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These are the highest-grossing tours and concerts of 2016 (so far).

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US musician Bruce Springsteen performs with The E Street Band at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris on ... [+] July 11, 2016. / AFP / BERTRAND GUAY (Photo credit should read BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images)

Touring industry publication Pollstar recently revealed which acts are performing best at the mid-2016 point, and the lists of the biggest tours and concerts expectedly features some of the most popular names in the business, as well as some amazing numbers.

Bruce Springsteen proves yet again that he is still The Boss by securing the number one spot on the list of the highest-grossing tours for the first half of 2016. The rock legend, along with his E Street Band, have now grossed almost $171 million in ticket sales from The River Tour, which is proving to be one of the biggest of his career.  Behind Bruce comes Beyoncé and her Formation World Tour, which has now collected $137 million. While Bey might be in second place now, it is worth noting that she still has a while before her trek is over, and she has only played half as many shows this year as Bruce. It’s possible that she could end the year on top, as her ability to sell tickets isn’t likely to dip anytime soon.

Rounding out the top five on the list of the highest-grossing tours thus far in 2016 are Coldplay , Madonna , and The Rolling Stones , each of which has proven their worth at the box office time and time again. Of the top five acts this year, Madonna ’s average ticket price was by far the highest at $216, and in fact hers is the only tour with an average cost of entry over the $200 mark. The Stones make it into the region having played only 13 concerts, though they were especially large ones. So far, only Springsteen, Beyoncé, and Coldplay have managed to sell over one million tickets in 2016, though that list will surely grow by the end of the year.

Here are the 10 highest-grossing tours of 2016:

The ten highest-grossing tours of the first half of 2016 (data and image via Pollstar).

Looking specifically at certain dates and one-off concerts, the list of which acts can collect the biggest crowds and gross the highest amount doesn’t change too much, with many of the same names popping up.

Coldplay’s stint at Wembley Stadium in London ranks as the most successful tour stop so far in 2016, with a total gross of $29.7 million. The British pop-rock group sold out four shows in the massive stadium, moving almost 304,000 tickets in the process. Behind them comes another English favorite, the Stone Roses, who sold out just as many shows as Coldplay, though at an arena in Manchester. Their four-concert stay earned just under $20 million, putting them well behind the number one position. Bruce Springsteen in Dublin and The Rolling Stones’ trio of concerts in Argentina occupy spots three and four, respectively, while Adele ’s incredible eight shows at the famous O2 in London round out the top five.

Of the top 10 highest-grossing concerts of 2016, three belong to the Rolling Stones, which goes to show how popular the rockers still are in South and Central America, where they spent much of the first half of 2016 touring.

Here are the 10 highest-grossing concerts of 2016:

The ten highest-grossing concerts of the first half of 2016 (data and image via Pollstar).

Gallery: The Global Celebrity 100 2016

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The 13 Best Concerts of 2016

While scoring concert tickets may be more of a hassle than ever — despite the law’s best efforts — live music has never been easier to find. 2016 saw a boom in the festival scene, with New York City alone adding three new weekend-long events to the already crowded turf wars. ( Pour one out for FarmBorough .) Both locally and beyond, concerts this year seemingly got trippier (for Childish Gambino, quite literally ) and more personal for fans , while also increasingly unsafe , and, as the world just saw in Oakland, more susceptible to mass tragedy than many in the business would care to admit. Dozens of artists, from Bruce Springsteen to Beyoncé, used their onstage platforms as springboards for social justice, be it rallying support to elect Hillary Clinton leading up to the election, or protesting (silently or otherwise) the south’s anti-LGBTQ laws in the spring.

Below, we relive the best concerts of 2016 that Vulture was in the crowd to see — for that reason, they’re all in New York City and New Jersey venues.

1. Bruce Springsteen, MetLife Stadium (August 25) If you’re from New Jersey, there is but one rite of passage: See Bruce Springsteen at home — preferably at the Stone Pony, but anywhere will suffice. When I saw Bruuuuuce this summer at the football stadium in the heart of North Jersey, it ended up being his longest-ever show with his beloved E Street Band in the United States. Four hours, sharp. He went on to break the record just a few days later at the same venue, but for that one night, you could sense a uniqueness to the history in the making.

There’s nothing like a Springsteen crowd, just as there’s no one like the man they all gather to worship. I’m no Springsteen diehard; my continued Bruce education comes from my mother, a longtime fan of the Boss who, like me, is Jersey through and through but hadn’t seen him in some 30-plus years. Her last encounter with the Jersey folk hero, ironically, came when he first toured The River . Decades later, I sat by her side and watched him perform much of that album, and during that time the nearly-40 year age gap between me and my mother seemed to vanish.

At every Springsteen show exists a fountain of youth that flows from the 67-year-old rocker, through his storied band, and then out into the crowd, perhaps forming the proverbial river in question. It’s what I imagine gave Nils Lofgren the energy to complete the many revolutions of his famous guitar spin as the night approached midnight; it’s also probably how the crowd of boomers were still on their feet for the last firework while most of the “kids” ached in their seats. Earlier this year, Vulture ranked all 314 Bruce songs ; that night, it felt like I heard half of them.

This concert, the best of the three at MetLife, had everything: Tom Morello and Bruce dueting on “American Skin” to move me to tears; Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa singing “Tunnel of Love” to each other; “My City of Ruins” dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in Italy; a rollicking eight song encore that included a “Shout!” exercise; a tribute to Clarence Clemons, with his nephew, Jake, there to fill in on sax; and, to top it all off, a marriage proposal between two fans during “Jersey Girl” while the fireworks rang out over the stadium. Outstanding as the whole spectacle of it was — this is the kind of concert music historians canonize — I spent most of it watching my mom shine in her element. For that, seeing Bruce will stand as both my favorite mother-daughter memory and the best concert experience of my life. If you ever get a chance to see a Springsteen show, do it.

2. Green Day, Webster Hall (October 8) Seeing Green Day at the Webster Hall (capacity: 1500) isn’t just a show ; it’s like seeing Green Day perform at your high school prom. Stadium-level bands playing small, inexpensive venues just doesn’t happen. (Green Day generally only do when they’re performing as their side band Foxboro Hot Tubs, or for a damn good cause .) But before embarking on a stadium tour next year, the band played a handful of low-key shows to promote their new album . It’ll almost certainly go down as the closest many will ever get to them in person; it’s the best I’ve come to catching the remnants of Mike Dirnt’s sweat flung from all his bass-slapping. You have to remember: Green Day were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. They haven’t had to pay their dues in a venue like this for some time.

Yet, here they were — face-to-face with lifelong fans, on a victory lap. They played just three songs from that new album, instead focusing on their history. The band dusted off songs from as far back as 1991’s 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk , pulled out deep cuts old and newer (“Stuart and the Ave”! “Letterbomb”!), revisited classic crowd-pleaser covers (“Shout,” “Hey Jude,” “Satisfaction”), and never even played “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Billie Joe Armstrong described the night as an “underground show” and nothing could tarnish that familial feeling Green Day are still fighting hard to preserve.

3. Kanye West, Madison Square Garden (September 6) At a time when artists are retreating further and further into themselves and away from their fan bases (see: Justin Bieber’s entire year), Kanye sought to make a tour that closed that gap — or at least created the illusion of a bridge. For his Saint Pablo Tour, Kanye famously designed a floating stage that he spends the show traveling back and forth across. I’ve never seen anything like it before, not quite to this scale. It makes it so that there’s never a bad seat in the house, because Kanye will always come to you. But it also means there isn’t a best seat; to take in the full Saint Pablo experience as it was intended, you wanted to be on the floor. The spectacle of having Kanye fly overhead at all times — often within arm’s reach, as many fans stupidly found out — invited an unexpected punk standard to the rap show: moshing. At every Saint Pablo show, the floor below Kanye erupted into several pits where, on any given night, you might knock into a Kardashian or LeBron. And when his stage would move, his disciples would follow him across the floor like a herd of sheep and start another pit wherever he paused. I attended this show by myself, and yet I’ve never felt less alone in a crowd.

