artist on a world tour

• Moscow concerts Moscow concerts Moscow concerts See all Moscow concerts ( Change location ) Today · Next 7 days · Next 30 days

Most popular artists worldwide

• Trending artists worldwide

• Tourbox for artists

Search for events or artists

• Sign up Log in

• Get the app
• Moscow concerts
• Change location
• Popular Artists
• Live streams
• Deutsch Português
• Popular artists

Discover concerts for your favorite artists

Be the first to know about concerts, tour announcements & news based on the music you love

Artist Leaderboards

Discover tour dates, photos, videos, reviews and news from the most tracked artists on Songkick.

Pop • R&B

Hip-Hop • Pop

Hip-Hop • Funk & Soul

R&B • Hip-Hop

Taylor Swift

Country • Pop

Biggest tours of 2024

Check out the most anticipated world tours from the world’s biggest superstars.

Rock · Indie & Alt

Country · Pop

Funk & Soul · Pop

Calvin Harris

Electronic · Pop

Imagine Dragons

Indie & Alt · Rock

Latest news & announcements

Get up to speed with the latest concert updates and music news from the best artists on Songkick.

Dillon Francis

Billie eilish, bryson tiller.

Hip-Hop · Electronic

Electronic · Hip-Hop

Who’s trending right now?

Hottest artists worldwide.

These are the names blowing up across the globe. Get to know the fastest growing artists on Songkick.

Tommy Richman

The academy: segunda misión, top artists by genre.

Know what you like? Discover artists in your preferred genre, and check out their upcoming tour dates.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The killers, kendrick lamar, nicki minaj, indie & alt, lana del rey, mumford & sons, arctic monkeys, justin timberlake, jason derulo, alicia keys, top rated artists.

Dive into some of the best reviewed artists on Songkick, and find out what makes their performances so awesome.

Arcade Fire

They say perfection doesn't exist, well that's wrong when it comes to Arcade Fire. The show was perfect, almost surreal- definitely the concert of the year by far. The set list on the Wednesday show was as of it was made for me, playing songs I never thought I would hear live, it was an emotional experience. The lighting, costumes, music transitions, props was amazing, and the boxing type ring stage was incredibly clever, allowing them to be closer to the fans and yet providing a different show on every side. Words can't explain what I felt during and after the concert, it was playful, clever, emotional, energetic- Such an amazing band, I'm so glad I found them- I don't know how I was alive before finding them. They have such an incredible stage presence, I really truly recommend seeing them if you have the chance- they unite all ages and create magic and unity.

Moses Sumney

Moses was amazing. Very enigmatic but still approachable, and he had a lot of fun with the crowd. The performance was incredible, his voice is truly something to behold. I've listened to "Worth It" a million times but still got chills when he hit the high note. Would highly recommend seeing Moses live, especially before he gets really famous and expensive to see.

The War on Drugs

Grace is a highly underrated quality for a rock band to possess. When compared to other, more universal assets like rawness, volume and ability it might seem a little forgettable, but a band playing to the absolute best of their ability and making it look as natural as breathing can be the genesis of some truly unforgettable moments of live music. Not one band that I’ve seen sums this sight up as well as Philadelphia indie rockers The War on Drugs, and when it comes to their sold out show at the Koko, Camden’s most ornate venue, most traditional phrases describing a well played gig seem too violent to sum it up. They didn’t “smash it”, they didn’t “blow the roof off”, they didn’t “destroy the place”, they were far better than that. Make no mistake, Adam Granduciel and co played up a storm, their psychedelia inflected country-rock filling every inch of this beautiful venue but the atmosphere was unlike any gig I’ve been to in a very long time. The crowd lost themselves in the music in a way that didn’t lead to mindless moshing and crowd-surfing, the 1400 people were enraptured, moved by the music, not to the music. It was an experience as beautiful as it was exciting and anyone with a passing interest in this life affirming lunacy we call Rock and Roll should seek it out as soon as possible.

What can I say? This woman is simply a force of nature. Her sheer energy just washes over the crowd. So much positivity, and talent! That voice, the moves, the smile. Do yourself a favor and go see her show!

Literally the best thing I have ever seen. The whole band sounded so tight, the light show was insane and they really played to the audience. Two full sets of material plus an encore was probably more than any of us expected. They played so many songs that I wanted to hear, even some really old material which was so unexpected. The whole audience was buzzing with energy and love for a band that are so good, but really don't tour enough. I'd waited 10 years for a chance to see them and now that I have, I'd have waited another 10 if I knew it was going to be that perfect. It was a privilege to be in that room and witness something so beautiful.

Courtney Barnett

A mind-blowing live personality, a revelation! A huge spontaneous crush! Power, cheekiness, everything that can reinstate one in the love for women and music. A never again to be missed!

Music artists

For new users looking to follow their favorite bands and performers, our Artists pages are often the best place to start.

Whether you're on our site, or using our free app for iPhone and Android, the Songkick artists search engine is the fastest and simplest way to keep track of who's doing what right now. Be the first to learn which acts are touring, when they might be playing a venue near you, and how to get tickets for any future shows you like the sound of.

Looking to discover someone new? Hey, you’re our kind of music fan. That's why we've also included upcoming Live Stream Concerts alongside our artist searches, meaning you can easily schedule a more casual drop-in from the comfort of your couch.

Since launching our first app back in 2007, you guys - the fans, the concert-goers, the musical explorers - have been at the very heart of everything we do here. Our dream and our drive was always to bring Songkick members closer than ever before to the sounds they love, and the people who create them. Simply put, we pride ourselves on being your direct link to the greatest music artists on the planet.

Who are they, exactly? Well, according to our members, that changes almost by the hour...so let's talk about how Songkick keeps you in the loop.

Best live artists

A quick glance at our Most Popular Artists chart might tell you a few key things about the sorts of music fans we vibe with. For starters, it shows just how varied our members' tastes are. Pop, rock, dance, hip-hop, indie/alt and R&B all feature heavily, alongside a whole bunch of underground genres and rising scenes.

No two of you are quite the same - and frankly, we love to see it! Any time you check in, our 'most popular artists worldwide' and 'trending artists this week' leaderboards always read like a line-up for the greatest, most diverse live festival on Earth.

Among the top searches and best-selling music artists on our global roster, you might find anyone from Rhianna, Coldplay, Eminem and Ed Sheeran, through to Drake, U2, Kanye West,

Maroon 5, Beyoncé, The Midnight, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris, Imagine Dragons, Justin Bieber - and that's barely looking outside the top 20.

After all, if the weekly race for a spot on our most popular charts tells us anything, it's that the whole concept of 'best live bands' is a tricky one to pin down. Everybody's looking for a completely different type of experience, every night of the year.

That's another thing we love about our users: you're incredible at keeping us on our toes. In return, we’ve made it our mission to help keep you on yours.

Find and follow your favorite artists on Songkick

When people talk about the 'best live bands in the world', a few big names will reliably come up time and time again. Just as crucially, there'll always be a good handful of newcomers, hot tips and total curveballs in there too.

For us and our members alike, that's a huge part of what keeps the live concert scene so fresh and exciting. There's nothing quite like the thrill of discovering a new favorite artist you'd previously never even heard of - and when that discovery involves a performer blowing you away with an incredible live show or streamed concert, the feeling is enhanced tenfold.

Songkick started out with the goal of helping you capture that moment as often as possible. Now, more than a decade into this, it's 100% what we're still about today.

New members visiting our site or downloading the app can use our powerful search tools to stay ahead of the game. Simply log in with a user profile to keep tabs on more than 6 million bands, shows, festivals and live streams. By joining them, you'll be sharing a platform with 15 million fellow music fans worldwide, all using Songkick to:

Effortlessly track the best live artists

and hottest new tours, wherever and whenever they’re happening.

Follow anyone or anything

You like at the touch of a button, all via our up-to-the-minute global listings database.

Buy tickets with confidence

At prices the artists and promoters intended: no inflated costs or charges, no unwanted spam.

Join us on Social

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio

Artists Who Are Going On Tour In 2024: The Rolling Stones, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo & More

The year is just getting started, but 2024 is already stacked with exciting tours. Open up your calendar and start planning with this sprawling list of announced 2024 tours.

Just a couple of years ago, live music still looked uncertain — would variant X, Y or Z derail the train for the umpteenth time? But in that regard, 2023 felt almost totally in the clear — and that's why it feels like the rubber band is stretched back for 2024, and it's ready to launch.

Sure, compiling every musical act who's touring in 2024 might be impossible. But GRAMMY.com's stylistic purview is far and wide: country, hardcore, soul, R&B, rap, indie rock, you name it. As such, we're giving it our best shot — and will continue to update the list as more tours are announced.

Without further ado, here's a major cross section of the 2024 touring landscape as currently announced — from Alvvays to Adam Ant , from Def Leppard to Danny Brown.

Laura Pausini : Laura Pausini World Tour Jan. 6 - April 6 North & Latin America

Italian singer (and the Latin Recording Academy's Person Of The Year) Laura Pausini is venturing through North & Latin America in the spring.

Slowdive Jan. 16 - May 18 U.S., Asia & Europe

The reunited shoegaze greats just released a well-loved new album, everything is alive — which is currently taking on new shades onstage. See them in 2024, on an extensive tour of Europe with Japan dates, and then a plethora of U.S. stops.

Madison Beer : The Spinnin Tour Jan. 17 - June 13 UK, Europe, & U.S.

The pop, hip-hop, EDM, and R&B star released Silence Between Songs in 2023; she'll support it with The Spinnin Tour, which heads stateside from Europe across the spring of 2024.

Drake with J.Cole : It's All A Blur - Big As The What? Jan. 18 - March 27 U.S.

Hip-hop kingpins Drake and J. Cole are headed on a co-headlining tour; some Drake gigs will be J.-Cole-less.

Ana Tijoux Jan. 18 - April 13 North America, UK, & Europe

Chilean musician Ana Tijoux hasn't undergone a world tour since 2018, but she's about to change that with a run of European gigs following the release of VIDA , her first album in several years. .

Melanie Martinez Jan. 19 - June 27 North America, Asia & Australia

Alt-popper Melanie Martinez will segue her PORTALS Tour into The Trilogy Tour, which will see her revive her alter ego "Cry Baby." See her, in this persona, in the U.S. and across the pond.

Mitski Jan. 26 - June 6 UK, Europe, & U.S.

Fresh off the release of The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We , Mitski has announced a jaunt across North America with Tamino, Sunny War, Julia Jacklin , and Sarah Kinsley.

Gloria Trevi: Mi Soundtrack World Tour Jan. 26 - Sept. 22 U.S.

Known as the "Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop," Gloria Trevi is embarking on a world tour to top off the year, as she has recently announced the first leg.

Tinashe : BB/ANG3L U.S. Tour Jan. 31 - Feb. 15 U.S.

Actress, dancer and singer Tinashe will support her new album, BB/ANG3L , with a run of mostly East Coast dates.

Militarie Gun Jan. 31 - June 1 North America

Fresh off a tour with Scowl, hardcore-adjacent, brilliantly melodic punks Militarie Gun continue their rise with a 2024 North American tour.

Mariah The Scientist: To Be Eaten Alive Tour Feb. 1 - May 4 UK, Europe, & U.S.

R&B favorite Mariah the Scientist has been raring to return to the stage: "I miss hearing my fans scream my lyrics at the top of their lungs. I miss seeing all their faces," Mariah told Rolling Stone . "I miss all the different cities. To my fans, I miss us. I'm so ready to eat you alive." She'll be in Europe and the U.S.

Marc Anthony : Viviendo Tour Feb. 9 - March 9 North America

Latin and Salsa star Marc Anthony can't hide his excitement for his upcoming tour: "See you in 2024 with many moments to write about," Mark shared in his Instagram tour announcement. "We are going to live nights like no other."

Juanes : Vida Cotidiana World Tour Feb. 13 - March 30 North America

In support of his Vida Cotidiana album, Colombian rock legend Juanes is making stops around North America to celebrate the project.

Los Angeles Azules : El Amor de mi Vida Tour Feb. 13 - April 20 U.S.

Marking their epic return to the United States, the Cumbia sibling group are kicking off their tour in support of their upcoming album —which is set to be released this year.

Jon Batiste : UNEASY Tour Feb. 16 - April 27 U.S.

Five-time GRAMMY winner and 20-time nominee Jon Batiste isn't known as a traditional touring act — extemporaneous solo performances and orchestral works tend to be his jam. That's what makes his upcoming North American tour so enticing — how will this consummate shape-shifter approach the headline-touring model?

Chelsea Cutler : The Beauty Is Everywhere Tour Feb. 16 - March 30 North America

Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and engineer Chelsea Cutler has revealed a 2024 headline tour titled The Beauty Is Everywhere Tour, in support of her new album Stellaria .

Red Hot Chili Peppers : Unlimited Love Tour Feb. 17 - July 30 North America

The veteran rockers are still supporting 2022's Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen ; in 2024, they'll go out with Kid Cudi , Ice Cube , Ken Carson, Otoboke Beaver, Seun Kuti , Wand, and Irontom.

PinkPantheress: Capable of Love Tour Feb. 20 - April 30 North America, UK & Europe

The TikTok sensation turned pop phenomenon will head out on her Capable of Love Tour, following the release of her debut album Heaven Knows . Rising artists Bktherula and Kanii will join her.

Niall Horan Feb. 21 - July 31 North America, Europe, & Australia

The Irish singer/songwriter has announced "THE SHOW" LIVE ON TOUR 2024 – his biggest tour yet and first headline run since 2018's Flicker world tour.

Bad Bunny - Most Wanted Tour Feb. 21 - May 26 U.S.

Bad Bunny's Most Wanted Tour will take him across 47 dates across North America — including three shows in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

Olivia Rodrigo : 2024 Tour Feb. 23 - Aug. 14 UK, Europe, & U.S.

Olivia Rodrigo will make a jaunt around the world with support from the Breeders, Chappell Roan and Pink Pantheress.

Sampha : North America 2024 Tour Feb. 23 - April 14 North America & Australia

South London singer/songwriter Sampha recently released a music video for "Can't Go Back," from his new album, Lahai . With it come North American dates for 2024.

Mon Laferte : Autopoiética Tour Feb. 29 - June 2 U.S. & Latin America

Chilean artist Mon Laferte's new album, Autopoiética , has been released to a clamorous response. In 2024, she'll bring the music across Latin America and the U.S.

Idles Feb. 29 - Dec. 7 North America, UK, & Europe

The purveyors of wild-eyed rock have extended their previously announced 2024 international tour with new dates across North America, Mexico, the UK, and Ireland.

Styx & Foreigner : Renegades & Juke Box Heroes Tour March 1 - Nov. 9 North America

Don't miss this classic rock heroes together, for the last time ever. Check out dates, along with heartfelt statements from both bands.

Nicki Minaj : Pink Friday 2 Tour March 1 - June 7 UK, Europe, & U.S.

The Harajuku Barbie is back with a new album, Pink Friday 2 , which landed Dec. 8. How will tunes like "Super Freaky Girl" and "Last Time I Saw You" translate to the stage? Don't miss her North American and European tour , which stretches from late March to early June.

