Music / Nightlife

Miley Cyrus and her crew saunter downstage during “SMS (Bangerz)” at the Tacoma Dome on Sunday. (Photos by Lindsey Wasson / The Seattle Times)

“I would love to see you guys make out for this next song,” said Miley Cyrus Sunday at the Tacoma Dome, introducing “Adore You,” a vulnerable ballad off her smash album “Bangerz.”

Kissing broke out throughout the arena as the influential, 21-year-old pop star belted out the tune in her countryish alto. Cell phones waved like lighters in the crowd. It was a lovely moment.

The Barcelona-based group Delorean, pictured, headlines Seattle’s Barboza club Tuesday. Photo by Nacho Alegre.

Touring bands have a lot to worry about — temperamental equipment, deadbeat promoters, the risk the van crashes or the plane goes down. The list goes on, but seldom does it include:

“Do what we say or you’re dead.”

The big news is that Sasquatch! 2014 has added a second show, on Fourth of July weekend, but that’s no guarantee tickets will be any easier to get. Like last year — when tickets sold in 90 minutes — there are only three-day passes available. No single-day tickets will be sold. Tickets for both the…

(Terrance Blanton / Fadewood Studios)

“We Will Rock You” could easily be the catchphrase for Excision’s 2014 tour.

Armed with his next single, “Rock You,” based on the 1977 Queen classic, and a completely insane 150,000-watt sound system, the Canadian DJ, producer and dubstep innovator is ready to push the boundaries of electronic dance music.

Be sure to bring earplugs.

(Conrad McGee)

In less time than it took him to earn his journalism degree from his hometown Halifax, Nova Scotia’s University of King’s College, producer and DJ Ryan Hemsworth has ridden waves of internet buzz to become an internationally-touring performer, releasing his debut full-length Guilt Trips on famed Canadian label Last Gang Records (who has also released albums by the likes of Metric, Crystal Castles and Death From Above 1979) along the way.

Whether you’re into the Seattle scene, hip-hop, jazz, dance, pop, country, Americana, punk or world music, it’s been a great year for music. Below is a collection, in alphabetical order (by writer) of The Seattle Times’ 2013 Top 10 lists.

It’s remarkable how few artists made more than one writer’s list — Arctic Monkeys, Pearl Jam, The Head and the Heart, King Krule, Shelby Earl, Migos (warning: language), Young Thug, Earl Sweatshirt and ILLFIGHTYOU — and none made more than two. That speaks to the wide reach of our contributors, but also to the fragmented taste pockets in music these days.

We hope you see something here you loved but also something you haven’t heard yet. Because that’s what it’s all about. Finding the best new stuff, every year.

Happy New Year!

(Amelia Troubridge)

Electronic-dance music is known for dazzling audiovisual experiences featuring throbbing rhythms and pulsating lights.

But English trance and progressive-house group Above & Beyond, which co-headlines the annual “Resolution” New Year’s Eve party at WaMu Theater, will launch a new chapter in its career with the release of its first live acoustic album, titled “Above & Beyond Acoustic,” Jan. 28 on Ultra Music. A companion concert film will premiere Jan. 24 on Vice’s THUMP channel.

El Ten Eleven — multi-instrumentalist Kristian Dunn, and drummer Tim Fogarty — plays Seattle Friday. Photo by Finn Turnbull.

“Not to sound conceited,” says El Ten Eleven’s Kristian Dunn, “but there’s no one for us to look up to when it comes to instrumentals and looping. We’re the kings.”

Such swagger may seem surprising coming from a guy who writes cerebral, chilled-out songs with no words — but there’s validity to Dunn’s claims. The Los Angeles duo, which performs live at Neumos Friday, has never followed the fleet.

Lorde at the Deck the Hall Ball. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

It was cold, crisp and clear Tuesday afternoon as concertgoers lined up outside KeyArena for Deck the Hall Ball. But indoors it was snowing.

The snow was fake, or course, and confined to a giant video screen. But the flurries were just enough to lend a holiday vibe to 107.7 The End’s annual year-end concert, which featured such hot alternative-rock acts as Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Alt-J and Seattle’s new-folk darlings, The Head and the Heart.

Seattle station KNDD has been staging its Deck the Hall Ball for more than 20 years as a well-stocked concert marathon for faithful listeners. This year’s holiday-themed concert also provided bands with a chance to thank the station, as well as fans, for their support.

The thank-yous came in the form of tight, spirited sets showcasing the bands’ best music. There were no shoe-gazers in this energetic lineup.

Britney Spears, ‘Britney Jean’ (RCA/Sony) Fourteen years ago, Britney Spears sashayed onto the worldwide pop stage as a teen idol, and now is improbably making excellent albums as an adult. She works around her thin voice with production tricks and odd pronunciations (she was always more of a dancer than a singer). She has pulled back…