4. Adele, Madison Square Garden (September 19) It’s a shame to call Adele’s first successful world tour just a “concert” and her simply a “singer.” Going into an Adele live show, you expect an elite vocalist and all that that implies: big ballads, showy numbers, long sequined gowns, the works. Older folks in the audience — and there were plenty — might’ve wanted a stuffy Oscars repeat, and Adele hit all those beats, because that’s what she does. But none of that fluff is the meat on the bones of her show.

That honor goes to Adele’s wit, self-deprecating humor, and notorious sailor’s mouth. She may have spent an equal amount of time engaging in tangential banter as she did actually singing. And her material was always fresh: Adele does new joke-y riffs at each stop, so every show feels personalized. (“I don’t know about you, but I can’t always understand what Bob Dylan’s saying,” she wisecracked at mine before “Make You Feel My Love.”) Rare is the pop star who can both dazzle you all night and still make you feel like they wouldn’t be above grabbing a beer with you post-show. That’s Adele.

5. Beyoncé, Citi Field (June 8) While Adele’s world tour comes off as a one-woman comedy show to great effect, Beyoncé’s is the polar opposite: There are countless women (and men) responsible for a Beyoncé show and, on her Formation Tour especially, it’s hiding in plain sight how the sausage gets made. Whenever a bulb on a camera screen shorts out, a stitch in a costume bursts at the seam, or Beyoncé even sneezes, the work shows. It’s what makes a Beyoncé concert an event, and half the experience is in getting there; you prep, primp, and pregame for Beyoncé . Her shows are a group effort — at some point, we’ll have all put in work to steer this ship. But Beyoncé is and will always be the captain and anchor, and when she leads her dancers and crowd alike with military precision, there’s a superhuman quality to her that makes Beyoncé one of the greatest living performers on the planet. Unlike Adele, you’ll never relate to her, and that’s entirely the point.

6. Rihanna, Barclays Center (March 27) Everyone deserves to see Rihanna live at least once, but if you’ve only caught her before the Anti era, I’d recommend going again. Right now, Rihanna is in her prime. It’s a strange proclamation to make about an artist eight albums deep into her career, but the Rihanna of 2016 only just now feels like she’s honed her voice. That stands both creatively and literally — vocally, Rih has never sounded better. She’s at the top of her range on songs like “Love on the Brain” and, in person, nothing is lost sans production magic. Rihanna’s Anti Tour was designed to make a set piece out of her voice; it’s the star of the concert’s third act, which features a trilogy of ballads to close the show. Meanwhile, her surroundings are muted — there’s a backdrop that mimics soap suds falling from the sky, some abstract neon-lit shapes scattered about, and an all-white ethereal stage meant to evoke heaven. But not much else. All eyes, and, more now than ever, ears are on Rihanna. For the first time, everything’s work work work working .

7. Alabama Shakes, Panorama Festival (July 22) A recording of Brittany Howard’s voice alone has the force to shake buildings, but there’s nothing like hearing the real thing in person. At the inaugural Panorama Festival (a.k.a. Coachella East), Howard was a woman possessed. She’d breathe fire from deep within her lungs to let out those unmistakable growls and shrieks, lead her band on guitar while still harnessing the power of her voice, and occasionally break to apologize for not breaking enough, for not visiting New York enough, and for not feeling like enough to deserve the banner year the Shakes just had coming off a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year back in February.

That last part is total nonsense, and the confident character that consumes Howard whenever she gets back to singing quickly banishes all self-doubt. The Shakes played us through the sunset and into the cooler night, as if they radiated all the heat in the air then took it back with them. It’s gotten to the point where they don’t even have to play “Sound and Color,” but rather end on “Over My Head,” and you’ll still feel like you got the full Shakes experience.

8. Kendrick Lamar, Panorama Festival (July 23) I got to be in the crowd the night Kendrick debuted his new stage design, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Looped clips of vague political-adjacent imagery edited together with pop culture hallmarks have become a thing of the Tumblr age. It should’ve died once Lana Del Rey stopped using the style and yet Kendrick seems to have resurged it. His new live show — which I’ve now seen twice —   uses what are essentially GIFs of George Bush tripping, Nancy Reagan finger-wagging, Bill O’Reilly losing his shit, and other political freak shows juxtaposed with images of Pam Grier, Tupac, and Ellen DeGeneres dancing with a then-Senator Obama. He breaks the chaos with one lasting image: Kendrick’s own two critical eyes leering back and forth, like the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, surveying the crowd. He watches you watch him, creating another visual cycle. On any stage, this would look impressive; having it projected on the 170-foot-wide wall of video screens towering over a festival setting made it a moment . Kendrick’s live rapping has always been a cut above the rest — his stage is now worthy of him.

9. Chance the Rapper, The Meadows Festival (October 2) If you watched Chance’s SNL performances this weekend — or any of the many magnificent televised numbers he put on this year — then you don’t need me to tell you he knows how to command a stage. In person, in front of a festival of thousands that rivaled the crowd there for Kanye’s (ultimately abbreviated) set, Chance was like a pastor leading a congregation. His current Magnificent Coloring World Tour is a hybrid of traveling gospel choir, rap show, and the Muppets. There are actual singing, piano-playing human-scale puppets — one’s a heckling lion named Carlos — incorporated to make this more live theater than a concert. Half the time, it doesn’t make sense and probably isn’t supposed to. (Acid rap, hello.) The rest of the time, his show takes you to church, offers a spiritual awakening (religion optional), and will make you want to spend every Sunday at service with Chance.

10. Tegan and Sara, (le) poisson rouge (May 9) (Le) poisson rouge is a small venue in Greenwich Village that fits about 700 people on a good night. It’s the definition of intimate — the stage is just about level with the crowd — and in Tegan and Sara’s hands, the place felt more like their living room. In fact, a running joke throughout the night was inspired by a group in the front row who stood within arm’s length of the twins and had camped out on a some curbside couch all night to score that coveted spot. They were lifelong fans, they explained, about which Tegan and Sara had no doubt. (Sara had even less doubt that that couch was probably bed-bug-infested and begged them to shower immediately and keep their distance. She wouldn’t let them live it down.) It’s the kind of awkward charm that kept me torn between never wanting them to stop chatting with us but also never wanting them to stop pulling out deep cuts from their long, rich discography .

11. Anderson .Paak, Panorama Festival (July 23) If Anderson .Paak wins a Grammy for Best New Artist next year, I hope that, in addition to the two (!) phenomenal albums he put out this year, it’s because his live show was taken into consideration. Anyone who’s seen him will tell you he’s a once-in-a-generation live act. There’s no faking the funk with this young student of the craft; live, he’s pretty much a machine with more momentum and charisma than it should be possible to possess. I saw him on a day that boiled over 100 degrees. He wore a long-sleeve Team USA Olympic jersey, was dripping in sweat, and somehow still pivoted from bandleader to member of his own band on the drums with ease — this, all while singing effortlessly and extending the stories told on Malibu ’s “The Season / Carry Me” without missing a breath. Meanwhile, I struggled to catch mine just from watching him in awe.

12. DJ Khaled, Panorama Festival (July 22) Much has been written about the decline of regional rap. If it’s true, DJ Khaled begs to differ. I saw him twice this year, once opening up for Beyoncé’s Formation Tour and, again, with what should’ve been a headlining set at Pano Fest. Both times, he handed over his floor to the local heavyweights — Fabolous, Swizz Beatz, and French Montana the second night at Citi Field — but Pano was a uniquely special hometown reunion for the Miami native. Aside from bringing out T.I. and his then-pregnant fiancée, which would’ve been enough, he gave up more than half his set time to the man who kick-started his career: Fat Joe. Better yet, Joe brought Remy Ma with him. It’s as if Khaled saw the lineup, crossed out his own name, and wrote Terror Squad in its place. Joe and Remy performed most of Khaled’s set, including “All the Way Up” (Remy freestyle included) and “Conceited,” all from inside a too-small indoor dome that had the energy of a basement rap battle. It’s the best apology for being 20 minutes late I’ve ever seen.

13. Purity Ring, Governors Ball (June 4) The 2016 Governors Ball will forever be known as a washout , the year the festival was forced to cancel an entire day’s lineup due to rain. Not just any day — Kanye Day. I have a better memory: frantically running on Saturday from Miguel’s set once the clouds opened up and the torrential downpour started to the only stage with a tent on site, half a field away. Hundreds of us were packed under cover like wet dogs; if you were part of the five-foot-and-barely-above crowd, like me and my friends, you could hardly breath. The rain persisted for another 45 minutes, during which Purity Ring were treated to an audience much larger than what they’re used to. They fed off it, letting their laser show stage effects turn the tent into an outdoor rave; surprisingly, Megan James’s voice travels far. I was soaked head to toe, pushed and pulled in every direction the crowd danced, and felt more alive than I had all year.