Danny Brown: Quaranta '24 Tour March 3 - April 14 North America

The idiosyncratic MC is riding high off the release of his introspective new album, Quaranta . He's heading across North America in support of it.

Don Omar March 7 - April 21 North America

The reggaeton pioneer has announced he will be back in arenas in 2024 and bringing fans "Back to Reggaeton," a 20-date trek across North America that spans the artist's decades-long career.

Judas Priest : Invisible Shield Tour March 11 - May 22 Europe, UK, & U.S.

Metal titans Judas Priest are still going strong; they just announced a Spring 2024 U.S. tour with supporting act abaton.

Busta Rhymes March 13 - April 21 North America

Rap heavyweight Busta Rhymes has announced his Blockbusta Tour, which will bring him across the U.S. and Canada starting in March.

Tim McGraw : 2024 Standing Room Only Tour March 14 - June 27 U.S.

The country great's upcoming jaunt kicks off on March 14 and will stop through more than 40 cities. Carly Pearce will be a special guest.

Bleachers: From The Studio To The Stage March 19 - June 15 U.S. & UK

In late spring and early summer 2024, the Jack Antonoff -led rockers are hitting the road in support of their self-titled new album, which arrives March 8.

Tyla March 21 - May 28 UK, Europe, & U.S.

The unstoppable, GRAMMY-nominated R&B, amapiano singer Tyla will venture across the UK and Europe in spring 2024.

Adam Ant : ANTMUSIC Tour March 21 - May 11 U.S.

English post-punk and new wave legend Adam Ant is headed out on his ANTMUSIC tour, his first U.S. trek in five years. The day after it wraps up, he'll appear at the Cruel World 2024 festival.

The Slackers April 4 - April 14 North America

The revered, long-time purveyors of ska, reggae, dub and more have announced a spring tour across the US and Canada.

Alvvays : US Spring Tour 2024 April 4 - Aug. 8 North America, UK, & Europe

The indie darlings will traverse the United States in April and May, then head to Europe in late June for festival dates.

Tate Mcrae : Think Later World Tour April 17 - Nov 21 North America, UK, Europe, & Australia

Multi-platinum singer/songwriter Tate McRae will support her second album, THINK LATER , with a world tour in 2024.

The Rolling Stones : Hackney Diamonds Tour April 18 - July 17 North America

If the Rolling Stones ' secret NYC show with Lady Gaga was any indication, the Stones' stadium run around Hackney Diamonds — their first album of new material in 18 years — will be one for the books. For now, only stateside shows have been announced, but keep your eyes peeled for an expansion.

Hozier : Unreal Unearth Tour April 20 - Sept. 17 U.S.

Singer/songwriter Hozier is undertaking a headline tour of the UK and Ireland next summer, supporting his third album Unreal Unearth .

Alanis Morissette with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts : Triple Moon Tour June 9 - Aug. 10 North America

Two female pioneers are hitting the road, with special guest Morgan Wade. See where they're heading in the U.S. and Canada.

Pink : Summer Carnival Tour 2024 June 11 - Nov. 23 North America, UK, & Europe

Pink will continue to support her new album Trustfall with her Summer Carnival tour, which returns to North America in 2024. 

The Killers June 12 - July 11 UK & Ireland

The Killers have reached that stage where they're looking back on the hits. Following the recent release of their best-of compilation album Rebels Diamonds , shout along at these UK and Ireland dates .

Def Leppard , Journey , Steve Miller : 2024 Summer Stadium Tour July 6 - Sept. 8 U.S.

More oldies favorites, banding together for a U.S. stadium tour in 2024: Def Leppard and Journey will be near you soon. In select markets, Heart and Cheap Trick will also appear.

Earth Wind & Fire and Chicago : Heart & Soul Tour 2024 July 10 - Sept. 7 U.S.

These retro, AOR favorites are hitting the road together for the Heart & Soul Tour 2024, including an encore with both bands on stage. Check out the North American dates.

Sepultura : Farewell Tour Oct. 30 - Nov. 23 UK & Europe

The Brazilian metal heroes are calling it quits — but not before a final trek, just in time for their 40th anniversary.

GRAMMY Rewind: Foo Fighters Win A GRAMMY For "Walk," The Song They Recorded In Dave Grohl's Garage

Photo: Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

2024 Met Gala Red Carpet: Music Icons & Celebrities Charm In The "Garden of Time" Including Bad Bunny, Zendaya, Doja Cat & More

From groundbreaking florals to silhouettes in black and piles of tulle, discover all of the spell-binding looks worn by music icons on the Met Gala red carpet in celebration of "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion."

This year's Met Gala invited guests to step into the enchanting "Garden of Time" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where fashion meets fantasy. Celebrating the Met's exhibit "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," the first Monday in May saw stars transform the red carpet into a vibrant display of sartorial storytelling. The theme showcased a collection too delicate to wear but alive with the stories of fashion's past.

From co-chairs Zendaya and Bad Bunny to Tyla and Jennifer Lopez , see how music icons and film stars embodied this year's theme with spectacular flair. The gala not only highlighted the sensory and emotional richness of fashion but also set the stage for a night of memorable styles — groundbreaking florals, tiered tulle and all. 

Explore the full spectrum of this year's enchanting looks from fashion's grandest night in the showcase below.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Glover

Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Jon Batiste

Queen Latifah

John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images

Kylie Minogue

Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Christian Cowan and Sam Smith

Jack Harlow

Marleen Moise/Getty Images

Teyana Taylor

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Ariana Grande

Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

John Shearer/WireImage

FKA Twigs, Stella McCartney, Ed Sheeran & Cara Delevingne

Lana Del Ray

Gotham/Getty Images

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Dua Lipa Is Confidently In Love On 'Radical Optimism': 4 Takeaways From The New Album

Photos: KQ Entertainment; KATO SHUMPEI; Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images; Medios y Media/Getty Images; Presley Ann/Getty Images for Coachella; Lauren Kim

Leap Into AAPI Month 2024 With A Playlist Featuring Laufey, Diljit Dosanjh, & Peggy Gou

Celebrate AAPI artists this May with a genre-spanning playlist spotlighting festival headliners and up-and-coming musicians. From Korean hip-hop to Icelandic jazz-pop, listen to some of the most exciting artists from the Asian diaspora.

With spring just around the corner, it’s time to welcome AAPI Month in full blossom. From rising musical artists to inspiring community leaders, it’s essential to recognize AAPI members of the artistic world and their achievements.

While AAPI Month is a U.S. holiday, the Recording Academy takes a global approach in celebrating artists and creators from across the Asian and Asian American diaspora. This aligns with the Recording Academy's growing mission to expand its reach on a global scale and celebrate international creators outside of the U.S.  

Musicians of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage have not only helped establish the music industry, but have transformed it. From Diljit Dosanjh being the first artist to play a Coachella set entirely in Punjabi to Laufey winning a GRAMMY for her jazz-inspired pop, AAPI artists continue to influence music by both honoring tradition and reshaping modern standards.

It’s thrilling to see AAPI musicians continue to take centerstage — from Atarashi Gakko! to Tiger JK ’s memorable sets at Coachella, to surprise appearances from Olivia Rodrigo , Dominic Fike , and Towa Bird. As festival season gets underway, examples of the AAPI starpower from every corner of the world abound.

As one of many ways to celebrate AAPI Month, listen to the GRAMMY.com playlist below — as a reminder to give AAPI musicians not just their May flowers, but their flowers all year-round!

Photo: Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Chappell Roan's Big Year: The 'Midwest Princess' Examines How She Became A Pop "Feminomenon"

Just after Chappell Roan made her festival debut at Coachella, hear from the pop starlet about some of the defining moments of her career thus far — and how it all helped earn her a spot at one of music's biggest fests.

Before this year, Chappell Roan had never even been to Coachella. Now, not only can she say she's attended — she's performed in the desert, too. 

Roan played an evening set on the Gobi Stage on April 12, and is set to return for Weekend 2. Fans clad in everything from cowboy boots, Sandy Liang-inspired bows and, perhaps most importantly, jorts, gathered to celebrate their shared love of Roan's radiance, karmic kink and gay cowgirl doctrine.  

Throughout her performance, bubbles breezed through the air as Roan belted out her infectious (and aptly titled) track "Femininomenon," which speaks to lover girls forced to live in an online-dating hellscape. "Ladies, you know what I mean?/ And you know what you need and so does he/ But does it happen? No!" Following collective screams of pure joy, the already enlivened crowd roused to match Roan beat-for-beat, shouting back in perfect unison, "Well, what we really need is a femininomenon!" 

In an era of bedroom pop and sad-girl music, Roan has been hailed by both critics and fans for bringing fun back to pop music. Along with her staunch sense of self, Roan's penchant for explicit lyrics that are equally parts introspective and horny makes her dance-pop anthems all the more infectious. 

Roan's ambitiously experimental debut album, 2023's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess , cemented her status as one of the most exciting pop stars on the rise. While she only recently landed her first single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Good Luck, Babe!," her rapidly growing fan base — and an opening slot on Olivia Rodrigo's sold-out GUTS World Tour — indicate that she's on her way to superstardom .

Perhaps part of Roan's magic is that it was all on her own terms. After parting ways with her first label, Atlantic Records, she built a loyal following as an independent artist before signing with Island Records last year. Even as a major label artist, she's determined to only do things her way; her indefatigable commitment to her craft — as well as writing her own rules when it comes to fashion and makeup — is precisely why her fans are so enraptured by both her music and persona. 

Her fearlessness was on full display during her first Coachella set, where the words emblazoned on her bodysuit read "Eat Me." She talks the talk, and walks the walk (in fabulous, knee-high boots, of course), matching her unabashed aesthetic with equally bold career moves; for one, the openers for her headlining tour are local drag queens.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Doniella Davy (@donni.davy)

With eyeliner winged to the heavens, near-perfect vocal stability and fiery curls ablaze, Roan's shimmering Coachella Weekend 1 performance proved that her stage presence is equally dynamic. And if she had any doubters, she had one thing to say to them: "B—, I know you're watching!" 

In between rehearsals for her Coachella debut, Roan took a look back on her journey to one of music's most coveted stages. Below, hear from Roan about five of the most impactful milestones in her career — so far. 

Releasing Her Debut Album, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess

I ended up signing [with Island Records in 2023] because this project honestly got too big to be independent anymore. I just wasn't willing to give up anything, any creative control or for any amount of money. 

Being an independent artist was really special because I proved to myself that I could do all these hard things that I had never done. I built it with an entire friend group and many, many years of work. So it wasn't just me, but it proved a lot to me.

It proved I can make it through hard circumstances — with no money. You truly can. You do not need a label to do a lot of what an artist's career requires. You don't need a label to put on your own show, or make a music video, or even write a song, or find creative people. You don't need that s—t. I mean, a label is just money, you know? You don't need a lot of money to do this. To make it grow is, I think, where it takes a lot of money. That's what was difficult.

Music allows me to express anything, even things that I've never experienced before. It allows me to express queerness, even if it was only daydreams at that point. It allows me to express parts of me that I'm not even ready to accept yet.

I don't give a f— if you don't  f— with the music. You don't have to come to the concert. That's the whole point of it. You don't have to like it. I think throughout the year, I'm like, "What can I get away with?" Because right now it's pretty tame for what it is like to be a gay artist. But I just want to push it to see how far can I go — with the most controversial outfits or things to rile people up. I'm not really afraid to do that.

Having a song [like "Casual] with the lyric, "Knee deep in the passenger seat/ And you're eating me out," and it's being considered to go to radio. That's kind of a big thing to get away with. 

It's not even that big of a thing. What's that song? Is it Flo Rida ? That's like, "Can you blow my whistle, baby/ whistle baby." Okay, that's obviously about like a f—ing blowjob. [ Laughs .] No one cares about that. To me, I'm like, Let's talk about eating out on the radio . I actually think it has to be bleeped, but still, if I can get away with it, that's cool.

Feeling Financial Freedom & Stability

Not making money at all just sucked. But I learned how to do my own makeup and bedazzle and sew a little bit. I think that the scrappiness came from [the idea that] it's scrappy if it's fun. 

I think that's what kept me going — because if this wasn't fun, I would not even be here. But it was scrappy and fun, and it was with my friends. It didn't feel dire. I was also just working at a coffee shop, and I was a nanny, and I was working at a donut shop. I was doing part time jobs all on the side too. So it was all just rough [in the beginning].

I have freedom because now [singing] is my full-time job. It provides for me now. As the project grows, I can do bigger shows and be like, I want outfit changes now , and I want more lights, and I want confetti . I can afford confetti now! 

It's about expanding the universe in a thoughtful way. And not just like throwing a s— ton of money at things to make things look expensive or wear all this designer s— for no reason. 

I just try to look at how we are starting to gain momentum financially and see how can I intentionally use that to, one, pay the team in a way where they're not bare bones anymore, and two, [ask ourselves] how can we honor this project and this album and the queer community? Can we pay drag queens more? Can we bring drag on the road? Now, financially, doors have opened where we can walk through them with love and intention. Just recklessly, throwing money at s— to see if it works. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ･ﾟ: *✧ Chappell Roan ✧*:･ﾟ (@chappellroan)

Opening Olivia Rodrigo's Arena Tour

Olivia [Rodrigo] just asked. It was official, we went through our management. But I was like, Oh my God . 

Preparing a 40-minute set is a different vibe than headlining, obviously. You are going out to an audience that is not there for you and doesn't necessarily care if you're there or not.

This is, like, my fourth or fifth artist I've opened for. But for an arena tour, I just needed to gather my nerves. I think that's the difference between any other show. Like, F—, there's 20,000 people out there right now. I've never performed in front of that many people. I don't know what this emotion is, and I just have to tame it right now.

Standing Up For Herself Creatively, Even When There's Pushback

I stand up for myself, I would say, every day. Sometimes, you get this opportunity, a huge opportunity with a lot of money on the table. [Yet,] I'm just like, That just doesn't make sense creatively. That doesn't align with my values. I'm not doing that.  

One huge creative decision was I stood up and pushed the entire headlining Midwest Princess tour back to the fall. The album was supposed to come out while we were on tour. I was like, "This is a horrible idea!" 

That caused a big ruckus, but it ended up being fine, and I was right. I'm usually right. [ Laughs .] It's like a mother with her kid — a mother knows best. I feel like [that] when it comes to the integrity of my project.

I know how it is to not be able to afford a ticket or even f—ing food. A concert ticket, a lot of times, means multiple meals for someone. I get it, I couldn't afford some artists' tickets. That's why it's really important to me to try to keep them as low as I can and my merch as low as I can. 

There's pushback of ticket prices being low and we're playing rooms that are so expensive. The fee to even play them is so expensive. So, you have to raise the ticket prices to just even be able to afford to play the room. There's always an argument [with my team] there, every tour. I'm in control of stuff and if I'm saying this is how it's going to be —- it's just going to be that way.

Performing At Coachella For The First Time 

[After the first weekend of Coachella] I am feeling very relieved. I was so stressed about many things. How is the outfit going to work? Will the crowd really be engaged? It went so well, I have no qualms with anything. I loved every second of it.

