed the John Cougar part of the show so much that I bought his self-titled LP because of it. I remember it had I Need A Lover (That Won’t Drive Me Crazy) and Night Dancing on it.

I took a fairly long hiatus from live music after I got out of the Air Force, but in retrospect an opener I would have really liked to have seen/heard would have been Townes Van Zandt when he was opening for the Cowboy Junkies on their Caution Horses tour. I guess when it comes down to it, I would have liked to see Townes anywhere anytime with anybody. But with the CJ? That must have been fantastic.

. . . I guess that Paul Simon opening on the Paul Simon?bob Dylan tour might have to be up there.

And Annie Difranco opening for Bob Dylan also.  

I went to see the Moody Blues and the tickets had a totally unknown by the name of Stevie Ray Vaughan. But about 18000 people heard of him that night. 3 encores we settled for the Moody Blues. Not fair! The Moodies gave a tremendous performance.

But SRV was incredible.

Another that could fit this category is the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Bob Dylan Alone and Together tour I saw outdoors in 85.  TP opened, then Dylan played, then Dylan played with TP as his backing band.  One of my all time favorite shows.  

@bassbuyer , going way back, I remember renting a VHS of Bob Dylan playing with Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers. It must have been that tour, huh?  That's another one I would have liked to have seen!

Pearl Jam opened for U2 in Hawaii. 

There have been a few. In 1974 T-Rex opened for ZZ Top in a small converted movie theater in Detroit. In 1975 in Cleveland Uriah Heep and Aerosmith opened for Rod Stewart and the Faces in Cleveland Stadium. (I still have the ticket - $10.50.) My favorite was in 1978 in Detroit when Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath at Cobo Arena. Fantastic time to be a young rock-n-roll fan!

Dwight Yoakam and band opening for Nick Lowe at the Palace in Hollywood c. 1983.

The concert was Queen at the Kennedy Center, February 24th, 1975. The opening acts, Kansas (probably their maiden tour) and frank Marino & Mahogany Rush. We had never heard of Kansas. They were awesome. I remember the drummer and the violinist were magnificent. Then Frank Marino came on and KILLED it. Croud screamed so much that he did an encore; Jimi's version of America the Beautiful. After that, Queen was just alright. 

Thanks for sharing the ticket prices of some of the shows.  I could afford going to concerts back in the day working part time at a grocery store.  Now the tickets cost more than a week’s groceries for the family.  My kids want to see Post Malone but it’s a football stadium and the nose bleed seats are more than they can afford.  I’m sure he’ll have a good opening act.  

Jeffrey Gaines opening for Melissa Etheridge at the Tower Theater outside of Philly.  Super impressive, passionate, solo acoustic performance.  

Josh Ritter and his band opening for Jason Isbell and his band, at the Count Basie Center in Red Bank, NJ, in 2016. I did not know who Ritter was and made an effort to familiarize myself with his songs beforehand. Thinking he was just "ok," I was blown away by his show. Jason Isbell joined him towards the end of his set and they performed a John Prine song together. I’ve seen Ritter, both with his band, and solo multiple times since.

@sdberman - Saw Jeffrey Gaines at the Bottom Line In NYC almost 30 years ago.  By himself.  Mic unit strapped to his back.  Awesome doesn't go far enough.

Richard Thompson opening for Crowded House at the Beacon in 1991.  Front row seats.  Ex wife adored Crowded House (I dozed off through it; lots of smoke and jumping around though).  Thompson was in spectacular form (She was bored).  No one could hold a candle to his guitar playing.   

Rich 

I am old so these go back to ‘68-69. “Little Stevie Wonder” opening for the Supremes.  It was half the show before I understood why someone was leading him around the stage. At the Fillmore East the 3rd act and headliner was Blood ,Sweat and Tears. Al Kooper had left the band but they were peaking in popularity.    Some Southern rock/blues band called the Allman Brothers blew our minds  as the opening act. Finally , Linda Ronstadt on the Neil Young tour in ‘73. It was in Hartford. The morons heckled her off the stage. Neil was pissed and almost cancelled. She was glorious for five songs   

John Cougar and the Zones opened for Kansas.

@rar1 I saw him open for her in 1992, right around the time his first album came out.  I believe that was the concert where they recorded his live version of Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes, which is a classic cover.  I've seen Gaines probably a dozen or more times now, as he plays in local bars, wineries, small clubs, etc. in the Philly area.  Still a great show, but I think he kind of hates when people request In Your Eyes!   

Steve Earle and The Dukes opened for Bob Dylan. They blew Bob away Also saw the Petty /Dylan tour. Somewhere I have a sealed VHS tape of that.

Top three for me:

- Jeff Beck who opened for Carlos Santana.

- Grand Funk Railroad, but I don't recall for whom they opened.

- Dave Mason who opened for Leon Russell.

I've heard a friend tell this story several times:

He asked a very good looking girl to a Billy Squires concert.  She said yes. they went to Tiketron to get tickets. The guy in charge let the hot date in at the head of the line and she got front row center tickets.  

The opening act was Def Leopard who hadn't become a headliner yet but he is still a big Def Leopard fan (I'm not) and still perhaps his favorite concert ever.

@tony1954 You had a great decade there.  Qute the set of memories. thanks for sharing.

A long, long time ago (early 1980's) in a galaxy far away (Sacramento, CA)  I went with my pal Eric to see Sammy Hagar at the Memorial Auditorium.  This was the time I learned from Eric, you can tape bottles of Southern Comfort to your triceps and then raise your arms for the pat-down.  