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The 10 Best Concerts of 2016

From Lady Gaga's intimate dive bar tour to Coldplay's arena celebrations, these are the best shows EW saw this year

10. The 1975 at Coachella

The British quartet turned out one of the best sets at this year’s Palm Springs desert bash, thanks to twinkling dance-pop tunes that were as pretty as the Snapchat-obsessed ravers in the front row.

9. Coldplay

Most arena bands cap a concert with fireworks. Not Coldplay. Chris Martin & Co. introduced confetti and pyrotechnics to their outdoor gigs early on and delivered the feel-good event of the year, especially during euphoric sing-alongs like “Yellow,” “A Head Full of Dreams,” and more.

8. Pearl Jam at Bonnaroo

Over two thunderously loud hours, the grunge veterans ripped through the classics (“Given to Fly”! “Better Man”! “Alive”!), called out then–presidential hopeful Donald Trump, and covered Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Twenty-six years into their career, it felt as if Pearl Jam were only getting started.

7. Lady Gaga's Dive Bar Tour

Not feeling Gaga’s new sound? Seeing her jam with collaborators like Mark Ronson and Hillary Lindsey in front of a few hundred people could convert even the most skeptical fans to the church of Joanne — as long as they were lucky enough to get a ticket.

6. LCD Soundsystem

The best live band in America now: James Murphy and his crew (shout-out to singer-keyboardist Nancy Whang — forever the coolest girl in the room) turned festival grounds and intimate clubs into sweaty discos.

5. Drake and Future

Forget Drake’s Instagram-worthy light show or Future’s eye-catching dancers — the best part of this coheadlining tour was the structure. Instead of opening for him, Future popped up in the middle of Drake’s curfew-pushing set for one turnt-up intermission that kept the night from dragging.

Carefully synced choreography, “Hello, Cleveland” stage patter, and elaborate set changes? Not for Bad Girl RiRi, thank you. Instead, the star did things her own way, darling, with a loose-limbed, sexy set long on hit singles and fresh ANTI cuts. It felt like something major pop acts’ stadium shows almost never do: a genuine take-that-tequila-shot-and-get-on-the-dance-floor party — thrown by one hell of a hostess.

3. Bruce Springsteen

The Boss played his sentimental double LP, 1980’s The River , start to finish at every stop. But that didn’t come at the expense of his towering catalog. In fact, by the tour’s conclusion, the 67-year-old icon was pushing his already record-breaking gigs past the four-hour mark.

The Beyhive swarmed to see their Queen, but even nonbelievers — do they actually exist? — were dazzled by the show’s sheer sensory overload: an extravaganza of smash singles and spilled Lemonade , boosted by weapons-grade dance routines and one wild, wet finale (BYO splash guard).

Who caught Adele this year? Tweens, cool moms, couples on first dates, college kids, gals out for ladies’ night — everyone. Why did they go? To laugh, cry, dance, and sing at the top of their lungs with pop’s premiere voice.

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Summer 2016’s 30 Biggest Rock Tours

The summer 2016 concert season promises to bring some of rock's biggest acts to your hometown, topped – as if you haven't heard – by Guns N’ Roses ' celebrated reunion tour . Click through the above gallery for the latest.

Axl Rose , Slash and Duff McKagan are back onstage together for the first time in more than two decades. The trio, along with keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese , guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer, launched the tour  earlier this month in Las Vegas, then staged headline-making appearances at Coachella  a couple weeks later.

Rose suffered a broken foot  before it started, but nothing has slowed him down. He'll be appearing with not one, but two legendary classic rock bands this summer, as he takes over as a guest vocalist for a series of European dates with AC/DC .

Guns N' Roses weren't the only groups dealing with health woes as the summer touring season loomed. Kiss appeared as a trio after Paul Stanley was sidelined, and ZZ Top pushed back a string of dates when Dusty Hill suffered a fractured shoulder. Look for shows from confirmed road warriors like Paul McCartney and Steely Dan , as well as a pair of recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Steve Miller and Cheap Trick . That's just the beginning. The above gallery outlines the rest of the season's highlights.

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And the Highest-Grossing Tours of 2016 Are…

It was another good year on the road for superstar acts. Pollstar (via Gigwise ) is offering a taste of its list of the top-grossing tours of 2016. (All numbers in USD.)

• Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band: $262 million
• Beyonce: $256.4 million
• Coldplay: $241 million
• Guns ‘N Roses: $188 million
• Adele: $168 million

Pollstar will release the full list with all the box office grosses on January 6.

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Springsteen, Beyoncé are the top-grossing tours of 2016

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band navigated “The River” 35th anniversary tour all the way to the bank in 2016, pulling in $268.3 million globally to score the top-grossing concert trek of the year worldwide, according to Pollstar, the concert industry-tracking publication.

Beyoncé nipped close at the E Streeters’ heels, grossing $256.4 million from her Formation world tour, followed by Coldplay ($241 million), Guns N’ Roses ($188.4 million) and Adele ($167.7 million) to round out Pollstar’s top five.

“In what has been a banner year for the concert business, the Top 10 Tours alone grossed a combined $1.67 billion,” Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni noted in a statement. “That is significantly better than the $1.5 billion in 2015.”

It is, in fact, an 11.3% increase.

Adele is one of just two performers to have emerged in the new millennium to make the Top 10, the other being Justin Bieber, whose tour grossed $163.3 million, placing him at No. 6 on the list.

That’s a bit of a comedown from last year, when Taylor Swift had the top-grossing tour of 2015 worldwide and the Top 10 also include such relative newcomers as One Direction and Ed Sheeran.

Following Bieber on the 2016 roster, Paul McCartney posted a worldwide gross of $110.6 million; Garth Brooks, $97 million; the Rolling Stones, $90.9 million, and Céline Dion, $85.5 million.

Coldplay, however, sold the most tickets, moving almost 2.7 million during the year, followed by Springsteen at 2.4 million and Beyoncé at 2.2 million.

Dion easily had the top average ticket price of $146.26, followed by McCartney at $127.43, the Stones at $122.33, Beyoncé at $114.59 and Springsteen at $111.48.

In terms of average gross per show, however, the Stones dwarfed the competition, taking in an staggering $9.1 million from just 14 performances in 10 cities. Beyoncé finished second with an average of nearly $5.6 million at 49 shows in 46 cities, then Coldplay at just under $5.5 million from 60 shows in 44 cities and Guns N’ Roses at almost $5.4 million from 44 shows in 35 cities.

Brooks can claim the most affordable tour among the Top 10 finishers, tickets averaging just $69.29 for the 102 performances he gave in 25 cities.

Pollstar is still finalizing figures for its annual ranking of the Top 200 tours globally and in North America; results will be posted in its Jan. 6 edition.

Bongiovanni noted that Beyoncé took top honors for the highest-grossing North American tour of 2016, but the figure for that portion of her world tour was not released.

Both Springsteen and Beyonce surpassed Swift’s field-leading gross of $250.1 million in 2015.

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Beyoncé led the Top 100 tours of North America to a record gross of $3.34 billion in 2016 — up 7 percent from $3.12 billion in 2015, according to Pollstar .

Queen Bey contributed $169.4 million to the North American total, followed by Guns N’ Roses ($130.8 million) and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($122.4 million).

The concert trade publication, which released its annual results on Friday, also reported the same Top 100 tours sold a record 43.6 million tickets — a 4-percent increase over 2015.

Country crooner Luke Bryan generated the most ticket sales: 1.43 million for his 81 North American appearances. But because his average ticket price was a low $59, Bryan ranked ninth in gross sales.

Barbra Streisand commanded the highest ticket price — not only in North America but worldwide. Babs’ average price of $260.20 made her more diva-demanding than runners-up Madonna ($216.01) and Jennifer Lopez ($206.69).

October’s “Desert Trip” festival in southern California, for which Mick Jagger coined the phrase “Coachella for old people,” set a single-event world record of $160.1 million its first time out.