It feels like I am partying with [my fans]. I am not performing to them; I’m performing with them. [I want people to remember] a really fun, freeing show. Very campy but very meaningful too. 

4 Ways Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS World Tour Shows A New Side Of The Pop Princess

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation

10 Record Store Day 2024 Releases We're Excited About: The Beatles, Notorious B.I.G. & More

In honor of Record Store Day 2024, which falls on April 20, learn about 10 limited, exclusive drops to watch out for when browsing your local participating record store.

From vinyl records by the 1975 and U2 , to album reissues and previously unreleased music, record stores around the world are stocking limited and exclusive releases for Record Store Day 2024 . 

The first Record Store Day kicked off in 2008 and every year since, the event supporting independently owned record stores has grown exponentially. On Record Store Day 2024, which falls on April 20, there will be more than 300 special releases available from artists as diverse as  the Beatles and Buena Vista Social Club. 

In honor of Record Store Day 2024 on April 20, here are 10 limited and exclusive drops to watch out for when browsing your local participating record store. 

David Bowie — Waiting in the Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth

British glam rocker David Bowie was a starman and an icon. Throughout his career, he won five GRAMMY Awards and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. 

On RSD 2024, Bowie's estate is dialing it back to his Ziggy Stardust days to make Waiting in the Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth) available for the first time. The record features recordings of Bowie's sessions at Trident Studios in 1971, and many songs from those sessions would be polished for his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars . 

The tracklisting for Waiting in the Sky differs from Ziggy Stardust and features four songs that didn’t make the final album.

Talking Heads — Live at WCOZ 77

New York City-based outfit Talking Heads defined the sound of new wave in the late '70s and into the next decade. For their massive influence, the group received two GRAMMY nominations and was later honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

While promoting their debut album Talking Heads: 77 , the quartet recorded a live performance for the New Albany, Pennsylvania radio station WCOZ in 1977. The Live at WCOZ 77 LP will include 14 songs from that performance at Northern Studios, including seven that will be released for the first time. Among the previously unheard cuts are " Love Goes To A Building On Fire" and "Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town." During that session, Talking Heads also performed songs like "Psycho Killer" and "Pulled Up."

The Doors — Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, September 20, 1968

The Doors were at the forefront of the psychedelic rock movement of the 1960s and early '70s. One of Jim Morrison 's most epic performances with the band will be available on vinyl for the first time. 

Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, September 20, 1968 includes recordings from a radio broadcast that was never commercially released. The 3-LP release includes performances of songs from the Doors’ first three albums, including 1967’s self-titled and Strange Days . In addition to performing their classics like "Light My Fire" and "You're Lost Little Girl," the Doors and Morrison also covered "Mack the Knife" and Barret Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" live during this session. 

Dwight Yoakam — The Beginning And Then Some: The Albums of the '80s

Over the course of his 40-year career, country music icon Dwight Yoakam has received 18 GRAMMY nominations and won two golden gramophones for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1994 and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 2000.

On Record Store Day 2024, Yoakam will celebrate the first chapter of his legacy with a new box set: The Beginning And Then Some: The Albums of the '80s . His debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. and 1987’s Hillbilly Deluxe will be included in the collection alongside exclusive disc full of rarities and demos. The 4-LP set includes his classics like "Honky Tonk Man," "Little Ways," and "Streets of Bakersfield." The box set will also be available to purchase on CD.  

The Beatles — The Beatles Limited Edition RSD3 Turntable

Beatlemania swept across the U.S. following the Beatles’ first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in February 1964, setting the stage for the British Invasion. With The Beatles Limited Edition RSD3 Turntable , the band will celebrate their iconic run of appearances on Sullivan’s TV program throughout that year.

The box set will include a Beatles-styled turntable and four 3-inch records. Among those records are the hits "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "Till There Was You," "She Loves You," and "I Saw Her Standing There," which the Beatles performed on Sullivan's TV across several appearances. 

Among 23 GRAMMY nominations, the Beatles won seven golden gramophones. In 2014, the Recording Academy honored them with the Lifetime Achievement Award.   

Olivia Rodrigo and Noah Kahan — From The BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge LP

Olivia Rodrigo and Noah Kahan are two of the biggest pop stars in the world right now — Rodrigo hitting the stage with No Doubt at Coachella and near the end of her global GUTS Tour ; Kahan fresh off a Best New Artist nomination at the 2024 GRAMMYs. Now, they're teaming up for the split single From The BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge LP , a release culled from each artist's "BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge" sessions. 

The special vinyl release will include Rodrigo's live cover of Kahan's breakout hit "Stick Season." The single also includes Kahan’s cover of Rodrigo’s song "Lacy" from her second album, GUTS . This month, they performed the song live together on Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour stop in Madison Square Garden.  

Buena Vista Social Club — Buena Vista Social Club

Influential Cuban group Buena Vista Social Club popularized genres and sounds from their country, including son cubano, bolero, guajira, and danzón. Buena Vista Social Club's landmark self-titled LP won the GRAMMY for Best Tropical Latin Album in 1998.

The following year, a documentary was released that captured two of the band's live performances in New York City and Amsterdam. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the documentary, the Buena Vista Social Club album will be released on a limited edition gold vinyl with remastered audio and bonus tracks.

Buena Vista Social Club is one of the 10 recordings to be newly inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame as part of the 2024 inductee class.

Danny Ocean — 54+1

Venezuelan reggaeton star Danny Ocean broke through on a global level in 2016 with his self-produced debut single "Me Rehúso," a heartbreaking track inspired by Ocean fleeing Venezuela due to the country's economic instability and the lover he had left behind. 

With "Me Rehúso," Ocean became the first solo Latin artist to surpass one billion streams on Spotify, on the platform with a single song. "Me Rehúso" was included on his 2019 debut album 54+1 , which will be released on vinyl for the first time for Record Store Day.

Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters — Skanking With The Upsetter

Jamaican producer Lee "Scratch" Perry pioneered dub music in the 1960s and '70s. Perry received five GRAMMY nominations in his lifetime, including winning Best Reggae Album in 2003 for Jamaican E.T.

To celebrate the legacy of Perry's earliest dub recordings, a limited edition run of his 2004 album Skanking With The Upsetter will be released on Record Store Day. His joint LP with his house band the Upsetters will be pressed on transparent yellow vinyl. Among the rare dub tracks on the album are "Bucky Skank," "Seven & Three Quarters (Skank)," and "IPA Skank." 

Read more: Lee "Scratch" Perry Documentary Director Sets The Record Straight On The Reggae Icon's Legacy — Including A Big Misconception About Bob Marley

Notorious B.I.G. — Ready To Die: The Instrumentals

The Notorious B.I.G. helped define the sound of East Coast rap in the '90s. Though he was tragically murdered in 1997, his legacy continues to live on through his two albums. 

During his lifetime, the Notorious B.I.G. dropped his 1994 debut album Ready to Die , which is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop releases of all-time. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the album (originally released in September '94), his estate will release Ready To Die: The Instrumentals . The limited edition vinyl will include select cuts from the LP like his hits "Big Poppa," "One More Chance/Stay With Me," and "Juicy." The album helped him garner his first GRAMMY nomination in 1996 for Best Rap Solo Performance. The Notorious B.I.G. received an additional three nominations after his death in 1998. 

10 Smaller Music Festivals Happening In 2024: La Onda, Pitchfork Music Fest, Cruel World & More

• 1 Artists Who Are Going On Tour In 2024: The Rolling Stones, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo & More
• 2 2024 Met Gala Red Carpet: Music Icons & Celebrities Charm In The "Garden of Time" Including Bad Bunny, Zendaya, Doja Cat & More
• 3 Leap Into AAPI Month 2024 With A Playlist Featuring Laufey, Diljit Dosanjh, & Peggy Gou
• 4 Chappell Roan's Big Year: The 'Midwest Princess' Examines How She Became A Pop "Feminomenon"
• 5 10 Record Store Day 2024 Releases We're Excited About: The Beatles, Notorious B.I.G. & More

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

Your guide to 2022's biggest tours

From Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Weeknd, here are all the artists who can't wait to get on the road again.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly , where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives , and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext , Queerty , Rolling Stone , and The New Yorker . He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once.

Remember live music? Enjoying a shared vibe in a crowd, a moment of familiarity and solidarity betwixt complete strangers, even having a $35 beer spilled on your person? Well, concerts are back, baby!

From Red Hot Chili Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins to the Weeknd, our fave musicians are ready, willing, and able to rock our collective socks off — with some artists making up for rescheduled shows from the past two years, established stars hitting the road again , and new acts striking out for the first time. Here, we've compiled a list of all the 2022 concerts and music festivals you'll want to keep an eye on.

September 2022

Stevie Nicks Tour: Live in Concert Dates: Sept. 2-Oct. 28

Lil Nas X Tour: Montero Tour Dates: Sept. 6-Nov. 17

Phoenix Tour: Alpha Zulu Tour '22 Dates: Sept. 6-Oct. 18 Opening act(s): Porches

Roxy Music Tour: 50th Anniversary Arena Tour Dates: Sept. 7-Oct. 14 Special guest: St. Vincent

Panic! At the Disco Tour: The Viva Las Vengeance Tour Dates: Sept. 8-March 10 Opening acts: Marina, Jake Wesley Rogers, Beach Bunny

She & Him Tour: Fall Tour Dates: Sept. 9-Sept. 16

Yola Tour: Stand for Myself 2022 Tour Dates: Sept. 9-Sept. 25 Opening act(s): Peter One

Post Malone Tour: The Twelve Carat Tour Dates: Sept. 10-Nov. 15 Opening act(s): Roddy Ricch

Gorillaz Tour: North American 2022 Tour Dates: Sept. 11-Oct. 23 Opening act(s): EARTHGANG, Jungle

Mary J. Blige Tour: The Good Morning Gorgeous Tour Dates: Sept. 17-Oct. 29 Opening act(s): Ella Mai, Queen Naija

Dry Cleaning Tour: World Tour Dates: Sept. 17-April 1

Carly Rae Jepsen Tour: The So Nice Tour Dates: Sept. 21-Nov. 5 Opening act(s): Empress Of

Ally & AJ and Ben Platt Tour: The Reverie Tour Dates: Sept. 22-Nov. 18

Lizzo Tour: The Special Tour Dates: Sept. 23-Nov. 18 Opening act: Latto

The Judds Tour: The Final Tour Dates: Sept. 30-Oct. 28 Opening act: Martina McBride

Festival: Primavera Sound Los Angeles City: Los Angeles Dates: Sept. 16-18 Headliners: Arctic Monkeys, Lorde, Nine Inch Nails, Cigarettes After Sex, Clairo, Darkside, James Blake, Kim Gordon

Festival: Portola Music Festival City: San Francisco Dates: Sept. 24-25 Headliners: Flume, Kaytranada, Charli XCX, The Chemical Brothers, James Blake, M.I.A.

Festival: Global Citizen Festival 2022 City: New York Dates: Sept. 25 Headliners: Mariah Carey, Metallica, Rosalia, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Puth, the Jonas Brothers

Festival: Ohana Festival City: Dana Point, CA Dates: Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Headliners: Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Pink

October 2022

Smashing Pumpkins Tour: Spirits on Fire Arena Tour Dates: Oct. 2-Nov. 19 Special guest: Jane's Addiction Opening acts: Poppy, Meg Myers

Jessie Reyez Tour: The Yessie Tour Dates: Oct. 13-Dec. 4

beabadoobee Tour: North American Fall Tour Dates: Oct. 25-Dec. 4 Opening act(s): Lowertown

Lindsey Buckingham Tour: Fall 2022 Tour Dates: Oct. 26-Nov. 19

Festival: All Things Go Music Festival City: Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia, MD) Dates: Oct. 1 Headliners: Lorde, Mitski, Bleachers

Festival: When We Were Young City: Las Vegas Dates: Oct. 22 Headliners: My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Avril Lavigne, Bright Eyes

November 2022

The Smile Tour: North American Tour 2022 Dates: Nov. 14-Dec. 21

Modest Mouse Tour: The Lonesome Crowded West Tour Dates: Nov. 18 - Dec. 17

Harry Connick, Jr. Tour: A Holiday Celebration 2022 Tour Dates: Nov. 18-Dec. 24

Darren Criss Tour: A Very Darren Crissmas Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 17

December 2022

LeAnn Rimes Tour: Joy: The Holiday Tour Dates: Dec. 2-Dec. 18

Mariah Carey Tour: Merry Christmas to All! Dates: Dec. 11, 13

January 2022

Kacey Musgraves Tour: Star-Crossed: Unveiled Dates: Jan. 19-Feb. 20 Opening acts: King Princess, Muna

The War on Drugs Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: Jan. 19-July 8

Courtney Barnett Tour: USA & Canada Tour Dates: Jan. 20-Aug. 28

Björk Tour : Cornucopia Dates: Jan. 26-Feb. 8

Big Thief Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: Jan. 31-June 21

February 2022

Waxahatchee Tour: Saint Cloud Tour 2022 Dates: Feb. 3-June 21

Billie Eilish Tour: Happier Than Ever: The World Tour Dates: Feb. 3-Sept. 30 Opening acts: Duckworth, Willow, Jessie Reyez

Sparks Tour: Tour 2022 Dates: Feb. 7-May 7

Spoon Tour: Lucifer on the Sofa Tour Dates: Feb. 8-June 4

Bad Bunny Tour: El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo Dates: Feb. 9-April 3

Lucy Dacus Tour: Winter Tour 2022 Dates: Feb. 9-Aug. 26

Dua Lipa Tour: Future Nostalgia Tour 2022 Dates: Feb. 9-Nov. 16

Tyler, the Creator Tour: Call Me If You Get Lost Dates: Feb. 10-Aug. 3 Opening acts: Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, Teezo Touchdown

Jazmine Sullivan Tour: The Heaux Tales Tour Dates: Feb. 14-March 30

Clairo Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: Feb. 16-Oct. 4 Opening acts: Arlo Parks, Widowspeak

John Mayer Tour: Sob Rock Tour Dates: Feb. 17-May 10

Justin Bieber Tour: Justice World Tour Dates: Feb. 18-March 25

Beach House Tour: Once Twice Melody Tour Dates: Feb. 18-Aug. 28

The Flaming Lips Tour: American Head American Tour 2021-22 Dates: Feb. 19-Nov. 22

Tame Impala Tour: Slow Rush Tour Dates: Feb. 27-Oct. 29

Festival: Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest City: Los Angeles Dates: Feb. 10-12 Headliners: Machine Gun Kelly, Halsey, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, Green Day, Miley Cyrus

Festival: Diplo's Higher Ground Cabo City: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Dates: Feb. 17-21 Headliners: Diplo, Duke Dumont, Gorgon City, VNNSA, John Summit, Solardo

Festival: Dirtybird CampINN City: Orlando Dates: Feb. 25-27 Headliners: Chromeo, DJ Premier, Claude VonStroke, Dillinja

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Tour: Live 2022 Dates: March 1-April 3

Khruangbin Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: March 2-July 31 Opening acts: Toro y Moi, Men I Trust