My memory is turning to Eric as we sat there burning one and sipping SC as some local band started their opening act.  I remember saying "these guys are pretty good" after they had finished the song "Don't Tell Me You Love Me".  At the time, I could only remember that the word "Ranger" was in the bands name.

Of course they would climb to fame with the song "Sister Christian" as the band "Night Ranger".  Props to Sacramento!

Van Halen opening for Black Sabbath 1978.. 

Van Halen owned them during that tour.

Van Halen became the American Led Zeppelin. 🤘🏼

CSN opening for the dead.  Rich Stadium Buffalo NY July 16th 1990.

2 of my favorites.

Van Halen opening for Black Sabbath in 1980 or 81. They destroyed Sabbath. 

March 10, 1979, a small college in central Iowa.

An English band named the Police opened for Ultra Vox

This is certainly a yesteryear thread and rightfully so, but since i cannot remember the opening acts to all the great shows i saw in the 70's/80's, I'll offer a recent great opening act.  Katie Pruitt opening for My Morning Jacket at Beech Mountain, Summer '23.  After she was done, my son went down to the concession area and stopped by Katie's booth.  He asked if she had any vinyl for sale and they had one copy of her album. Katie signed it.  It's a great record, all the way through.  She's appeared on CBS Saturday morning and I'm convinced she'll be big someday.

Technically not an opener but 2nd on the billing, U2 playing before Todd Rundgren at the Concert for Children show at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill 1983. It was raining and Bono climbed the stage scaffolding during their set.

An unknown band named Tesla opened for David Lee Roth.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings played before the Tedeschi Trucks Band on the Wheels of Soul tour 2015. They were an established band, but I had never seen them.

And a kid I had never heard of played before Tedeschi Trucks on another Wheels of Soul Tour named Marcus King. He was incredible.

Several.

Santana, opening for Canned Heat, 1969.

John McLaughlin opening for Steve Miller Band, about ten years ago....I stayed for 2 songs from Miller and left. A joke after McLaughlin.

Leon Russell, first few months on his comeback, opening for Hot Tuna. Jorma had enough sense to take it all the way down to a slow acoustic blues for a bit, as if it was still intermission.

Marshall Tucker Band opened for the Allman Bros in ‘74. Both were great!!

NRPS for the Dead at the Capital Theater, Port Chester, NY on 02/23/1971. Seeing both bands in a small venue, and Jerry on pedal steel with NRPS was a musical life changing experience.  A deadhead forever after that concert.  

Bonnie Raitt with Keb’ Mo’

What a great concert here in Seattle, at the Paramont.

when I was way younger…

Iron Butterfly opened by Guess Who.

NYC, 1967 RKO Theater 

I saw The Who open for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Poor Mitch. After the drum kit fire, it was hard to impress. 

A great outdoor daytime concert,1976 or so.  I was two years out of high school. Heart opened for Leonard Skynyrd who opened for Jefferson Airplane/Starship at Santa Barbera College outdoor football field.  

1980? or so (brain dead so & so..) Golden Earring opened for Rush at the Forum in Inglewood.  An extremely great sounding band for another great sounding band.  

@musikcrayz 

"Linda Ronstadt on the Neil Young tour in ‘73. It was in Hartford. The morons heckled her off the stage. "

I saw that tour in Vancouver. What kind of idiot would boo Linda Ronstadt?

Whoever it was is lucky I wasn't there.

1970, 10th grade, original Electric Factory in Philly. Went to see Savoy Brown.

Opening act was Pink Floyd, they hadn't yet done Dark Side and were'nt big.

2nd place - Emerson Lake and Palmer first album tour opening for Procol Harum 1970 too, Spectrum in Philly

Early 70's in DC Joni Mitchell had an unknown solo Jackson Browne open up for her. He was great.

In about '77 Cindy Lauper opened for Tina Turner in NYC.  At that time Cindy fronted a very cool Rock a Billy band Blue Angel.  She was a star waiting to happen.

1991 Rocky Point Theater in RI, hold about 2000 people. I was a little punk still in high school.

This no name band opened for Red Hot Cilli Peppers

Pearl Jam, then another band came on after called Smashing Pumpkins. 

This was before both bands debut albums came out. That Monday went to the record stores, no one had a clue who I was talking about, both bands we not only amazing, changed my music taste path.

In 1969 I went to a show at The Pavillion in Flushing Meadows, NYC (site of the Worlds Fair), to hear the Charley Musselwhite Blues Band and Savoy Brown.  An opening act went on and blew the roof off the place…which was an open-air venue…a new band out of SF called Santana.  This was a week before Woodstock.  They announced they would be giving a free concert in the Central Park Sheep Meadow the next day, along with Jefferson Airplane, who were performing at the Fillmore East that weekend.  I went to that show, too.  The jam session with Carlos and Jorma with Jack on bass and Santana’s rhythm section is a lifelong memory I cherish. Hot Santuna!

In 1969 at Memorial Auditorium in Dallas I saw Jimi Hendrix and the opening band was a new band called The Chicago Transit Authority who became just Chicago. Sat 3rd row center. Never will forget that show.

In 1970 I saw The Rolling Stones at McFarlin Auditorium in Dallas and they were 1&1/2 hours late and the opening band, Chuck Berry, played for almost 3 hours and killed it. I didn't care whether the Stones showed up or not, he was that good.