The two-weekend bill of Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Roger Waters, The Who and Neil Young likely raked in more than $200 million, Pollstar said, after taking into account such ancillary revenue streams as sponsorships and merchandise sales.

Beyoncés North American tour performance was the second-best of all time — just 15 percent shy of the $199.4 million grossed by Taylor Swift in 2015.

After considering all musicians on tour last year, Pollstar found that older rock acts dominated ticket sales.

“But their numbers continue to diminish,” it said, citing such losses as Prince, David Bowie, George Michael and Leonard Cohen.

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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band navigated “The River” 35th anniversary tour all the way to the bank in 2016, pulling in $268.3 million globally to score the top-grossing concert trek of the year worldwide, according to Pollstar, the concert industry-tracking publication.

Beyoncé nipped close at the E Streeters’ heels, grossing $256.4 million from her Formation world tour, followed by Coldplay ($241 million), Guns N’ Roses ($188.4 million) and Adele ($167.7 million) to round out Pollstar’s top five.

“In what has been a banner year for the concert business, the Top 10 Tours alone grossed a combined $1.67 billion,” Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni noted in a statement. “That is significantly better than the $1.5 billion in 2015.”

It is, in fact, an 11.3% increase.

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Adele is one of just two performers to have emerged in the new millennium to make the Top 10, the other being Justin Bieber, whose tour grossed $163.3 million, placing him at No. 6 on the list.

That’s a bit of a come down from last year, when Taylor Swift had the top-grossing tour of 2015 worldwide and the Top 10 also include such relative newcomers as One Direction and Ed Sheeran.

Following Bieber on the 2016 roster, Paul McCartney posted a worldwide gross of $110.6 million; Garth Brooks, $97 million; the Rolling Stones, $90.9 million; and Céline Dion, $85.5 million.

Coldplay, however, sold the most tickets, moving almost 2.7 million during the year, followed by Springsteen at 2.4 million and Beyoncé at 2.2 million.

Dion easily had the top average ticket price of $146.26, followed by McCartney at $127.43, the Stones at $122.33, Beyoncé at $114.59 and Springsteen at $111.48.

In terms of average gross per show, however, the Stones dwarfed the competition, taking in an staggering $9.1 million from just 14 performances in 10 cities. Beyoncé finished second with an average of nearly $5.6 million at 49 shows in 46 cities, then Coldplay at just under $5.5 million from 60 shows in 44 cities and Guns N’ Roses at almost $5.4 million from 44 shows in 35 cities.

Brooks can claim the most affordable tour among the Top 10 finishers, tickets averaging just $69.29 for the 102 performances he gave in 25 cities.

Pollstar is still finalizing figures for its annual ranking of the Top 200 tours globally and in North America; results will be posted in its Jan. 6 edition.

Bongiovanni noted that Beyoncé took top honors for the highest-grossing North American tour of 2016, but the figure for that portion of her world tour was not released.

Both Springsteen and Beyonce surpassed Swift’s field-leading gross of $250.1 million in 2015.

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Phish, Dead & Company, and DMB Among Top 50 Grossing Tours Of 2016

Concert tour industry publication Pollstar has released it’s annual list of the top grossing North American tours of 2016, and Phish , Dave Matthews Band , and Dead & Company have all cracked the Top 50 (well, Top 40, for the record). Beyoncé , Guns N’ Roses , Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band , Garth Brooks , and Adele all topped the list, while tours such as Sting/Peter Gabriel , Journey/The Doobie Brothers , Rihanna , Black Sabbath , Kenny Chesney and several Cirque du Soleil performances also made the Top 50.

The list accounts for: average ticket prices / average tickets sold per show / total amount of tickets sold / average gross per show / how many cities and shows were performed throughout 2016. Let’s take a look at a few of the acts numbers: 1. Beyoncé – $123.63 / 45,684 / 1,370,517 / $5,648,106 / 30/32 2. Guns N’ Roses – $115.55 / 47,164 / 1,131,931 / $5,449,581 / 24/31 3. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – $125.29 / 23,263 / 977,058 / $2,914,561 / 42/48 24. Phish – $54.31 / 30,991 / 681,793 / $1,683,019 / 22/42 28. Dave Matthews Band – $49.14 / 16,910 / 710,215 / $830,952 / 42/48 37. Dead & Company – $69.85 / 22,126 / 420,396 / $1,545,481 / 19/23 45. Pearl Jam – $67.40 / 13,449 / 416,913 / $906,452 / 31/31

For the record, that’s a lot of money. Check out the full list here .

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Adele, Justin Bieber Lead StubHub’s Top Tours of 2016

Adele and Justin Bieber led StubHub's Top Tours of 2016, while Hamilton shattered records and Springsteen won an ironic honor.

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StubHub today revealed its second-annual year in live events report, tracking the top events based on sales through the company’s secondary ticketing market in 2016. The top 10 events overall were sporting events; the Super Bowl came in first, with Nos. 2-6 on the list all games from this fall’s historic World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians. But concerts were the top genre overall in total tickets sales for 2016, while theater (No. 1), music festivals (No. 2) and concerts (No. 5) all landed on the list of top-growing genres year-over-year.

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Leading the way among music tours was Adele , followed by Justin Bieber , Bruce Springsteen , Beyoncé and Drake , in that order. Billy Joel , at No. 6, and Luke Bryan , at No. 10, were the only two artists from 2015 who made this year’s list as well, while rockers Coldplay (No. 7), Guns N’ Roses (No. 8) and Pearl Jam (No. 9) rounded out the top 10. Ironically, given the uproar from lawmakers and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over ticket bots in the secondary marketplace that stemmed from the announcement of his tour, Springsteen’s March 28 show at Madison Square Garden was the top-selling single-day music event of the year on StubHub.

The company’s announcement, without providing specific numbers, also broke out several other notable facts: a survey conducted by the company, for instance, showed that spending on live events increased by eight percent globally over 2015; Hamilton brought in four times the amount of sales of any other production in Broadway history; Coachella and Lollapalooza remained the top two music events, and top two festivals, of the year; and the month of January saw the lowest ticket sales of the year, with October — buoyed no doubt by the World Series — the highest.

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Adele and bruce springsteen tours spark battle behind jacked-up 'spec pricing'.

Lastly, a fun one: based on crossover purchases in the United States with respect to music events and sports games, StubHub pulled out with which artists each of the four professional sports fan bases were most associated. Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League both went for Springsteen; the National Football League went for Super Bowl Halftime performer Beyoncé; while the National Basketball Association went with Toronto Raptors team ambassador and frequent court side presence Drake.

Check out the list of the Top 10 Music Tours of 2016 (and compare it to the Top 10 of 2015) below.

Which Artist Do Fans of Each NBA Team Like Best? StubHub Ticket Sales Reveal All

2016 Top 10 Music Tours 1. Adele 2. Justin Bieber 3. Bruce Springsteen 4. Beyoncé 5. Drake 6. Billy Joel 7. Coldplay 8. Guns N Roses  9. Pearl Jam 10. Luke Bryan

The New Pioneers: Irving Azoff on His Plan to Deal With the 'StubHub Factor' -- 'You Have Lots of…

2015 Top 10 Music Tours 1. Taylor Swift 2. Garth Brooks 3. Billy Joel 4. U2 5. Ed Sheeran 6. Luke Bryan 7. The Grateful Dead 8. Kenny Chesney 9. One Direction 10. Rolling Stones

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The 25 best concerts coming to NYC in 2016

Mark your calendar with the year's best NYC concerts, from blues to post-rock and everything in between

New Year's Eve in NYC means celebrating the future while reflecting on the past (check out our best albums of 2015 and most anticipated albums of 2016 lists)—not to mention, unwrapping all those shiny new tour announcements. For you forward-looking optimists, futurist indie gems like atmospheric dream-poppers Beach House and post-punks Savages are airing tunes from their new albums. And for the traditionalists out there, timeless favorites are playing massive comeback shows: Rowdy rockers AC/DC seek the title of "top-selling live act" for a second year and '80s sad-sacks The Cure take over the Garden for 3 nights. Whichever temporal bent you're taking in 2016, make sure to snap up tickets quickly before they sell out.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best of 2016

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Best concerts coming to NYC in 2016

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Boss hits the road this time in support of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, a box set that rounds up material surrounding his 1980 record, The River. Expect beer chugging and knee drops galore from the boss himself, and mass adoration and singalongs from the crowd at this guaranteed marathon show.