311 Tour: Spring Tour 2022 Dates: March 6-June 5

Animal Collective Tour: Spring 2022 U.S. Tour Dates: March 8-June 9 Opening acts: L'Rain, Spirit of the Beehive

Maren Morris Tour: Humble Quest Tour Dates: March 8-Dec. 2

Greta Van Fleet Tour: Dreams in Gold Tour 2022 Dates: March 10-Nov. 12 Opening acts: The Pretty Reckless, Houndmouth, Durand Jones & The Indications, Fruit Bats, Robert Finley, Crown Lands, and Hannah Wicklund

Eagles Tour: Hotel California Tour Dates: March 17-May 28

Chris Stapleton Tour: All American Road Show Tour Dates: March 17-Oct. 27

Coldplay Tour: The Music of the Spheres Dates: March 18-Oct. 29 Opening acts: H.E.R., London Grammar

Rina Sawayama Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: March 19-May 9

Summer Walker Tour: The Summer Walker Series Tour Dates: March 19-July 9

Perfume Genius Tour: Perfume Genius Tour Dates: March 20-Aug. 26

Kesha Tour: Kesha Live Dates: March 21-30 Opening acts: Kesha's Weird + Wonderful Rainbow Cruise, April 1-5

Bleachers Tour: the 2022 tour Dates: March 24-July 29 Opening acts: Allison Ponthier, Beabadoobee, Blu DeTiger, Charly Bliss, the Lemon Twigs, Wolf Alice

Dawn Richard Tour: Electro Revival Tour Dates: March 24-Aug. 28

Charli XCX Tour: Crash: The Live Tour Dates: March 26-June 9

Bon Iver Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: March 30-Nov. 11

Festival: CRSSD City: San Diego Dates: March 5-6 Headliners: Glass Animals, Sofi Tukker Live, 070 Shake, Blu De Tiger, Cautious Clay, Chet Faker Festival: Treefort Music Fest City: Boise, Idaho Dates: March 23-27 Headliners: Kim Gordon, Durand Jones & the Indications, Osees, Snail Mail

Festival: BUKU Music + Art Project City: New Orleans Dates: March 25-26 Headliners: Tyler, the Creator; Tame Impala; Tierra Whack

Bon Jovi Tour: Bon Jovi 2022 Tour Dates: April 1-30

Olivia Rodrigo Tour: Sour Tour Dates: April 2-July 7 Opening acts: Gracie Abrams, Holly Humberstone, Baby Queen

Lorde Tour: The Solar Power Tour Dates: April 3-March 18, 2023 Opening acts: Remi Wolf, Marlon Williams

Snail Mail Tour: Valentine Tour Dates: April 5-Sept. 9

Backstreet Boys Tour: DNA World Tour Dates: April 8-March 11, 2023

BTS Event: BTS Permission to Dance on Stage City: Las Vegas Dates: April 8-16

Lil Durk Tour: The 7220 Tour Dates: April 8-May 2

H.E.R. Tour: Back of My Mind Tour Dates: April 8-June 19

Jack White Tour: The Supply Chain Issues Tour Dates: April 8-Oct. 16 Opening act(s): Cherry Glazer, Cautious Clay, Glove, Zelooperz, The Paranoyds, Cat Power

Wilco Tour: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20th Anniversary Tour Dates: April 15-April 23

Mitski Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: April 17-Sept. 18 Opening act(s): Indigo De Souza, The Weather Station, Hurray for the Riff Raff

Modest Mouse Tour: The Golden Casket Tour Date(s): April 18-Aug. 29 Opening act(s): The Cribs

J Balvin Tour: J Balvin Presents Jose Tour 2022 Dates: April 19-June 4

Destroyer Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: April 22-Oct. 7

Brandi Carlile Tour: Beyond These Silent Days Dates: April 22-Oct. 22 Opening acts: Allison Russell, Ani DiFranco, Brittany Howard, Celisse, Indigo Girls, Katie Pruitt, Lake Street Dive, Lucius, and Sarah McLachlan

The Who Tour: The Who Hits Back Tour! Dates: April 22-May 28 (spring); Oct. 2-Nov.5 (fall) Special guests: Leslie Mendelson, Los Lonely Boys, Amythyst Kiah, the Wild Things, Willie Nile, Steven Page, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs

Haim Tour: The One More Haim Tour Dates: April 24-July 27 Opening acts: Waxahatchee, Princess Nokia, Faye Webster, Sasami, Buzzy Lee

Interpol Tour: Spring Tour Dates: April 25-June 19 Opening acts: Tycho, Matthew Dear (U.S.), Dry Cleaning (Mex.)

Tori Amos Tour: Ocean to Ocean 2022 Tour Dates: April 27-June 16

Paul McCartney Tour: Got Back Tour Dates: April 28-June 16

Nine Inch Nails Tour: Nine Inch Nails Tour Dates: April 28-Sept. 24 Opening acts: Boy Harsher, 100 gecs, Yves Tumor, Ministry, Nitzer Ebb

Tim McGraw Tour: McGraw Tour 2022 Dates: April 29-June 4 Opening acts: Russell Dickerson, Alexandra Kay, Brandon Davis

Leon Bridges Tour: Gold-Diggers Sound Tour Dates: April 29-Sept. 8 Opening acts: Chiiild, Kirby (Europe), Little Dragon

Sigur Rós Tour: Sigur Rós World Tour 2022 Dates: April 30-June 18

Festival: Coachella City: Indio, Calif. Dates: April 15-17; April 22-24 Headliners: Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Swedish House Mafia

Festival: Stagecoach City: Indio, Calif. Dates: April 29-May 1 Headliners: Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs

Pearl Jam Tour: North American Tour Dates: May 3-Sept. 22 Opening act: Pluralone

New Kids on the Block Tour: Mixtape Tour 2022 Dates: May 10-July 23 Opening acts: Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley, En Vogue

Sylvan Esso Tour: Shaking Out the Numb Tour Dates: May 11-June 26 Opening acts: Moses Sumney, Vagabon, Yo La Tengo, Indigo De Souza, Little Brother, Mr Twin Sister

Dave Matthews Band Tour: Tour 2022 Dates: May 11-Sept. 20

Tiwa Savage Tour: Water & Garri North American Tour Dates: May 15-June 19

My Chemical Romance Tour: The Reunion Tour Dates: May 16-March 20, 2023 Special Guests: Devil Master, Dilly Dally, Badflower, GOSH, Kimya Dawson, Meg Myers, Midtown, Nothing, Shannon and the Clams, Soul Glo, Surfbort, Taking Back Sunday, the Bouncing Souls, the Homeless Gospel Choir, the Lemon Twigs, Thursday, Turnstile, Waterparks, Youth Code

Halsey Tour: Love and Power Tour Dates: May 17-July 9 Opening acts: Beabadoobe, Pink Pantheress, the Marias, Abby Roberts, Wolf Alice

Tears for Fears with Garbage Tour: The Tipping Point World Tour Dates: May 20-June 26

Norah Jones Tour: 20th Anniversary Come Away With Me Tour Dates: May 22-Aug. 4 Special guest: Regina Spektor

Belle and Sebastian Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: May 24-Nov. 30 Special guest: Divino Nino, Thee Sacred Souls, Tennis, Los Bitchos

Festival: Cruel World Festival City: Pasadena, Cali. Dates: May 14-15 Headliners: Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie, DEVO, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, The Church

Festival: Hangout Music Festival City: Gulf Shores, Ala. Dates: May 20-22 Headliners: Post Malone, Tame Impala, Halsey, Fall Out Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, Jack Harlow, Maren Morris, Phoebe Bridgers, Leon Bridges

Festival: Lightning in a Bottle City: Buena Vista Lake, Cali. Dates: May 25-30 Headliners: Glass Animals, Kaytranada, GRiZ, Chet Faker, Big Freedia, Black Coffee

Festival: Wilco's Solid Sound Festival City: North Adams, Mass. Dates: May 27-29 Headliners: Wilco, Japanese Breakfast, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, John Hodgman's Comedy Cabaret, the Sun Ra Arkestra

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Tour: Raising the Roof Tour Dates: June 1-Sept. 12

Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour: Global Stadium Tour Dates: June 4-Sept. 22 Opening acts: The Strokes, A$AP Rocky, Haim, Beck, St. Vincent, Anderson .Paak, the Free Nationals

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: June 5-Oct. 6 Opening act(s): The Linda Lindas, TBA

Pavement Tour: 2022 Tour Dates: June 6-Nov. 11

Machine Gun Kelly Tour: Mainstream Sellout Dates: June 8-Aug. 13 Opening acts: Avril Lavigne, Blackbear, iann dior, PVRIS, Travis Barker, Trippie Redd, WILLOW, 44phantom

Alicia Keys Tour: Alicia: The World Tour Dates: June 9-Sept. 24

Stevie Nicks Tour: Live in Concert Dates: June 10-21

Rod Stewart Tour: Cheap Trick Tour Dates: June 10-Sept. 17

The Chicks Tour: Summer 2022 Tour Dates: June 14-Aug. 13

Tenacious D Tour: Summer 2022 Tour Dates: June 16-22 Opening acts: Puddles Pity Party

St. Vincent Tour: Daddy's Home World Tour Dates: June 22-Oct. 2 Opening act(s): Celya AB, Snail Mail, Big Joanie, Ali Macofsky

Father John Misty Tour: Chloë and the Next 20th Century Tour Dates: June 26-Oct. 8 Opening act(s): Suki Waterhouse

Fleet Foxes Tour: Shore Tour Dates: June 27-Sept. 11

Festival: Governors Ball City: Queens, N.Y. Dates: June 10-12 Headliners: Kid Cudi, Halsey, J.

Festival: Bonnaroo City: Manchester, Tenn. Dates: June 16-19 Headliners: TBA

Festival: Something in the Water City: Washington, D.C. Dates: June 17-19 Headliners: Pharrell; Pusha T; Lil Baby; Chloe x Halle; Lil Uzi Vert; Tyler, the creator; Tierra Whack; Run the Jewels; Jon Batiste; Dave Matthews Band

Festival: Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts County: Somerset, England Dates: June 22-26 Headliners: Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross, Billie Eilish

Alanis Morissette Tour: Celebrating 25 years of Jagged Little Pill Dates: June 9-29 (Europe), July 10-Aug. 6 (North America) Special guest: Beth Orton (Europe), Garbage (North America)

Roger Waters Tour: This Is Not a Drill Dates: July 6-Oct. 15

Rosalía Tour: Motomami World Tour Dates: July 6-Dec. 18

The Weeknd Tour: After Hours Til Dawn Dates: July 8-Sept. 3

Rage Against the Machine Tour: Public Service Announcement Tour Dates: July 9-Aug. 14 Special guest: Run the Jewels

The Black Keys Tour: Dropout Boogie Tour Dates: July 9-Oct. 18 Special guest: Ceramic Animal, Early James, the Velveteers

The Shins Tour: Oh, Inverted World: The 21st Birthday Tour Dates: July 12-Sept. 16

Lady Gaga Tour: The Chromatica Ball Dates: July 17-Sept. 10

Kendrick Lamar Tour: The Big Steppers Tour Dates: July 19-Dec. 16

Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker, and Angel Olsen Tour: The Wild Hearts Tour Dates: July 21-Aug. 21 Opening act: Spencer

Kehlani Tour: Blue Water Road Tour Dates: July 29-Oct. 21 Opening act(s): Rico Nasty, Destin Conrad

Wet Leg Tour: U.S. Tour Dates: July 29-Oct. 12

Maroon 5 Tour: 2022 World Tour Dates: July 30-Aug 20 (North American dates)

Erykah Badu Tour: The Digging Crystals in Badubotron Tour Dates: July 30-Sept. 11

Festival: Pitchfork Music Festival City: Chicago Dates: July 15-17 Headliners: The National, Mitski, the Roots

Festival: HARD Summer Music Festival City: San Bernardino, Calif. Dates: July 29-31 Headliners: Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Porter Robinson, Three 6 Mafia, Gunna

August 2022

Franz Ferdinand Tour: U.S. Tour Dates: Aug. 4-Sept. 1

Bad Bunny Tour: World's Hottest Tour Dates: Aug. 5-Dec. 9 Opening acts: Alesso, Diplo

Michael Bublé Tour: Higher Tour Dates: Aug. 8-Oct. 11

Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin Tour: Alice in Chains & Breaking Benjamin Tour Dates: Aug. 10-Oct. 8

Harry Styles Tour: Love on Tour 2022 Dates: Aug. 15-Dec. 13 Opening acts: Jessie Ware, Blood Orange, Gabriels, Madi Diaz, Ben Harper, Koffee

Kid Cudi Tour: To the Moon — 2022 World Tour Dates: Aug. 16-Sept. 17 Opening act(s): Don Toliver, Strick, Denzel Curry, 070 Shake

Duran Duran Tour: North American Tour Dates: Aug. 19-Sept. 11 Opening acts: Nile Rodgers and Chic

Beth Orton Tour: Fall 2022 Tour Dates: Aug. 19-Nov. 22

The B-52s Tour: Farewell Tour Dates: Aug. 22-Nov. 13 Opening acts: K-C & the Sunshine Band, the Tubes

Interpol and Spoon Tour: Lights, Camera, Factions Tour Dates: Aug. 25-Sept. 18 Opening act(s): The Goon Sax

Wu-Tang Clan and Nas Tour: N.Y. State of Mind Tour Dates: Aug. 30-Oct. 4

Festival: Outside Lands City: San Francisco Dates: Aug. 5-7 Headliners: Green Day, Post Malone, SZA

Festival: Let's Get Fr.ee Carnaval City: Queens, N.Y. Dates: Aug. 20-21 Headliners: Missy Elliott, Anderson .Paak , Jhené Aiko, Wizkid, Major Lazar

Please make sure to check back regularly for any updates.

Related content:

• Your guide to the biggest Las Vegas residencies 2022
• The 10 best (and 3 worst) albums of 2021
• The definitive ranking of all of Olivia Rodrigo's original songs on HSMTMTS

Related Articles

site categories

Garth brooks on trisha yearwood’s greatness, his amazon live concert & treating people right, breaking news.

The Top 10 Music Tours Of 2023

By Robert Lang , Tom Tapp

As in most other areas, Taylor Swift dominated the touring landscape in 2023. Her The Eras Tour grossed more than $1 billion , the biggest haul for any tour ever.

But there were other notable acts making big bucks on the road this year, including Beyoncé , Harry Styles and Drake .

Scroll through the gallery below to see who came out where on the list.

1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

2. Beyoncé: Renaissance World Tour

$579 million

3. Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band 2023 World Tour

$379 million

4. Coldplay: Music Of The Spheres Tour

$325 million

5. Harry Styles: Love On Tour

$290 million

6. Morgan Wallen: Dangerous Tour

$284 million

7. Ed Sheeran: + – = ÷ x Tour

$268 million

8. P!NK: Summer Carnival Tour

$231 million

9. The Weeknd: After Hours ‘Til Dawn Tour

$220 million

10. Drake: It’s All A Blur Tour

$184 million

Must Read Stories

Review, standing ovation & red carpet photos on world premiere night in cannes.

Andy Samberg & Radio Silence’s ‘The Robots Go Crazy’ Lands At Amazon MGM Studios

Hits 40m active ad users, renews ‘3 body problem’, lands next bigelow pic: upfront, ‘raven’s home’ gets spinoff pilot as disney channel series ends after 6 seasons.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

Most anticipated concert tours of fall 2023: taylor swift, beyoncé, drake and more.

The Jonas Brothers, Pink and Morgan Wallen were also among the artists who returned to the road for highly anticipated tours this year.

By Carly Thomas

Carly Thomas

Associate Editor

• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Email
• Show additional share options
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Comment
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Pinit
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Print
• Share this article on Tumblr

Dozens of artists hit the road during 2023 to bring their music to sold-out venues across the globe.

The first half of the year started off strong with artists and bands like Harry Styles, Journey, Carrie Underwood, SZA, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Reba McEntire, Janet Jackson, Lizzo, Blink-182, Charlie Puth, Billy Idol, Wiz Khalifa, Bebe Rexha and Black Pink heading out on their headlining tours.

Some artists had such sought-after tickets for their tours, including Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, that it led to sites, such as Ticketmaster, completely crashing when tickets dropped.

Many summer nights were also filled with good tunes this year as artists including Alicia Keys, Post Malone, Paramore, Chris Stapleton, Boygenius, Lionel Richie, Melissa Etheridge and Maggie Rogers set out on tours during the warmer months.

Concert tours are not only an opportunity for artists to promote their latest albums or to highlight their entire music catalogs, but it’s also a chance for their fans to come together to celebrate the music and musicians that they look up to and love. Those attending shows for artists such as Swift, Beyoncé and Styles often dress to impress, going all out for their outfits. Beyoncé even asked her fans to specifically come to her Virgo season concerts for her Renaissance World Tour decked out in silver and chrome, to celebrate her astrological sign. Swifties, inspired by the lyric “Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it …” from her song “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” made themed bracelets to trade and hand out to other fans at each of the stops on her Eras Tour.

The performers often praise their fans for all their love and support, like Swift writing on social media in July after her stops in Seattle, Washington, “Thank you for everything. All the cheering, screaming, jumping, dancing, singing at the top of your lungs.”

But if you missed the opportunity to see your favorite artists earlier this year, don’t worry, because The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of some of the most anticipated concert tours happening this fall, below.

Taylor Swift

Tour: Eras Tour (March 2023 – November 2024)

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the singer’s sixth headlining tour, is described as a journey through all of her musical eras, including  Fearless ,  Lover ,  Evermore ,  1989 ,  Speak Now ,  Reputation  and more. She is set to perform 146 shows across five continents, with each performance featuring a staggering 44-song setlist spanning more than three hours. Swift finished the first U.S. leg at the beginning of August and will return to the U.S. for the second leg in October 2024.

Tour:  Renaissance World Tour (May – October 2023)

Beyoncé’s ninth concert tour, which is three hours long with no opener, is in support of her seventh studio album, Renaissance . She is set to perform 56 shows across Europe and North America.

Drake and 21 Savage

Tour: It’s All a Blur Tour (July – October 2023)

Rappers Drake and 21 Savage are co-headlining their It’s All a Blur Tour to promote their collaborative album, Her Loss . The tour will consist of 56 shows across North America.

Jonas Brothers

Tour: The Tour (August 2023 – June 2024)

The Jonas Brothers, comprised of Kevin Jonas, Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas, have headed out on their 12th concert tour, which will span three continents. The Tour will feature songs from five different albums, including The Album , Happiness Begins and A Little Bit Longer .

Tour: +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour (April 2022 – November 2023)

Ed Sheeran’s fourth concert tour draws from all of his albums since 2011, including Plus (2011), Multiply (2014), Divide (2017), Equals (2021) and Subtract (2023). The two-hour concert will consist of 88 shows across three continents.

Anita Baker

Tour: The Songstress Tour (February – December 2023)

Anita Baker will perform in 15 cities across the U.S. for her latest tour, which celebrates her 40 years as a music icon since the release of her debut album,  The Songstress, in 1983.

Guns N' Roses

Tour: World Tour 2023 (June – October 2023)

Guns N’ Roses, comprised of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler, has set out on their latest tour, which spans three continents.

Tour: Mañana Será Bonito Tour (August – September 2023)

Karol G kicked off her first-ever stadium tour in Las Vegas and will make her way across the U.S. for stops in six cities.

Tour: The Long Goodbye (September – November 2023)

The Eagles have embarked on their finale tour, with special guest Steely Dan, after more than 50 years of touring and over a thousand concerts.

Tour: Still… at Their Very Best (September – December 2023)

The 1975’s fifth concert tour, in support of the band’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language album, is making stops across North America and Europe.

Tour: The Scarlet Tour (October – December 2023)

Doja Cat will kick off her first North American arena tour in San Francisco, California this fall. Special guests Ice Spice and Doechii   will join during select dates. The singer has only toured once before as a headliner for her Amala Tour in 2019.

Stevie Nicks

Tour: 2023 Tour (May – December 2023)

Apart from the Two Icons, One Night Tour that Nicks is co-headlining with Billy Joel through the year, the singer-songwriter also added in dates for her solo tour across the U.S. Nicks has previously toured with Fleetwood Mac as well as embarked on more than a dozen solo tours throughout her career.

Tour: Celebration Tour (October 2023 – April 2024)

Madonna, who initially had to postpone the July start of her Celebration Tour as she recovered from a bacterial infection, is now set to kick off her tour in London on Oct. 14. She will make her way across Europe before returning to the U.S. on Dec. 13 to embark on her North American leg.

Tour: The Chicks World Tour 2023 (June – October 2023)

The Chicks’ sixth headlining concert tour initially began its first leg in 2022, but the country music trio returned in 2023 for their second leg. The group is touring across North America and Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Tour: Summer Carnival 2023 Tour (June – October 2023)

Pink kicked off her eighth concert tour at the beginning of summer and will run through the beginning of fall. But soon after, the singer will head out on her ninth tour, in support of her album Trustfall , starting in Sacramento, California, on Oct. 12.

Janelle Monáe

Tour: The Age of Pleasure Tour (August – October 2023)

Janelle Monáe’s latest tour supports her album The Age of Pleasure Tour . The singer is making stops in 26 cities across North America.

Tour: Don Juan World Tour (August – November 2023)

Maluma has set out on the North American leg of his Don Juan World Tour, which supports his newly released album of the same name. The Latin music artist will make his way across 30 cities before ending in Miami, Florida.

Morgan Wallen

Tour: One Night at a Time World Tour  (March – October 2023)

Country music star Morgan Wallen is performing across two continents for his latest tour in support of his third studio album of the same name. Special guests include HARDY, Parker McCollum, ERNEST and Bailey Zimmerman.

Shania Twain

Tour: Queen of Me Tour (April – November 2023)

Shania Twain’s fifth headlining concert tour spans two continents and 77 shows in total. The tour, which marks the singer’s first tour in nearly five years, is in support of her sixth studio album,  Queen of Me .

Tour: M72 World Tour (April 2023 – September 2024)

Metallica’s latest tour in support of the band’s 11th studio album,  72 Seasons, will consist of 49 shows across two continents. Throughout the tour, the heavy metal band will play two nights in every city it visits with two completely different setlists and opening acts for each No Repeat Weekend.

Foo Fighters

Tour: 2023 Tour (May 2023 – June 2024)

Foo Fighters have embarked on their first headlining tour since drummer Taylor Hawkins died. The tour, which includes performances in five continents, is in support of their new album  But Here We Are .

Tour: The Only Love Tour , formerly The Gag Order Tour (October – November 2023)

Kesha is set to head out on a 20-city North American tour in support of her album  Gag Order . The singer’s sixth headlining tour will also include special guest Jake Wesley Rogers.

Tour: Solo Acoustic Fall Tour (October – November 2023)

John Mayer extended his latest tour across the United States into the fall with special guest JP Saxe.

Tour: The Field Trip Tour (September – December 2023)

Lil Yachty is currently on his 39-stop global tour across North America and Europe in support of his album  Let’s Start Here .

Bruce Springsteen

Tour: 2023 Tour (February – December 2023)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have made stops across North America and Europe since February for their latest tour. But they had to postpone their September dates as Springsteen undergoes treatment for peptic ulcer disease. At this point, the tour is set to resume on Nov. 3 in Vancouver.

Tour: Music of the Spheres World Tour (March 2022 – September 2024)

Coldplay is performing across five continents for its eighth headlining tour in support of the band’s ninth studio album,  Music of the Spheres . They will perform 165 shows in total by the end.

Tour: 2023 World Tour  (March – October 2023)

Luke Combs has been making his way across three continents performing songs from his latest two albums, Gettin’ Old  and  Growin’ Up .

Tour: The Final Lap Tour (July – December 2023)

50 Cent’s latest concert tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of his album  Get Rich or Die Tryin , which came out in February 2003. The rapper’s tour consists of 69 shows across four continents.

Tour: Unreal Unearth Tour  (September – December 2023)

Hozier has hit the road for his latest tour, which spans across North America and Europe, in support of his EP Eat Your Young and new album Unreal Unearth .

Tour: The Musical Legacy Tour (June – November 2023)

Diana Ross extended her latest tour, which showcases her iconic hits throughout her career, into the fall. The legendary singer is performing across two continents, North America and Europe.

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Rudy abreu, ‘so you think you can dance’ finalist, accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, angie harmon sues instacart and app’s deliveryman who allegedly killed her dog, #blockout2024 campaign targets celebrities quiet on war in gaza, inaugural san quentin film festival — first film fest inside a prison — will screen a24’s ‘sing sing’ (exclusive), sixteen women accuse david copperfield of sexual misconduct, cnn to host trump-biden debate on june 27.

Childish Gambino announces 'The New World Tour': See full list of dates

Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover , has announced a world tour that will cover North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

The North American leg of the tour, called "The New World Tour," will feature 33 dates and will begin in Oklahoma City on Aug. 11. The final stop on the leg will be in Chicago on Oct. 3.

The European leg of the tour kicks off Oct. 31 in Lyon, France and ends Dec. 5 in Dublin, Ireland, and will feature 18 stops across the continent. The Australia and New Zealand portion kicks off on Jan. 28, 2025 and wraps up on Feb. 11, 2025.

Alongside the world tour, Gambino also surprised fans with the release of " Atavista ," a new version of his 2020 album " 3.15.20 ," which includes two new tracks, titled "Atavista" and "Human Sacrifice."

Here's a full list of dates for Gambino's "The New World Tour ," including ticket information.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

'The New World Tour' North America 2024 dates

• Sun Aug 11 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center *  
• Mon Aug 12 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center *
• Wed Aug 14 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum *
• Thu Aug 15 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center *
• Sat Aug 17 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena *
• Sun Aug 18 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena *
• Tue Aug 20 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena *
• Wed Aug 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center *
• Fri Aug 23 – Boston, MA – TD Garden *
• Sat Aug 24 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena *
• Mon Aug 26 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center *
• Tue Aug 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center *   
• Thu Aug 29 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena *
• Fri Aug 30 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena *
• Sun Sep 1 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena *
• Mon Sep 2 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena *
• Wed Sep 4 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena *
• Thu Sep 5 – Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena *
• Sat Sep 7 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center *
• Sun Sep 8 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center *
• Tue Sep 10 – Austin, TX – Moody Center *
• Wed Sep 11 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center *
• Fri Sep 13 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena *
• Sat Sep 14 – Salt Lake City, UT – Delta Center *
• Mon Sep 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center *
• Wed Sep 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena *
• Thu Sep 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena *                      
• Sat Sep 21 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center *
• Mon Sep 23 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena *
• Tue Sep 24 – Portland, OR – Moda Center *
• Wed Sep 25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena *
• Fri Sep 27 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome *
• Sun Sep 29 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place *
• Wed Oct 2 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center *
• Thu Oct 3  – Chicago, IL – United Center *

'The New World Tour' Europe/UK 2024 dates

• Thu, Oct 31  –  Lyon, FR  –  LDLC Arena #
• Sat, Nov 2  –  Milan, IT  –  Unipol Forum #
• Mon, Nov 4  –  Cologne, DE  –  Lanxess Arena #
• Wed, Nov 6 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena #
• Fri, Nov 8 – Oslo, NO – Oslo Spektrum #
• Sun, Nov 10 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena #
• Tue, Nov 12 – Prague, CZ – O2 arena #
• Wed, Nov 13 – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena #
• Tue, Nov 19 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena #
• Thu, Nov 21 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle #
• Sat, Nov 23 – Brussels, BE – ING Arena #
• Sun, Nov 24 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome #
• Tue, Nov 26 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena #
• Thu, Nov 28 – Glasgow, UK  –  OVO Hydro #
• Sat, Nov 30 – London, UK – The O2 #
• Sun, Dec 1 – London, UK – The O2 #
• Tue, Dec 3 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena #
• Thu, Dec 5 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena #

'The New World Tour' Australia 2025 dates

• Tue, Jan 28 – Auckland, NZ –Spark Arena #
• Sat, Feb 1 – Brisbane, QLD – Brisbane Entertainment Centre #
• Tue, Feb 4 – Sydney, NSW – Qudos Bank Arena #
• Wed, Feb 7 – Melbourne, VIC – Rod Laver Arena #
• Sat, Feb 11 – Perth, WA– RAC Arena #

Support key

• * with WILLOW
• # With Aamarae

Childish Gambino world tour ticket info

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 17 at 10 a.m. local time at thenewworldtour.com . Fans can also sign up for early access to tickets via the artist presale for all tour dates at thenewworldtour.com.

American Express card members can purchase tickets before the general public for North American, Australian and select UK dates. Presale start and end times will vary by market.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at [email protected].

• Manage Account
• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Pinit
• + additional share options added
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Email
• Print this article
• Share this article on Comment
• Share this article on Tumblr

From the Top, Touring Looks Better Than Ever

Artists have been back on the road for a full year, and the top 10 highest-grossing tours are thriving. Will that success spread?

By Dave Brooks

Dave Brooks

This story is part of Billboard ‘s The Year in Touring package — read more stories about the top acts, tours and venues of 2022 here .

Was 2022 the worst “best year ever?” By some measures, the concert business had its most successful year. From Nov. 1, 2021, to Oct. 31, 2022, the top 10 tours grossed a combined $2.2 billion in ticket sales, according to Billboard Boxscore, 36% more than they did in 2019, the previous full year of touring, and more than four times the $519 million they took in during the pandemic-limited 2021.

Bad Bunny Makes History as Top Touring Act for 2022: The Year in Charts

Some of this growth follows an existing trend. Since 2013, the live business has grown steadily between 5% and 10% a year, thanks to international expansion and an increasing number of megatours. In 2013, eight acts took in over $100 million at the box office — Bon Jovi , P!nk , Bruce Springsteen , Beyoncé , Rihanna , Taylor Swift , The Rolling Stones and the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson show.