• Rock and indie

With theatrical, awe-inspiring live shows, it's easy to see why Muse is seriously massive worldwide. They hit town for a pair of shows behind last year's Drones, an incensed return to stadium-rock form for the English power pop trio.

Flying Lotus + Jon Hopkins

• Dance and electronic

Brainfeeder honcho Flying Lotus teams up with frequent Coldplay collaborator Jon Hopkins for an evening of lush, forward-thinking electronic sounds. All proceeds will benefit the David Lynch Foundation, which funds transcendental meditation programs for at-risk students, veterans with PTSD, domestic violence survivors and many others.

• Folk, country and blues

Jeff Tweedy and his band deliver four shows behind last year's well-received effort, the laid-back, freewheeling Star Wars. Nashville's William Tyler opens Feb 2; Brooklyn-via-Philadelphia crooner Steve Gunn kicks things off Feb 3 and Feb 6; setting the stage Feb 5 is the Bill Frisell Trio.

Fetty Wap + Post Malone

• Rap, hip-hop and R&B

Breakout rap darling Fetty Wap hits Irving Plaza to deliver tracks from his sensitive-yet-anthemic self-titled debut—a solid effort that is chock-full of irresistible club-wreckers like "Trap Queen," "679" and "Again." Dallas MC Post Malone starts things off.

Maxwell + Nas

Happy Valentines Day, indeed. R&B stalwart Maxwell takes the stage in NYC for the first time in five years, hitting two stadiums in as many days—and he's not doing it alone: sharing the spotlight is NYC hip hop icon Nas. Maxwell's superb debut, Urban Hang Suite, turns 20 years old this year, so count on two-stepping to classic joints like "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" and "Sumthin' Sumthin.'"

Best Coast + Wavves + Cherry Glazerr

Bethany Cosentino’s sun-soaked, ’90s-era-alt-rock-harkening outfit, Best Coast, reunites with melodic yet grungy surf rockers Wavves for their Summer is Forever II tour. The opening set comes courtesy of hazy L.A. garage trio Cherry Glazerr.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra + Lower Dens

The groovesome quartet led by New Zealander Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra makes colorful ’60s-style psychedelic rock with shades of the Kinks and the Zombies, as well as latter-day torchbearers such as Dungen. The four are joined by Maryland outfit Lower Dens, which has cycled through shoegazey dream pop, smoldering art rock and jittery postpunk on past releases, locking into an alluringly moody synth-pop groove on its most recent LP, Escape from Evil.

Tibet House Benefit Concert

• Classical and opera

Composer-pianist Philip Glass's annual fete and fund-raiser for NYC Buddhist center Tibet House draws a characteristically diverse range of contributing artists, including soul belter Sharon Jones, continually-riveting British singer-songwriter-producer FKA twigs and Stooges frontman Iggy Pop.

Animal Collective

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Avant-pop MVPs Animal Collective bring their spacey, jammy anthems to town, celebrating the release of their latest album, Painting With, the group's first since 2012's pleasantly perplexing Centipede Hz.

Black Sabbath

• Punk and metal
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The three-fourths of the original Black Sabbath lineup—Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, minus drummer Bill Ward—issued a highly impressive Rick Rubin–helmed comeback, 13, in 2013, followed by a multi-leg world tour. Now, the first and greatest heavy-metal band, plus fill-in drummer Tommy Clufetos, hits the road for what it claims will be its final trek. Prepare to tremble before immortal classics such as "Black Sabbath" and "Iron Man," and hear a few of the new joints as well.

Atlanta rapper Future released the hard-hitting  DS2 , as well as  What A Time To Be Alive , a red-hot collaborative mixtape with Drake, last year—and both rank as two of 2015's best hip-hop albums. With such a big year behind him, Future is sure to be in a celebratory mood on his Purple Reign tour which features special guest Ty Dolla $ign.

The Who—that is, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, some other musicians and two very prominent ghosts—hits the road as part of the group's 50th-anniversary celebration, digging into some deep cuts for their supposedly final stadium trek. The core duo is bolstered by a more-than-able supporting cast, including Beatle progeny Zak Starkey and bass wizard Pino Palladino, recently heard on D'Angelo's masterful Black Messiah.

Leon Bridges + Son Little

Twenty-five-year-old Leon Bridges’s clear, powerful voice and mastery of ’60s soul and R&B have already earned him the attention of Columbia Records, which signed the Fort Worth native at the end of 2014. This gig comes on the heels of last year's spirited, appealingly retro debut LP, Coming Home.

Beach House

Delectably dreamy Baltimore duo Beach House, comprised of guitarist Alex Scally and husky-voiced singer Victoria LeGrand, had an unusually prolific 2015, releasing both its 5th and 6th albums, Depression Cherry and Thank You Lucky Stars. The long-awaited LP's retain the lush-yet-intimate synthscapes and glowing vocals the twosome are known for, but pare the instrumentation down from 2012's expansive Bloom to a more pointed kind of haze. Move fast because, yup, these dates are gonna sell out fast.

Despite being one of post-rock's most foundational acts, Chicago experimentalists Tortoise have always demonstrated a penchant for stepping outside the genre's strictures, winding between electronica and improvisational jazz in its eclectic 10-minute epics. With its first album in nearly seven years, The Catastrophist, the group veers toward those latter influences, having developed the tunes from a project commissioned by the City of Chicago exemplifying its ties to the city's jazz scene. Here, the fusionistas returns to Manhattan for the first time in 4 years.

Oneohtrix Point Never + Liturgy

Cosmically-inclined local synth whiz Daniel Lopatin, who records and performs as Oneohtrix Point Never, spun a bizarre narrative mythos around his latest release, Garden of Delete—one of 2015's best—involving an adolescent extraterrestial named Ezra who loves space grunge. Accordingly, the new ambient contortions sound like cybernetic 90s nu-metal. Those confoundingly exploratory vibes make it oddly fitting that he gigs here alongside fellow genre renegades Liturgy, known for its divisive black metal inversions.

Rihanna + Travis Scott

Seeing as the defiant Bajan popstrel's trek is dubbed the Anti tour, it'd make sense that her eighth album of that name drops before she hits the road. There's still no release date in the books, but look for an album-shaped present (possibly including her 2015 singles like "Bitch Better Have My Money") before the roadshow kicks off.

Thirllingly intense postpunk revivalists Savages, led by riveting frontwoman Jehnny Beth, return to NYC for a pair of shows behind their sophomore effort, Adore Life, the follow-up to 2013's scorching Silence Yourself.

Iron Maiden

In any discussion of rock acts that have improved with age, English heavy-metal institution Iron Maiden has to come in somewhere near the top: Even if Bruce Dickinson can't hit every screeching high note of his prime (cut him some slack, the guy just overcame tongue cancer), he deploys his resources for maximum impact, something that could be said equally for his restless bandmates. It's yet to be seen if the crew will be dipping into its voluminous canon of hits in its setlists as it gigs behind its new album, The Book of Souls, so make sure to scream for "Run to the Hills" before the encore.

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The Australian classic rock hooligans hit somewhat of a rough patch leading up to the release of their 2014 album, Rock or Bust. First, Phil Rudd was arrested in New Zealand and charged with—there's no delicate way to put this—attempting to hire a hit man. And this debacle came just months after word arrived that guitarist Malcolm Young was suffering from dementia. But AC/DC is nothing if not resilient: the comeback tour in support of the album the following year won the guys the title of "Best Selling Live Act of 2015" (narrowly beating out T-Swift). With the new tunes, the guys are to sticking to their meat-and-potatoes hard-rawk formula, and clearly it's a case of "ain't broke don't fix it." So say it with us: For those about to rock with Angus Young & Co. here, we salute you.

Justin Bieber

Pint-size pop idol Justin Bieber hits the Prudential Center in support of his latest one, Purpose, which sees him veering into tropical house and hazy R&B territory via production from MdL and Skrillex. But that's not his only change of course: Biebs has also reportedly vowed to clean up his act and tone down the bad-boy antics. Could his days of monkey smuggling and peeing in buckets be behind him? Go ahead Justin, make Beliebers out of us.