Trending on Billboard

The bad news, however, is twofold: More work for fewer employees in the wake of pandemic layoffs, plus rising costs for staffing, production and travel, threaten to erode profits. “We are working harder than ever just to try and make sure we don’t lose any ground,” says Jim Cressman, founder and owner of Canadian independent promoter Invictus Entertainment.

Cressman and Live Nation executives say that fans also seem to be changing their concertgoing habits by waiting longer to buy tickets. About 30% of tickets for this year’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago were purchased five days or fewer before the event, according to Live Nation. It’s a concerning trend for promoters and tour organizers who have become accustomed to scaling event costs up and down based on projections from early sales. Fans are also getting wise to the fact that ticket prices, especially on the secondary market, tend to drop over time.

The names of the top 10 tours won’t surprise anyone who follows the industry. No. 1 is Bad Bunny , who did two tours during this time frame: El Último Tour del Mundo, which ran from February to April and grossed $116 million, and World’s Hottest Tour, which brought in $246 million from August to the end of the Billboard Boxscore touring year; it will run until Dec. 10. The tour dates within this time frame, as well as isolated hometown shows in Puerto Rico, grossed a combined $373.5 million, the third-highest year-end total in Boxscore history after Ed Sheeran ’s $429.5 million in 2018 and The Rolling Stones’ $425 million in 2006.

This is the first year that each tour in the top 10 grossed over $100 million and the top five each took in more than $200 million. Some of that is due to higher ticket prices: Bad Bunny tickets cost an average of $201, while tickets to Sheeran’s No. 1 2019 ÷ (Divide) shows cost an average of $86; the average ticket price of a top 10 tour was $130.76, up from $114.29 in 2019. Some of that growth comes from inflation, of course, while some is from a shift to higher ticket prices in order to capture revenue that once went to the secondary market. “The spending levels are really the same,” says Live Nation Global Touring chairman Arthur Fogel. “It’s just that artists are capturing more of it than ever before.”

Farther down the Top Tours chart, the growth also stays consistent. The top 40 tours grossed a total of $4.6 billion, up from a total of $3.5 billion in 2019, a difference of 32%

The New Scorecard

This year, Billboard Boxscore created a new chart to rank tours by number of tickets sold, not just revenue, although that information had already been included. And although promoters were concerned earlier in 2022 that touring market oversaturation would mean concerts drew fewer fans, the chart actually shows the opposite — major concerts attracted larger audiences without cannibalizing other shows. In 2022, a combined 17.1 million people saw the top 10 attended tours, up 21% from a combined 2019 attendance of 14.1 million. This year also marked the first time that 19 of the top 20 attended tours drew over 900,000 fans.

The top 10 tours also represent one of the youngest lists in recent years, with an average headliner age of 49.3, as opposed to 51.2 in 2019 and 54.6 in 2021. The oldest act was The Rolling Stones — Mick Jagger and Keith Richards will both be 79 by the end of the year, and Ron Wood is 75. The youngest acts were Harry Styles and Bad Bunny, both of whom turned 28 this year.

As in years past, Live Nation dominated the business, exclusively promoting half of the top 20 — which grossed a combined $1.5 billion — as well as Bad Bunny’s stadium shows, in collaboration with Cárdenas Marketing Network, and some shows for My Chemical Romance and Paul McCartney . AEG Presents follows with a handful of global tours, including Elton John , that combined accounted for $843 million. CMN powered Bad Bunny at No. 1 and Daddy Yankee at No. 13, while Mercury Concerts led the Latin American dates for Guns N’ Roses . Sheeran, at No. 3, was promoted by a mix of buyers throughout Europe.

On the agency front, the leader is Creative Artists Agency, with eight acts in the top 20: Styles, Red Hot Chili Peppers , The Weeknd , Lady Gaga , the Eagles , Dua Lipa (WME reps her in Europe), Justin Bieber and My Chemical Romance. Wasserman Music had four clients in the top 20 — Sheeran, Coldplay , Kenny Chesney and Billie Eilish — while UTA had two: Bad Bunny and Guns N’ Roses.

Three of the top tours — John, McCartney and The Rolling Stones — have global touring deals with AEG but don’t have a traditional booking agency deal. WME had only one artist in the top 20 with Daddy Yankee. So did the Neal Agency, started in February by Austin Neal, son of longtime WME agent Kevin Neal. Austin formed the agency to represent Morgan Wallen , who took a hiatus from touring after his use of a racial slur was caught on video in 2021. Wallen grossed $128 million in 2022 from 66 shows.

Daily newsletters straight to your inbox

More From Pro

Inside the revival of a historic mississippi juke joint that once hosted ray charles & etta james.

• By Steve Knopper

Who Owns A Band Name? 1980s New Wave Rockers Win Latest Legal Clash Over Band Trademarks

• By Bill Donahue

Marshmello & Kane Brown Make History on Dance/Electronic & Country Charts With ‘Miles On It’

• By Gary Trust

Diddy Accuser Drops UMG & Lucian Grainge From Abuse Lawsuit: ‘No Legal Basis for the Claims’

Earth, wind & fire reaches settlement with ‘deceptive’ tribute band over damages owed.

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

optional screen reader

Charts expand charts menu.

• Billboard Hot 100™
• Billboard 200™
• Hits Of The World™
• TikTok Billboard Top 50
• Song Breaker
• Year-End Charts
• Decade-End Charts

Music Expand music menu

• R&B/Hip-Hop

Videos Expand videos menu

Culture expand culture menu, media expand media menu, business expand business menu.

• Business News
• Record Labels
• View All Pro

Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu

• Songwriters & Producers
• Artist Index
• Royalty Calculator
• Market Watch
• Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu

• Cultura y Entretenimiento

Get Up Anthems by Tres Expand get-up-anthems-by-tres menu

Honda music expand honda-music menu.

Top Artists on Tour in 2024

Top Tours · Just Announced · USA · Europe · 2025 Tours

Terms of Service · Privacy and Cookie Policy · Contact © Concertful

Bruce Springsteen Documentary About E Street Band World Tour Set at Disney+ and Hulu

By Selome Hailu

Selome Hailu

• Mindy Kaling’s Netflix Comedy ‘Running Point’ Reveals First Look at Kate Hudson as a Basketball Team President 11 hours ago
• ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Creator Kevin Williamson Sets Netflix Family Drama ‘The Waterfront’ 11 hours ago
• Charlyne Yi Alleges They Were Assaulted on Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clements’ ‘Time Bandits’ Set; Paramount Says ‘Steps Were Taken to Address Concerns’ 14 hours ago

Disney+ and Hulu have set a new Bruce Springsteen documentary for an October premiere.

“Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band” will follow the band’s 2023-2024 world tour, featuring footage from band rehearsals and backstage moments, conversations with Springsteen as he develops the setlist and archival clips of the E Street Band. The project is intended to complement Springsteen’s existing body of autobiographical works, which includes the memoir “Born to Run,” the live performance (and documentary) “Springsteen on Broadway,” and the films “Western Stars” and “Letter to You.”

Popular on Variety

The documentary is not the only Springsteen project soon headed to screens. “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White is in talks to play the legendary rocker in an upcoming biopic titled “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” which will follow the making of the 1982 album “Nebraska.” “Succession” star Jeremy Strong is in talks to play Landau , as Variety exclusively reported, while 20th Century Studios recently boarded as distributor of the Gotham Group-produced film.

UPFRONTS 2024: COMPLETE COVERAGE

More From Our Brands

Biden appointee becomes first jewish staffer to resign over gaza, the new kawasaki ninja h2r superbike is the world’s most powerful motorcycle, nfl playoff rematches, christmas games highlight 2024 schedule, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, chicago fire says an emotional goodbye to boden in finale promo, verify it's you, please log in.

Missy Elliott’s First-Ever Headline Tour: Out Of This World — The Missy Elliott Experience Creates Cosmic Event

WITH BUSTA RHYMES, CIARA, AND SPECIAL GUEST TIMBALAND

Arena tour marks historic milestone in missy elliott’s 30-year career,   watch the video news break for the hottest summer ticket here, presales begin april 9 | general onsale starts april 12 | details available here.

Today’s solar phenomenon was eclipsed by the supernova announcement of global superstar Missy Elliott’s history-making debut headline tour, OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience . Continuing her stellar dominance as one of the most significant artists in music, the pioneer of female Hip Hop/R&B will land in arenas across North America this summer with Hip Hop legend Busta Rhymes , Multi-Platinum selling superstar Ciara , and mega producer Timbaland .

“This is an incredible time in my life as I am experiencing so many milestone ‘firsts.’ Being the FIRST female Hip Hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and now going out on my FIRST headline tour,” shares Elliott. “Fans have been asking me to tour forever but I wanted to wait until I felt the time was right because I knew if I was ever going to do it, I had to do it big, and I had to do it with family! So get ready to be taken OUT OF THIS WORLD with me, Busta Rhymes, Ciara, and Timbaland! We can’t wait to share this experience with the fans!”

This summer’s hottest ticket is produced by Live Nation in association with Mona Scott-Young , Elliott’s longtime manager and CEO of Monami Entertainment, and represented by Seth Shomes through Day After Day Productions (DADP). The 24-city run blasts off on July 4 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, making stops across North America in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Brooklyn, and more, before wrapping up in Rosemont at Allstate Arena on August 22.

Scott-Young adds, “Missy has always been an iconic groundbreaker and continuously pushes herself to be bolder and go where she has never been before – and surprisingly, one of those places is headlining her own tour! For decades, fans and peers worldwide have clamored for Missy to tour and they’re finally going to get what they’ve been asking for as she teams up with Ciara, Busta, and longtime partner-in-rhyme Timbaland, to deliver a start-to-finish, nonstop, high-octane, OUT OF THIS WORLD concert experience. This will be one for the books, so trust me, you don’t want to miss it!”

Always on the cutting edge, Elliott conceptualized an OUT OF THIS WORLD visual to skyrocket the tour announcement when she reunited with longtime collaborators – director extraordinaire Dave Meyers   (“Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Pass That Dutch”); celebrity super-stylist and 2024 NAACP Image Awards Fashion Vanguard Award recipient June Ambrose ; and acclaimed creative director Hi-Hat ( The Voice ) – to bring her intergalactic vision to life.

Watch the must-see tour announcement video HERE .

TICKETS: Tickets will be available starting with Verizon presale (details below) beginning tomorrow, April 9. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. local time at Missy-Elliott.com .

• Verizon Presale : Verizon will offer an exclusive presale for the OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience in the U.S. through Verizon Up. Customers will have access to purchase presale tickets for these newly announced dates beginning tomorrow, April 9 at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday, April 11 at 10 p.m. local time. For more details, visit Verizon Up .
• VIP: The OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience will also offer a variety of VIP packages and fan activations to elevate their concert experience. Select packages will include premium tickets, group photo onstage, VIP Lounge access, exclusive tour poster, specially designed VIP gift items, and more. For more information, visit com .

OUT OF THIS WORLD — THE MISSY ELLIOTT EXPERIENCE TOUR 2024 DATES:

Thursday, July 4 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena

Saturday, July 6 — Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge Arena

Tuesday, July 9 — Oakland, CA — Oakland Arena

Thursday, July 11 — Los Angeles, CA — Crypto.com Arena

Saturday, July 13 — Las Vegas, NV — T-Mobile Arena

Tuesday, July 16 — Denver, CO — Ball Arena

Thursday, July 18 — Austin, TX — Moody Center

Saturday, July 20 — Houston, TX — Toyota Center

Sunday, July 21 — Fort Worth, TX — Dickies Arena

Wednesday, July 24 — Tampa, FL — Amalie Arena

Thursday, July 25 — Sunrise, FL — Amerant Bank Arena

Saturday, July 27 — Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena

Thursday, August 1 — Baltimore, MD — CFG Bank Arena

Friday, August 2 — Hampton, VA — Hampton Coliseum

Saturday, August 3 — Belmont Park, NY — UBS Arena

Monday, August 5 — Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center

Thursday, August 8 — Washington, DC — Capital One Arena

Friday, August 9 — Newark, NJ — Prudential Center

Saturday, August 10 — Boston, MA — TD Garden

Monday, August 12 — Brooklyn, NY — Barclays Center

Thursday, August 15 — Detroit, MI — Little Caesars Arena

Saturday, August 17 — Montreal, QC — Bell Centre

Monday, August 19 — Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena

Thursday, August 22 — Rosemont, IL — Allstate Arena

ABOUT MISSY ELLIOTT

One of the most significant female artists in the annals of contemporary music, Missy Elliott is making history once again in 2024 the OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience – her first-ever headline tour, accompanied by her longtime co-stars Busta Rhymes, Ciara and special guest Timbaland. An avant-garde solo superstar, pioneering songwriter-producer, and across-the-board cultural icon, the four-time GRAMMY® Award winning Elliott has attained unprecedented success, including 22 GRAMMY® nominations spanning three decades, eight MTV Video Music Awards, and sales now exceeding 30M in the U.S. alone. All of Missy’s six studio albums have each been RIAA platinum certified or better, marking her among the only female rappers ever to achieve that remarkable accomplishment. Among her countless triumphs, 2023 saw Elliott named as the first female hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, rightly declaring her “ a true path breaker in a male-dominated genre. ”

Elliott’s most recent work, 2019’s acclaimed EP, ICONOLOGY , drew instant applause upon its surprise release, with USA Today declaring it “ a master class at the school of Missy Misdemeanor Elliott. ” That same year saw the iconic star making history as the first female hip-hop artist ever to receive the MTV Video Music Awards’ prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. 2019 also saw her break new ground as the first female hip-hop artist and third-ever rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition, Elliott became the first female rapper to receive an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, celebrating her lasting contributions to music and popular culture. Further accolades followed in 2021, with Elliott named among the twelve inaugural inductees for the new Atlanta landmark, The Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and later honored with her own star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2022, Elliott’s hometown of Portsmouth, VA celebrated its favorite daughter by presenting her with the Key to the City and renaming a portion of McLean Street to “Missy Elliott Boulevard” and declaring October 17 as Missy Elliott Day. What’s more, Virginia’s Norfolk State University awarded Elliott with the Presidential Commencement Medallion and an honorary degree at their fall 2022 commencement ceremony, acknowledging her “ outstanding professional achievements and extraordinary contributions to public service. ”

In addition to her historic induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective presented Elliott with its Recording Academy Global Impact Award, honoring her personal and professional achievements in the music industry. The 2023 GRAMMY® Awards saw Elliott among the superstars celebrating the 50 th anniversary of hip-hop, joining such icons as LL Cool J, Ice-T, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, and Salt-N-Pepa for a landmark performance honoring the genre’s diverse history. Additional 2023 tributes include the Black Music Honors’ “Music Innovator Icon” award as well as a special ESSENCE cover story celebrating her headline performance at the 2023 ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans. Indeed, Missy Elliott deserves all the flowers and then some. Now, with her OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience hitting arenas across North America with Ciara, Busta Rhymes and special guest Timbaland – and new music always on the horizon – Missy Elliott continues to stand tall over pop culture as a true creative architect and revolutionary artist, her prophetic sound and vision as groundbreaking and influential as ever before.