Mac DeMarco

The reigning hooligan king of indie pop, Mac DeMarco released a mini-album of love songs last summer that revealed, in addition to the nuances of his heart, his home address, complete with an invitation for coffee. If you haven't had a chance to make it out to Mac's Queens apartment, you can also enter a chance to win a Meet n' Greet through his new fan club, the Mac DeMarco Fan Club, run by none other than his mom, Agnes. Or for an alternative route to a face-to-face with the impish outsider–lite rocker, you can ambush him here at this Webster Hall gig as he returns home to New York to air his pouty, surreally stylized lo-fi tunage.

The Cure + The Twilight Sad

Aside from sporadically headlining festivals, we haven't seen much from goth rock legend the Cure since the band performed its first three albums in full at Beacon Theatre four years ago (leave it to the doomed romantics to bring a sense of extravagance to the seemingly obligatory custom of playing classic LPs live). But pause that 2013 Lollapalooza YouTube video! The band embarks on a 25-date North American tour (the first since 2008) with three MSG stops.

Adele is a one-word answer to people who think they just don't make them like Dusty Springfield anymore. But the preternaturally self-possessed young English singer-songwriter is not just some retro knock-off: She's a genuinely soulful vocalist whose lyrics reflect a rare emotional maturity, as you can hear on her chart-busting second album, 21 .

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Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé post top-grossing tours of 2016

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band navigated “The River” 35th anniversary tour all the way to the bank in 2016, pulling in $268.3 million globally to score the top-grossing concert trek of the year worldwide, according to Pollstar, the concert industry-tracking publication.

Beyoncé nipped close at the E Streeters’ heels, grossing $256.4 million from her Formation world tour, followed by Coldplay ($241 million), Guns N’ Roses ($188.4 million) and Adele ($167.7 million) to round out Pollstar’s top five.

“In what has been a banner year for the concert business, the Top 10 Tours alone grossed a combined $1.67 billion,” Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni noted in a statement. “That is significantly better than the $1.5 billion in 2015.”

It is, in fact, an 11.3 percent increase.

Adele is one of just two performers to have emerged in the new millennium to make the Top 10, the other being Justin Bieber, whose tour grossed $163.3 million, placing him at No. 6 on the list.

That’s a bit of a come down from last year, when Taylor Swift had the top-grossing tour of 2015 worldwide and the Top 10 also include such relative newcomers as One Direction and Ed Sheeran.

Following Bieber on the 2016 roster, Paul McCartney posted a worldwide gross of $110.6 million; Garth Brooks, $97 million; the Rolling Stones, $90.9 million; and Céline Dion, $85.5 million.

Coldplay, however, sold the most tickets, moving almost 2.7 million during the year, followed by Springsteen at 2.4 million and Beyoncé at 2.2 million.

Dion easily had the top average ticket price of $146.26, followed by McCartney at $127.43, the Stones at $122.33, Beyoncé at $114.59 and Springsteen at $111.48.

In terms of average gross per show, however, the Stones dwarfed the competition, taking in an staggering $9.1 million from just 14 performances in 10 cities. Beyoncé finished second with an average of nearly $5.6 million at 49 shows in 46 cities, then Coldplay at just under $5.5 million from 60 shows in 44 cities and Guns N’ Roses at almost $5.4 million from 44 shows in 35 cities.

Brooks can claim the most affordable tour among the Top 10 finishers, tickets averaging just $69.29 for the 102 performances he gave in 25 cities.

Pollstar is still finalizing figures for its annual ranking of the Top 200 tours globally and in North America; results will be posted in its Jan. 6 edition.

Bongiovanni noted that Beyoncé took top honors for the highest-grossing North American tour of 2016, but the figure for that portion of her world tour was not released.

Both Springsteen and Beyonce surpassed Swift’s field-leading gross of $250.1 million in 2015.

2016’s 31 Hottest Country Tours and Festivals

As 2016 gets fully into gear, there will be myriad opportunities to catch one or more country stars on the road. From superstars Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan to touring vets like Lee Brice and hot indie performers like Jason Isbell, there is something to please every taste. For maximum bang for the buck, there are also countless multi-day gatherings that package together top-tier talent on one bill, such as country's homecoming party CMA Music Festival in June. Here's the 31 must-see tours and festivals.

ACM Party for a Cause

Location: Las Vegas

Dates: April 1st – 3rd

Headliners: Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney

Why You Should Go:  It may kick off on April Fool's Day, but ACM's Party for a Cause is no joke. The music fest boasts some serious star power: Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney are atop the bill, with Sam Hunt, Chris Stapleton, Lee Brice and more to be announced in support. Held at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, a short 15-minute drive from the Strip, the concert and fan experience supports ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy that develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs, and serves military veterans and members of the community who face unexpected hardships. It's country music manifesting the values the genre was based on. 

Tickets:  $175 for a general-admission three-day pass 

Carrie Underwood

Dates: January 30th – May 30th

Openers: Easton Corbin, the Swon Brothers

Why You Should Go:  "Storyteller" need not refer to her recent album of the same name. Underwood made it big belting covers on American Idol , but she has since worked with some of Nashville's top tunesmiths to help write some of the most memorable songs of the last decade. This past October, she played a few on them onstage with Brad Paisley, Vince Gill and Paul Simon and nearly stole the show . That was at a small venue in New York. Back in arenas, this tour should allow Underwood to claim the spotlight totally for herself — and sing as loud as she pleases.

Tickets: $45 – $75

Chris Stapleton

Dates: January through May

Why You Should Go: Despite Chris Stapleton's CMA Awards success and whirlwind rise, he actually has yet to embark on his own formal headlining Traveller tour. Instead, he spent the summer at festivals and chose to play the occasional club gig, as well as opening for acts like Jason Isbell. Three nights at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium sold out almost immediately, and he also snagged a coveted spot at Coachella, as the only country artist hitting the Indio desert this year. Longer slots onstage will give that monster of a voice time to slice and simmer through a catalogue of his own songs and covers, and allow for ample grooves with his dynamite band. "We booked shows in what we thought. . . [was] really stretching out there," Stapleton told Rolling Stone Country . "And they sold out really quick. But we don't know what the new reality is as far as people coming to shows or being curious enough to buy a ticket." 

Tickets:  $30 – $50 

CMA Music Festival

Location: Nashville

Dates: June 9th – June 12th

Headliners: TBA

Why You Should Go: While only top-tier seats remain (at top-tier prices) for the nighttime stadium shows of the ultimate country concert event, the rest of this mega fest is free. That's seven free stages in the heart of downtown Nashville that will include everyone from up-and-comers to mammoth stars. CMA Music Festival used to be called "Fan Fair," and it still has that vibe. More than 87,000 fans will likely be in attendance, queuing up for meet-and-greets, autographs and surprise concerts. Yes, it's crowded,  hot and sweaty, but it's the epicenter of the mainstream country music scene.

Tickets:  $203.60 – $409.35 for Nissan Stadium nightly concerts; other events are free

Blake Shelton

Dates: February 18th – March 19th

Opener:  "Buy Me a Boat" singer Chris Janson

Why You Should Go: Blake Shelton is entering 2016 with a short, laid-back winter tour — 13 dates spread over two months. The five-time CMA Male Artist of the Year has said that a new album could be released as early as May, so the shows might provide the perfect place for him to test some unreleased material. No worries if not: Shelton is a professional with a catalogue that even an amateur couldn't mess up, and onstage he knows how to work a crowd without going over the top. Opener Chris Janson's set will surely end with a sing-along.

Tickets: $29.75 – $69.75

The Dixie Chicks

Dates: June 1st – October 10th

Why You Should Go: Because the DCX MMXVI World Tour is their first American headlining tour in a decade (although they have played select venues here and there and toured with the Eagles). The trio remains the biggest-selling female band of all time in the United States and their female voices are being appreciated again as a counter to bro country. Several European dates have sold out, but there are still tickets available at arena shows across America. With no new album to promote, expect all the hits, from the morbidly comic "Goodbye Earl" to the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice."