ABOUT BUSTA RHYMES

Busta Rhymes persists and perseveres as one of history’s most indomitable, impactful, and influential rappers. His patented tongue-twisting flow and lyrical fireworks changed the art form, flooding the culture with speed and begging it to maintain pace. He has garnered a staggering 12 GRAMMY® Award nominations, sold over 10 million albums worldwide, and delivered seven Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200. Dubbed “the greatest performer of all time” by JAY-Z and “the James Brown of hip-hop” by Phife Dawg, he notably made it from the humblest of beginnings in East Flatbush Brooklyn, all the way to the White House visiting with President Barack Obama. In retrospect, Pitchfork hailed the seminal When Disaster Strikes… as “the turning point, the moment Busta Rhymes became the Joker of the deck that got to stay in the game.” He is a rare force of nature who started off with Leaders of the New School and has collaborated with everyone from Dr. Dre, Janet Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Mariah Carey to Dave Chappelle, Ozzy Osbourne, and Chris Rock. Esteemed outlets such as Billboard, Vibe, and The Source placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of All Time, while MTV has called him “one of hip-hop’s greatest visual artists.” BET Jams crowned Busta’s “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” as the “Greatest Hip-Hop Video of All-Time.”  He was named the 2023 BET Icon/Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.  As an accomplished actor, Busta’s diverse career filmography spans the acclaimed “Higher Learning,” “Narc,” and “Finding Forrester.” His animated hits include The Rugrats Movie and blockbusters such as Shaft and Halloween: Resurrection. Busta launched the next phase of his career with his 2023 aptly titled album, BLOCKBUSTA, executive produced by Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz via Busta’s label, The Conglomerate ENT. and distributed by Epic Records. The game is still just trying to catch up to this Icon.

ABOUT CIARA

Ciara is a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Over her twenty-year career, she has sold over 23 million records and 22 million singles worldwide, including chart-topping hits “Goodies,” “Ride,” “Oh,” “1, 2 Step,” “I Bet,” “Level Up,” and “How We Roll.” Ciara is not only known for her vocal talent and dance moves but she has starred in both TV and film roles, most recently the reimagined The Color Purple . Ciara is the founder and CEO of Beauty Marks Entertainment (BME), a company at the vanguard of the fast-changing music industry. With a business model built on fully supporting the artist, the female-led enterprise places Ciara at the forefront of forward-thinking entertainers taking an entrepreneurial approach to their careers. Along with husband Russell Wilson, she launched The House of LR&C, a new concept in retail with a focus on doing good. In keeping with her entrepreneurial spirit, Ciara is the co-owner of Ten To One rum and recently launched her skincare line OAM (On A Mission) which provides clinical level results through vitamin C. As part of her ongoing philanthropy work, she co-founded the Why Not You Foundation with husband Russell Wilson which is dedicated to fighting poverty through education and empowering today’s youth to lead with a “why not you” attitude. Most recently they became New York Times Bestselling authors with the release of their first children’s book “Why Not You” (Random House) which was inspired by the work they do through their foundation.

ABOUT TIMBALAND

Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning producer, artist, author and entrepreneur, Timbaland is one of the greatest minds in music history. With more top-ten hits than Elvis Presley or the Beatles, he has taught the world to “say it with sound.” Dubbed the Emperor of Sound and ranked #3 by Billboard on a list of 50 of the greatest producers of the 21st century. Timbaland’ the musical mastermind is behind the most memorable hits of our times. With over 18-Grammy nominations, 4-Grammy wins and 200+ ASCAP Music awards, his indelible imprint has been stamped on countless hits from some of the most successful and legendary artists in the world. From Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Big Pimpin,” to Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” and “Cry Me A River,” Aaliyah’s “One In A Million,” Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” and “Work It,” Ginuwine’s “Pony,” and One Republic’s “Apologize” amongst many others, Timbaland’s credits have established him as one of the most iconic producers of all time.  To date, Timbaland has released two books, a biography aptly titled The Emperor of Sound, and his children’s book Nighttime Symphony, and in the middle of the Global Pandemic, he and Swizz Beatz launched VERZUZ . The series garnered a Webby Award for Special Achievement – “Break the Internet” as it crushed the Instagram record for livestreaming. Timbaland and Swizz received the “Shine A Light Award” at the 2020 BET Awards, while Bloomberg Businessweek included them among, “The 50 Most Influential People: ‘The People Who Changed Global Business” in 2020. Within a year, VERZUZ also won a NCAAP Image Award for “Outstanding Show (Series or Special) . ” Dozens of television shows, a Billboard cover, and more have chronicled and studied “The VERZUZ Effect . ”

Founded by Timbaland and his business partner Gary Marella, Beatclub the music tech platform is disrupting the music business by offering an all in one solution for music creators to make millions in revenue through syncs, selling beats, sample packs, acapellas, services and more. Some of Beatclub’s equity holders include Justin Timberlake, J Cole, Tommy Brown, Tainy, Mike Dean and more.

ABOUT LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com .

ABOUT MONA SCOTT-YOUNG

Mona Scott-Young is an award-winning talent manager, TV/film producer, marketing guru, content creator, published author and entrepreneur. As CEO and Founder of Monami Entertainment , and Monami Productions, Scott-Young is a much sought-after executive with a 360° approach toward connection with a global audience. Scott-Young built upon her remarkable track record for success in all areas of entertainment to create leading lifestyle and entertainment powerhouses Monami Entertainment, home to Hip Hop legend Busta Rhymes, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Missy Elliott, and breakthrough female rapper ScarLip, plus Monami Productions which produces hit programming for Viacom, Amazon, WEtv, Bravo and more. Scott-Young has also appeared as on-camera talent and continues to tap her entrepreneurial spirit, unique brand appeal and marketing prowess  to connect with audiences through other platforms and products as co-owner of MYX Fusions Wine Beverages .

MEDIA CONTACTS:

OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience

Jensen Sussman | [email protected]

Julianne Cassidy | [email protected]

Missy Elliott

Fairley McCaskill | [email protected]

Busta Rhymes

Melissa Victor | [email protected]

Derek Sherron | [email protected]

Lauren Ceradini | [email protected]

Courtney Lowery | [email protected]

Live Nation Concerts

Monique Sowinski | [email protected]

Nadine Peña | [email protected]

Navier Grimes | [email protected]

Mona Scott-Young

Carrie Simons Kemper | [email protected]

Read more about

The 2024 Eras Tour Setlist Post-TTPD - @bitesbybekah

The 2024 Eras Tour Setlist Post-TTPD's release! Based on Paris N1's show - which was insane 🤩 Whether you want to prep for an upcoming show, and/or rock out to the setlist, give it a listen!

44 Songs, 2 hours, 54 minutes

Featured Artist

Taylor swift, select a country or region, africa, middle east, and india.

• Côte d’Ivoire
• Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
• Guinea-Bissau
• Niger (English)
• Congo, Republic of
• Saudi Arabia
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Tanzania, United Republic Of
• Turkmenistan
• United Arab Emirates

Asia Pacific

• Indonesia (English)
• Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Malaysia (English)
• Micronesia, Federated States of
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Solomon Islands
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• France (Français)
• Deutschland
• Luxembourg (English)
• Moldova, Republic Of
• North Macedonia
• Portugal (Português)
• Türkiye (English)
• United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina (Español)
• Bolivia (Español)
• Virgin Islands, British
• Cayman Islands
• Chile (Español)
• Colombia (Español)
• Costa Rica (Español)
• República Dominicana
• Ecuador (Español)
• El Salvador (Español)
• Guatemala (Español)
• Honduras (Español)
• Nicaragua (Español)
• Paraguay (Español)
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• St. Vincent and The Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• Uruguay (English)
• Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States
• Estados Unidos (Español México)
• الولايات المتحدة
• États-Unis (Français France)
• Estados Unidos (Português Brasil)
• 美國 (繁體中文台灣)

What One World-Dominating Tour Shows About Success for Small Artists

By Howard Murphy

Howard Murphy

Call it what you want, but The Eras Tour is officially the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. There’s no doubt that superstar Taylor Swift is one of the biggest names in music, if not the world, right now, and the mind-blowing spectacle that is the Eras tour has taken over social media, our cinema screens, and even Netflix, tipping Taylor into billionaire status. 

So just why is it that the Eras tour has become one of the most iconic events of this generation and how can artists with fan bases of all sizes learn from Swift’s work? 

It’s Been a Long Time Coming… 

The eras era, editor’s picks, every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term, the 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, the 50 worst decisions in movie history, the element of surprise .

Even in a fully rehearsed show with meticulously planned choreography and a largely fixed setlist, Taylor gives her fans something new and exciting each night in the form of an acoustic set. During this intimate section of the show, she performs two “surprise songs,” one on guitar and one on piano, as the audience screams along to every word. Anything goes — since the start of the tour, the set has featured songs from all ten of her albums, as well as bonus tracks, a song she released with Zayn, the addition of special guests, and even creative mashups. 

Other surprises are often thrown into the mix too, with no forewarning as to which show they will happen (although the fans are pretty good at guessing). These may present as an album announcement, the premier of a new music video, or, in the case of the Buenos Aires show on November 11, a lyric change during the song Karma, where Swift changed the lyric “the guy on the screen” to “the guy on the Chiefs,” a nod to her relationship with footballer Travis Kelce.

The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?

The Experience 

Rita ora teases new music during appearance on 'kelly clarkson show', craig gillespie's 'supergirl' movie confirms june 2026 theatrical release, watch lauryn hill, yg marley perform collaborative medley on 'fallon', the fans , chiefs kicker spreads antisemitic lies in benedictine college graduation speech, donna summer's estate reaches settlement with kanye west over alleged 'theft' of 'i feel love', milo yiannopoulos parts ways with kanye west over yeezy porn plan, 2024 acm awards: the complete winners list.

So how can the wild success of The Eras Tour pave the way for smaller artists looking to maximize the impact of their journeys?

• Firstly, let it spark hope that live music is not dead. It’s a tangible testament to the notion that in-person performance is alive and kicking, suggesting we may be further from a meta-verse gig dystopia than we imagined. An online presence is important, but putting yourself in front of fans in the real world is perhaps even more so. 
• Second, take inspiration from the powerful connection that Taylor has built with her fans. When fans are put first, they are more likely to give back. Never underestimate the significance of a simple shout-out or “thank you” message to a fan, or how meeting them in person after a show could solidify their support.
• Finally, give your audience something they’ll remember. Whether that’s a song that truly speaks to them, an invite-only listening party, or the performance of a lifetime, don’t be afraid to put your whole heart into what you’re doing. 

The Eras Tour serves as a powerful reminder of how hard work pays off. Taylor has never failed to give back to her fans, who in turn have supported her throughout her entire career. Aspiring artists can draw from the example set that authenticity and connection will never go out of style. Take it from Taylor — that’s how you build something that lasts a lifetime.

Green Growth: Maximizing Savings, HR Support, and Talent Retention in Cannabis Companies

• Culture Council
• By Summer Westerbur

Four Tips for Creating and Maintaining the Success You Want

• By Susan Johnston

The Pulse of a Thriller: Why Character Development is Crucial

• By JD Barker

10 Strategies for Better Business Decisions and Less Mental Exhaustion

• By Rolling Stone Culture Council

Forget Experience, Hire for Passion and Enthusiasm

• By Nathan Green

Most Popular

'mad max' director says 'there's no excuse' for tom hardy and charlize theron's 'fury road' set feud: tom 'had to be coaxed out of his trailer', sam rubin, longtime ktla entertainment reporter and anchor, dies at 64, near the giza pyramids, archaeologists identify a newly discovered ancient egyptian structure, melania trump confirms her son barron just made a total 180 once again with his future, you might also like, u.s. house of representatives passes ticket act to create transparency in pricing, the 56 best gifts for wives who have everything to receive this mother’s day, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, when ‘the morning show’ ventured into the heat, the makeup needed its own cooler, nfl playoff rematches, christmas games highlight 2024 schedule.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

Verify it's you

Please log in.

Mechanics • 20 min read

The Mechanics of Touring: How the Live Music Industry Works

By Dmitry Pastukhov

Published April 28, 2019

The Live Music Industry: An Overview

Key players in the touring industry, artists and managers, booking agents, tour managers and technicians, festivals & venues, label & publisher, the touring cycle, 1. finding the talent, 2. building the tour strategy and producing the show, 3. booking the tour, 4. selling the tickets, 5. preparations, 6. the day x, 7. the show, tour simulation, tour gross revenue.

Touring makes up a huge portion of an artist’s life and the lion’s share of the industry’s revenues. At the same time, it is the only part of the music career that remains 99% “physical” in what is otherwise the digital-first industry. While some of the artists can easily reach millions of fans via streaming, putting together an international tour for the same crowd is an extremely complicated process.

Despite the rise of digital streaming platforms, make no mistake, live music is still the cash cow of the industry. Even though streaming revenue is expected to grow to $23 billion by 2022, by that same year the live music industry is projected to reach a whopping $31 billion in global value. Global live music revenue continues to increase (with the substantial portion of this growth attributed to the worldwide explosion of EDM festivals, which we've traced in our analyses of Chinese and Indian markets). At the same time, if we take a look at the well-established music economies, a recent Nielsen study found that 52% of Americans attend live shows at least once a year.

Nevertheless, the touring industry’s decentralized and network-based system remains a complex landscape to navigate: artists often work with dozens of local promoters, booking agents and venues in the course of a single tour. So, let’s start with the basics and identify all of the parties that are usually involved in a mid-sized tour:

Artists and their managers are the crucial elements of the live business. As we’ve laid out in our Mechanics of Management , manager’s role is to build and coordinate the artist’s team on all sides of the music industry, and that, of course, includes the concert business. The artist’s management usually takes part in the initial route planning, helps the artist pick the touring team, and serves as a bridge between the live entertainment and all other sides of the artist’s career.  

The job of the booking agent itself is very easy to define: the agent represents the artist across the live industry. Their goal is to book the tour and sell the shows to the local talent buyers, finding the venue and negotiating the price. The booking deal is usually pretty straightforward: “an artist A, represented by the agent B, commits to play an N-minute show in the venue C on the day X for a $Y. ” A good agent is the one who’s able to get all those As, Bs and Cs right — so that the venue is sold out, but there are no fans left without a ticket; the artist gets paid well, but the promoter doesn’t feel cheated, and so on. While the deal is relatively simple, it’s hard to nail all the details — especially given the fact that the show are usually booked from 8 to 24 months in advance, depending on the scope of the venue.

Promoters are the side of the live business that funds the tour and buys the shows. The landscape of concert promotion is complex, and promoters themselves come in various shapes and sizes. To make it a bit simpler, imagine that promoter is a middle-man, connecting the concert space and the artist to put together a show. You can start building that bridge from either side, however.

Tour promoters set out from the artist side, contracting musicians to perform a series of concerts, paying for rehearsals, audiovisual production, covering the travel expenses and so on. Once the show is ready, tour promoters, working closely with the artist’s booking agent, either rent venues themselves or subcontract (read: sell) the shows to the local promoters (or a mixture of both).