Tickets: $39.50 -$140.00

Keith Urban

Dates: June 2nd – November 19th

Openers: Brett Eldredge, Maren Morris

Why You Should Go: Urban's just-announced Ripcord World Tour, his first arena tour in two years, combines the old (Brett Eldredge, with whom Urban has toured in the past) and the new ("My Church" sensation Maren Morris). The Ripcord album hasn't been released yet, but the project has already produced several favorites, including "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16," one of the best songs of 2015 , and new single "Break on Me." 

Tickets: TBA

Americana Music Festival and Conference

Dates: September 20th — 25th

Why You Should Go: Nashville natives may not think twice about attending the Americana Music Festival and Conference when it's essentially watching everyone from their own backyard perform. But for American roots-music diehards and fans of classic and new artists coming together, the Americana Music Association's annual conference and festival is a zinger. The 2016 AmericanaFest Lineup will be available closer to the event, but the talent is consistently superb. In years past, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Watkins Family Hour, Shakey Graves, Wanda Jackson and Jason Isbell have all taken stages throughout town. 

Location:  TBA

Date: September TBA, 2016

Headliners: Willie Nelson, more TBA

Why You Should Go: Since 1985, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews have hosted Farm Aid to bring together music, farmers and fans to raise funds and awareness for family farmers across the country. The one-day festival features live musical performances by Nelson, Mellencamp and Young, along with a diverse lineup of other artists that in the past have included Bob Dylan, Kacey Musgraves, Old Crow Medicine Show and many more. Last year was Farm Aid's 30th anniversary so it's difficult to imagine what they will have in store this year, but attendees can count on the best food offerings that a festival can bring — all of it locally sourced and naturally grown. There are also workshops and activities that promote awareness and education around the Good Food Movement, all within earshot of Willie Nelson.

Kenny Chesney

Dates:  April 23rd – August 20th (more TBA)

Openers:  Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion

Why You Should Go:  After clearing his schedule in 2014, Chesney came roaring back to life in 2015 with one of the biggest tours of his career, smashing records left and right with The Big Revival trek. His 2016 jaunt is dubbed the Spread the Love and he will be doing just that with openers Miranda Lambert, the red-hot Sam Hunt and returning tourmates Old Dominion, who watched their career crest a wave on Chesney's last tour. The shirt-shirking, shoe-averse star normally brings his openers onstage for a grand finale singalong of a couple of covers so it'll be fun to watch Lambert mix it up with the guys.

Tickets:  $59.50-$265

Country 500

Location: Daytona, Florida @ Daytona International Speedway

Dates: May 27th — 29th

Headliners: Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Kid Rock, Florida Georgia Line, Willie Nelson

Why You Should Go:  NASCAR and country music — has anyone mentioned that the two go well together? Three months after the biggest drivers in the world spin 200 laps on Daytona's 2.5-mile track, 40 of the genre's biggest singers roar into the infield for a three-day, three-stage music festival where camping takes place not just under the stars, but below the stands. Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson, Kid Rock and Little Big Town headline a 40-act bill that is good down to the last alphabetical name — cheerful young 'un Charlie Worsham.

Tickets: $199 for a three-day weekend pass

Country Jam 2016

Location: Grand Junction, Colorado

Dates: June 16th — 19th

Headliners:  Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley and Lee Brice

Why You Should Go: Celebrating its 25th year, this fest boasts the beautiful backdrop of Grand Junction, Colorado, and a testosterone-heavy line-up. The disparate quartet of headliners — from the jam-friendly ZBB to the shredding and joking of Paisley — will be supported by such veteran artists as Trace Adkins, Big & Rich, Neal McCoy and Joe Nichols, as well as newer faces Tyler Farr, Easton Corbin and Chase Bryant. Annie Bosko holds it down for the ladies.

Tickets: $135 for a general admission four-day pass

Jason Isbell

Dates:  February 11th — September 18th

Opener:  Shovels & Rope

Why You Should Go:  Apart from his sophisticated new stage design (complete with Ryman Auditorium-inspired stained glass visuals), Jason Isbell's 2016 tour will continue in the same vein of no-frills Southern rock and acoustic country-folk that the Alabama-bred singer has been perfecting on the road for the past decade. With his impeccable backing band, the 400 Unit, accompanying him on all dates, Isbell can switch gracefully from the blistering blues boogie of  "Palmetto Rose" to stark, near solo-acoustic meditations like "Speed Trap Town." Both those songs are off his 2015 album  Something More Than Free ,   which will flesh out the tour's sets.  

Tickets: $25-$50

Stagecoach Music Festival

Dates:  April 29th — May 1st

Headliners:  Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan

Why You Should Go:  The biggest celebration of country music in the U.S. outdid itself with this year's line-up. In addition to its superstar trio of headliners, the weekend-long fest in Indio, California — held on the same site as hipster extravaganza Coachella — includes a terrific mix of pop and alt-country, Americana and classic rock acts including Chris Stapleton, Amanda Shires, Eric Paslay, John Fogerty, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, the Band Perry, Nashville 's Sam Palladio, the Marshall Tucker Band, Turnpike Troubadours, the Doobie Brothers and Marty Stuart.

Tickets:  $299 – $899

Jennifer Nettles

Dates:  January 15th  — April 28th

Openers: Brandy Clark, Lindsay Ell, Tara Thompson 

Why You Should Go:  While female artists are sprinkled about in some of the other festivals like so much garnish — we aren't going there — this one, CMT's Next Women of Country, is all about the ladies. Sugarland's Nettles toplines a bill that includes her buddy, acclaimed singer-songwriter Brandy Clark. Both women have albums coming in 2016 and have been writing together, so expect to hear new songs from each, as well as a duet or two. They are joined by two new faces: Canadian songstress Lindsay Ell and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, native Tara Thompson.

Tickets:  $55-$69.50

iHeartCountry Festival

Location: Austin, Texas

Date: April 30th

Why You Should Go: iHeartCountry broadcasts over more than 140 radio stations across the country, but it brings its airwaves to life in Austin with this lineup. The roster already includes some serious country street cred: Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band . All that is crammed into just one day, and the team promises more are to be announced. The one-day fest is hosted by the syndicated Bobby Bones, just like you'd hear if you were listening to the radio at home.

Tickets:  $75 – $375 

Dates:  February 18th – October 29th

Opening Acts:  Little Big Town, Dustin Lynch

Why You Should Go:  Luke Bryan's most recent That's My Kind of Night Tour featured everything from Bryan singing atop a truck surrounded in flames to elaborate graphic visual displays. Expect even more theatrics as Bryan kicks off the Kill the Lights Tour in 2016 with a slew of arena dates throughout the spring, culminating with a run of outdoor amphitheater and high-profile stadium shows this summer. Opening acts Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch round out one of this year's biggest tours, offering a wide-range of opportunities for possible collaborations, unexpected covers and even a special guest or two during encores.

Tickets: $37-$140

Jason Aldean

Dates: January 15th – September 3rd

Openers: Thomas Rhett, A Thousand Horses

Why You Should Go: Many of Jason Aldean's songs concern small-town kids looking to have the night of their lives, and his concerts provide the perfect occasion for such revelry: His touring ensemble is one of the best straight-up rock bands on the road, and his pyrotechnics crew is as active as anyone onstage. Thomas Rhett, a pop-leaning powerhouse the same age as those small-town kids, thus makes the perfect opener. If you caught Aldean's Kenny Chesney-assisted summer tour in a sold-out football stadium, you may even find the We Were Here Tour venues — mere basketball stadiums, mostly — almost intimate.

Tickets: $31.75 – $61.75

Brantley Gilbert

Dates: January 28th — July 14th

Openers:  Canaan Smith, Michael Ray 

Why You Should Go:  Gilbert warmed up for the BlackOut Tour — built his tolerance, you might say — last fall in Europe, where he covered Skynyrd's "Simple Man" for Germany and showed the Nethlerands what it means to kick it in the sticks. When his band begins their American dates at the end of the month, they should be at their head-banging best, bringing their country grunge to the cities most artists usually miss. When residents of Tupelo, Rapid City, Bozeman and Bismarck wonder where all the noise is coming from, a fellow citizen will likely explain: the Brantley Gilbert concert.