Local promoters, in their turn, embark from a concert space. Affiliated, or at least connected with local venues and performance spaces, they buy gigs from the agents and/or tour promoters to own the ticket sales. An art-director of a small club, a local group of party promoters, a team of the major US festival — all those event promoters of different scope would fall into that category.

In that context, the role of the agent becomes clear. If promoters are the middle-men on the side of an artist or a concert space, the agent is the middle-man between the middle-men, who builds up the network of promoters (on both fronts) and artists, serving as a liaison between all sides.

However, some of the biggest tours today can be put together without the agent’s involvement.  One of the main shifts in the live business is the consolidation of tour and local promoters under the umbrella of entertainment conglomerates, with the most notable examples of Live Nation and AEG .

Essentially, these companies have grown their operation to the point where they can build the bridge from both sides, internalizing all the processes. They both produce the concert tours and own (or, at least, establish partnerships with) a vast network of clubs and arenas, providing venues for the tour. Live Nation, AEG and alike can now create centralized international tours, offering artists 360° deals. However, touring under such exclusive promotion remains reserved for the artists of the top echelon — so most of the shows out there are still put together in collaboration between the tour promoters, booking agents and local partners.

Tour managers that stay on the road with the artist's crew are the oil that makes the wheels of the tour spin. Even a nationwide tour involves extremely complex logistics, and it becomes exponentially harder to manage the travel as the tour passes onto an international level. For the first-tier acts, staying on the road with the artist crew, technicians and 30 trucks worth of equipment can cost up to $750k per day . The goal of the tour manager is to make sure that the money doesn't go down the drain when the artist’s bus breaks down in Nowhere, Oklahoma . Getting the band from point A to point B seems to be a pretty straightforward job, but in fact, the routine of the tour manager is dealing with unexpected and solving a dozen of new problems each day — all while keeping the artists happy and ready to perform. To give you a taste of an international tour route, here's an approximate map of the Lizzo's tour in support of "Cuz I Love You" release, stretching over 64 locations and 74,575 km — and that is just the straight routs, not accounting for the actual roadways.

"Cuz I Love You" tour route, 30.04.2019 — 28.10.2019 (interactive version available here )

Tour managers also run the technician crew, and, while the technical support of the tour is often overlooked, the fact is that behind every show there’s a team that turns the performance into an audiovisual experience that the audience has paid to see. It takes hard work and expertise to assemble the stage, set up the lights and the sound system, etc. The live industry relies on the tech crew to make the show actually happen.

Festivals and venues are at the very core of the live business, providing the space and (usually) the base infrastructure for the show. As we've already mentioned, there’s often a great deal of vested interest between local promoters and performance spaces.  That means that there’s usually a local promoter “attached” to the venue, and same goes for music festivals.

Outdoor events are a distinct part of the live performance landscape. Operated by promotion groups, prominent festivals can introduce artists to new audiences, both in terms of fans and music industry executives — all while offering a fat pay-check. A major festival performance puts the artist on the map, and the promotional effect of the show itself has to be considered. It can become even more important than the immediate monetary gain — especially for independent, up-and-coming artists. That’s why the tour routing will often be structured around a couple of big music festivals — and then filled up with solo concerts along the way. A good example is Coachella: as the event takes place over two separate weekends, most of the Coachella artists also book “side-gigs” around the area during the in-between week.

Although recording and publishing industries are not directly engaged in the live business, we have to remember that the music industry is built on collaboration . By convention, most music tours follow the release of an album, and each artist has to report his set after the show to PROs so that the proper songwriters get paid. The music industry is made up of separate companies and people working on the different parts of the artist career — and, while not completely aligned, they are always interconnected.

The six key parties described above work together to bring the live show to the concert-goers. However, it’s important to mention that they won’t always be represented by separate entities. Often some of the roles will be internalized by the different sides of the touring chain: independent artists and their management might produce the tour themselves, internalizing the job of the tour promoter; conglomerate promoters, as we’ve mentioned, can now offer exclusive touring deals; and so on. That said, in the next section we will go through the tour cycle step by step to showcase how all these players interact to create the tour. As it usually is in the music industry, it all starts with the artist.

On the first step, agents and tour promoters find and sign the performer. This process is not much different from the scouting of recording or publishing A&Rs, although the criteria might differ. For some types of artists (like DJs, for example) touring can be relatively huge, while the recording revenues might stay almost non-existent. Agents and A&Rs look for different things in the artist, but the essence of scouting remains the same across the board — identify and sign the promising acts before anyone else does.

There’s another twist to talent hunting in the live industry that is probably worth mentioning. As an average show has to be booked 9-10 months in advance, tour deals are usually signed around a year prior to the actual performance. At the same time, the vast majority of concert tours follow the recording releases to build up the momentum and ride the promotion wave. That has one unavoidable implication: tour promoters and agents sign the artist to perform the material which is not written yet, which can be quite risky.

That is especially true when it comes to the debut artists, that might not even have a 40-minute set or any solid live performance skills when they get their first touring deal. There is a lot of gut feeling that goes into scouting on the live industry side — more than in the recording business at least, where licensing deals allowed labels to mediate the risks of the creative stage.

Once the artist is on board, it’s time to produce the show and define the tour strategy and routing. At this step, the tour promoter starts the preparations: building the light show and live visual materials, booking rehearsal sessions to perfect the live performance, and so on. Meanwhile, the artist, manager, agent and tour promoter work out a general timeframe and draft an approximate route of the future tour. The initial tour planning is usually done around priority shows, like major city performances or music festivals, while the rest of the route is defined in broad strokes. Unless we’re talking about the top-tier, established artists, the tour will always follow a recording release. Once the initial planning is over, the tour strategy will be defined in terms of “The artist will play a priority city/music festival in a specific area N weeks after the release”.

Ones the initial route is set out, the agent goes on to book the tour, pitching the show to local promoters and festivals. Starting with the priority shows and then filling in the details, the tour route gradually takes its final form. The agent negotiates with local promoters to pick out an optimal venue (in terms of volume, style, conditions, etc.) to host the show. As Tom Windish, a senior executive of Paradigm Talent Agency mentioned in our recent interview , picking the right venue is perhaps the hardest part of booking a tour: the material is not out yet, and there’s no way to predict the reception of the release that’s almost a year ahead. Go for a small but safe venue — and you risk losing potential ticket sales and disappointing the fans; go big, and you might end up in a half-empty room, losing on the investment and leaving every side of the deal disappointed. The agent has to make risky decisions in a situation of uncertainty, and given the venue landscape in some of the regions, sometimes that means choosing between a venue capacity of 500 and 2000 for what is reasonably a 1000-ticket show.

As for the conditions and splits of the booking contract, generally local promoters, tour promoters, and artists will split the net profits of the show. Artists might also get a flat fee to ensure they'll make some money even if all other parties do their job poorly. Usually, the more the flat fee, the less the artist’s share of the net profits (and vice versa). In that sense, the structure of the contract splits often reflects the artist's risk appetite: some artists self-produce the tour, sacrifice the flat fees and end up getting almost 100% of the net. Others might ask for a higher "safety" fee, lowering both the profits of the tour and their own stake in it.   Booking agents, in their turn, earn a flat percentage on the revenues ‘on top’ (though they might put their share back in the pot if the tour doesn’t turn out a profit). That might be a lot to take in, but don't worry, we will get back to the splits and give you a clear example with a tour simulation you can find below .

Once the tour is booked, it’s the time to promote it and sell the tickets. On paper, the ball is in the promoter’s court here, but in reality the marketing of the tour is carried out in close collaboration between all the sides — from managers and booking agents to the artists' record labels. Concert marketing is a topic worthy of a separate article, but if we were to simplify things, it could be separated into two main parts.

First is the overarching tour marketing, implemented by the tour promoter and synchronized with the record release. The tour marketing campaign utilizes wide communication channels to promote the tour in general rather than a particular show. Second is the regional marketing owned by the local promoters, which aims to boost the sales of a specific show, focusing on narrow communication channels, like radio, OOH and locally targeted digital advertising.

As far as the actual ticketing strategy is concerned, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so most teams go through long and numerous meetings to define tit There's a lot of decisions to be made when settling the details of the ticketing strategy — especially as technology has put new tools into the hands of promoters — but generally accepted sales process follows an “announcement → pre-sale → general sale” pattern. First, the tour is announced through the label- or artist-owned channels. That announcement is both a chance to communicate the tour to the wide audience and build up the artist’s CRM-base by nudging fans to leave their contacts to get notified when tickets go on sale. On the live event market, the buying intent might not realize itself on the first day — so having direct contact with fans and growing the artist's CRM-base is a key tool in the hands of the industry.

Then, the pre-sale takes place: first, reaching out directly to fans in the CRM database — after all, artist-fan relationships are one of the most important assets of an artist, and a fan pre-sale ensures that engaged followers will be able to get tickets to the show. Pre-sale strategy might also involve sales through “preferred partners”, focusing on direct sales through systems like American Express PreSales in the U.S., or even Spotify, that allows to reach the artist’s fans and followers across the tour route based on their listening habits and geo-location. Finally, to complete the pre-sale, local promoters can also use the local communication channels, like CRM-base of the venue and local airplay.

All the pre-sale strategies have two primary objectives. Firstly, based on the pre-sale figures (and historical concert attendance data), the promoter can roughly tell how the show is going to sell in general — and adjust the marketing campaign accordingly. Secondly, pre-sale through reasonably closed off channels can help to mediate the problem of the secondary ticket market. In fact, most of the ticketing strategies aim to sell as many seats as possible before putting the show on the general sale. Ticketing platforms like Songkick, BandsinTown or Seated allow promoters to reach the widest audience but they also puts the show at risk of selling out to the scalper bots in a matter of hours. This is especially true for the biggest artists out there — the more the demand for the show, the more attention it's going to get from the scalpers.

At this point, the tickets are on sale and the date is coming up, but there are still a lot of details to cover to make the show actually happen. Carrying out a 100-show tour means getting the artist and his tour team to a hundred different locations across the globe — all while staying on a tight budget and an even tighter schedule. Then, you have to make sure that every step of the way the artist has the infrastructure to do the actual show. Big tours are extremely complicated logistics, that require a lot of planning (usually carried out by the tour manager, affiliated with the tour promoters). Plane tickets, car rental, backline equipment shipping — this is just a fraction of what needs to be taken care of before reaching the venue.

The venue is (hopefully) sold out, the material is well-rehearsed, the equipment is delivered to the club — but the show is still to be done. Someone has to set up the sound, check tickets at the door, take care of the security, prepare the guest list and set up the bar. This routine can seem insignificant at times, but in fact, a solid on-site setup is a must if you want the audience to enjoy the performance. Surely all of us can remember that one concert with that hour-long queue, delayed performance and warm beer at the bar — a poor concert organization can ruin even the best of shows. Making sure that the concert goes smoothly is a group effort of the tour crew and the local promoter's team, from tour managers and technicians to local sound engineers and the venue stuff.

Finally, one year, tens of thousands of kilometers and thousands of man-hours later, the artist will go on stage. Then, the team will get back on the road to repeat steps 5 through 7 over and over again, until the final row of the tour announcement is crossed out. The artist will eventually get back in the studio and start working on the new material, while tour promoters and agents will begin planning the next tour. That’s the tour life .

To conclude the Mechanics of Touring, we want to share with you an example of how the tour budget and profits are structured. Below, you will find a somewhat simplified (yet accurate at its core) budget simulation of an averaged tour. While the actual “business plan” will be much more detailed, the data below should give you a good idea of who pays for the tour and who ends up making money on it.

Total Fixed and Variable Costs

So, the tour has fixed costs of 70,000€, which have to be covered regardless of the tour length, and variable costs of 7,000€, per show. Such costs structure means that (and this is true for practically every tour) we will enjoy the scale effect , as total costs per show (calculated as (FC+ VC*N)/N, where FC is Fixed Costs, VC — Variable Costs and N is the Number of shows in the tour) will go down as the tour grows, due to the depreciation of the fixed costs.

Total costs per show, for 10-150 concerts in a tour.

To go forward with the simulation, we will assume that the shows of the tour are all booked at the same price (which is never the case due to the difference in the local ticket prices, venue and market capacity, and other specifics). However, to simplify things, we will use the following revenue structure:        

Guarantee per show = 8,000€

Bonus if sold out = 2,000€

If we plotted the tour’s total profits as a function of the number of shows, P/L = (Revenue per show * N) - (FC+VC*N), we would get the following:

Tour P&L (overall profit/loss before splits)

As the total costs per show go down against a constant revenue, the tour turns a profit, breaking even at the 24th and 70th show for “Sold Out” and “Not Sold Out” scenarios accordingly.

Then the time comes to divvy up the profits. First of all, the agent takes a share of all revenues “on top”. In this simulation, we will use a 15% split for the agent. So, if the tour is made up of 100 sold out shows, the agent would get (10,000*100)*15% = €150,000 in fees. However, it’s not customary in the music industry for one side of the deal to make money while the rest are losing. So, usually, the agent won’t take their share if the tour doesn’t turn a profit. But what if the tour makes a bit of money, but not enough to cover the agent’s 15% “on top”?

There are a couple of roads the agent might take in that case, cutting their share down to 5% or taking a percentage of the profits, rather than revenue, but for purposes of this simulation, we will assume that the agent will take their part of the share, but won’t put the promoter back in the red. So, if the tour has made €5K in NET profits by selling out 25 shows, the agent will take €5,000 instead of agreed upon (25*10,000)*15% = €37,500.

Tour promoter will take a share of the NET profits (Total Revenue — Agent’s Share — Costs). That would mean that, although the tour itself will break even on a 24th show in the Song Out scenario, the tour promoter will start making money only after the 47th show (once the agent is fully compensated). If we assume the tour promoter’s share at 20%, on a 100-show, sold out tour they will make ((10,000*100*0,85) - (70,000 + 7,000*100)) * 0,2 = €16,000 . It might seem that the promoters get the short end of the stick here, but in fact, they will often make quite a bit of money in the venue itself on things like bar and parking. This can be a substantial or even primary revenue stream for the promoter, but we’ll have to leave it out of the scope of the simulation for the sake of simplicity.

As for the artist , they will earn a flat fee (in this simulation €1,000 per show) as well as the remaining 80% of the tour’s NET. This sum will make up the artist gross, which in its turn will be divided between the artist and the management (an average manager’s share is around 15% ). So, for a 100-show tour the artist gross will be: (100*1,000) + ((10,000*100*0,85) - (70,000 + 7,000*100)) * 0,8 = €164,000 , which would then be split 85:15 between the artist ( €139,400 ) and the manager ( €24,600 ).

Tour profits distribution, by party

Of course, the actual tour will be much more complicated than in the simulation above. However, it should give you a good idea of how the tour is structured and budgeted. That’s it for this episode of Mechanics, but don’t worry — we’ll keep working to bring you insights on other parts of the music industry. If you liked this article, take a look at our Mechanics of the Music Industry to get the overview of the topics we covered so far — and the ones we plan to cover in the future.

Share this article:

Dmitry Pastukhov

Content creator for Soundcharts. Deciphering the music business so you don't have to.

Related articles

December 31, 2023 • 12 min read

January 1, 2024 • 14 min read

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.