Tickets: $31.90 – $36.90

Muddy Roots Music Festival

Location: Cookeville, Tennessee

Dates: September 2nd – 5th

Headliners: Del McCoury Band, the Melvins, Bonnie Prince Billy  

Why You Should Go: There are lots of camp-in-the-mud-and-hear-epic-music kind of fests, but Muddy Roots draws people to tiny Cookeville, Tennessee, for three days of hillbilly, bluegrass and punk (Seriously. Black Flag played in 2013). The lineup this year includes the Del McCoury Band, Calamity Cubes and blues great L.C. Ulmer, along with psychobilly pioneer J.D. Wilkes (pictured). People come the first time for the eclectic music, but like a Bonnaroo for the country set, they come back again for the community.

Tickets: Pre-sales will be capped at 1,000 to try to keep crowds manageable. $75-$150; lower rates available for kids' tickets; higher including cabin rental

C2C Country to Country

Location : London, Glasgow, Dublin

Dates:  March 11th — 13th

Headliners:  Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church

Why You Should Go:  We may think of country music as mainly the province of the U.S., but the genre has experienced exploding popularity overseas and this U.K. festival — held over three days in London, Glasgow and Dublin with offshoots in Sweden and Norway — has become the premiere showcase for superstars, up-and-comers like Andrew Combs and Maddie and Tae, and legacy acts like Dwight Yoakam. For country fans who've always wanted to travel to the U.K., this is a bloody good reason to head across the pond.

Tickets:  Much of the event is sold out with daily and weekend packages varying from £45 to 422.50.

Southern Ground Music & Food Festival

Location: Charleston, South Carolina

Dates: April 16th — 17th

Headliners: Zac Brown Band

Why You Should Go: Zac Brown's delicious two-day event highlights Charleston's remarkable food scene with an equally remarkable lineup. Music for this hybrid event includes Cam, Hunter Hayes, Marshall Tucker Band, Thomas Rhett, Kacey Musgraves and others. As is the Southern Ground tradition, the Zac Brown Band plays a "Super Set" at the end of each night, with other headliners from the lineup coming in to jam. It's all good, but the Super Set is the kind of thing you'll tell your grandkids about.

Tickets: $115 — $666

Dates: January 29th through June 16th 

Why You Should Go: John Prine may have been suffering from cancer in recent years, but it hasn't kept the folk troubadour off the road for long. Known for shows that often push well past the two-hour mark, he's a wizard at balancing the heartbeat of a performance — softly fluttering one moment with ballads like "Sam Stone" and racing towards redemption with "Sweet Revenge" and "Please Don't Bury Me" the next. The luckiest will get to see him with opener Iris Dement, who will hopefully join Prine on stage to revive their classic raunchy love-struck duet "In Spite of Ourselves."

Tickets: $49.50 – $79.50

Route 91 Harvest Festival

Dates : September 30th – October 2nd

Why You Should Go: Most people come to Las Vegas to gamble on the high life, but as far as jam-packed country festivals go, this one is a pretty sure bet. Sin City is all about larger-than-life moments, and Route 91 lives up to the promise with a big lineup (last year boasted party-appropriate Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen and Keith Urban), a supercharged experience like 2015's onsite beach house and carnival rides, and plenty of opportunities to hit the craps tables between sets. Country's been a new king in Vegas of late, hosting the ACMs and boasting superstar residencies from Reba to Shania Twain. Route 91's a rowdy celebration of just how well blackjack and Jack Daniels go together.

Lee Brice and Tyler Farr

Dates: February 4th – April 23rd

Why You Should Go: The Life Off My Years Tour pairs longtime friends Lee Brice and Tyler Farr, which should be one of the year's rowdiest live music offerings at a bargain price. Brice and Farr excel at belting sincere ballads, but both have an energetic performance style derived from Garth Brooks' arena-sized presentation that should keep the momentum rolling. Speaking of Brooks, Brice's set typically includes his from-the-gut version of the G-man's Number One "More Than a Memory" and Eli Young Band's "Crazy Girl," in addition to his own hits like "Hard to Love" and "I Drive Your Truck."

Tickets: $31.75 – $41.75

Old Dominion

Dates: January 20th – September 3rd

Why You Should Go:  Old Dominion will spend the bulk of their summer with Kenny Chesney on his Spread the Love Tour, but in between they'll headline their own club shows. While the Chesney slot will put them in front of the most eyes, it's the close quarters of sweaty bars where the band best shines. With cuts from their debut album Meat & Candy , like the hit "Break Up With Him" and new single "Snapback," along with songs they wrote for country A-listsers from Chesney to Blake Shelton, Old Dominion certainly have an impressive catalog — but it's their energy and everyguy charisma that makes them a must-see.

Tickets: $18 – $25

Windy City LakeShake

Location: Chicago

Dates: June 17th – June 19th

Why You Should Go: Despite its powerhouse country station US 99.5 and funky club Joe's on Weed Street, Chicago isn't necessarily known for its country music scene, but as LakeShake returns for a second year, that may change. The epic views of both Lake Michigan and the city from Chicago's Northerly Island, combined with a giant inflatable slide, a boathouse and carnival rides were awesome in 2015, as was the lineup: Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line and Brad Paisley. The 2016 lineup has yet to be released, but expect an equally strong roster.

Tickets:  TBA

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion

Location: Bristol, Tennessee

Dates: September 16th – 18th

Headliners:  TBA

Why You Should Go: Tiny Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia (the state line runs through town) is considered by many to live up to its nickname of "The Birthplace of Country Music," thanks to the 1927 Bristol Sessions that were recorded here. Bristol Rhythm and Roots is a music festival held in that same spot, now managed by the Birthplace of Country Music nonprofit, which also manages the local Birthplace of Country Music Museum and Radio Bristol. There are 20 stages on the historic city's closed streets, making it easy to sample. With names like John Anderson, Josh Ritter and Mike Farris on last year's line-up, there's ample opportunity to dig deep into bluegrass, country, roots and Appalachian mountain music.

Tickets:  weekend passes start at $60

Bunbury Music Festival & Buckle Up

Location: Cincinnati

Dates:  June 3rd — June 5th

Why You Should Go: Historically, Cincinnati has hosted two summer music fests, Buckle Up, which was all country (think: Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, Emmy Lou Harris) and Bunbury, which was everything but. In 2015 the two were combined, offering a well-organized riverfront festival where Kacey Musgraves played one of her best shows of the year, along with a host of other acts, including Old Crow Medicine Show and Shakey Graves on well-spaced stages. This was a music fest for grown-ups, with decent food, decent drink, decent sightlines and enthusiastic acts. The festivals will be separate again in 2016, enabling Buckle Up to offer more country than it could as part of Bunbury, plus camping, so you can immerse yourself in the experience. Lineups have not yet been released for either festival. Buckle Up dates and ticket prices are still forthcoming.

Tickets:  For Bunbury, starting at $135

Big Barrel Country Music Festival

Update: According to a statement on the festival's website , the event has since been canceled. No further details were available, but full refunds will be provided. 

Location: Dover, Delaware

Dates: June 24th — 26th

Headliners: Brad Paisley, Sam Hunt, Eric Church, along with Hank Williams Jr., Martina McBride, Kristian Bush and more

Why You Should Go: Delaware is a hotbed for country music, and this festival, held on the site of the eclectic rock Firefly Festival, boasts an especially varied lineup for fans in the DelMarVa area. Paisley, Hunt and Church bring radio hits and their own unique personalities as headliners, with an impressive allotment of country vets scattered about the weekend in Hank Williams Jr., Martina McBride, Mark Chesnutt and Dwight Yoakam. Jason Isbell is also on the bill, lending an air of Americana to the decidedly twangy proceedings.

Tickets: $149 for a general admission pass

FarmBorough

Update:  According to a statement on the festival's website , the second annual FarmBorough has been canceled. Information on refunds can be found  here .

Location: New York City

Dates: June 17th – 19th

Why You Should Go: Last year was FarmBorough's first rodeo, which transformed New York's Randall's Island into the home of this major-league country festival, which hosted everyone from marquee names like Luke Bryan and Brad Paisley to then up-and-comers Chris Stapleton and Maddie & Tae. And despite some unseasonable downpours, 2015's inaugural run was a thrilling, if not very wet, display of talent and twang both old and new — and solid proof of the Big Apple's growing taste for all things southern. This year's lineup has yet to be announced, but expect to see a diverse representation of the genre including both indie kings and mainstream crooners.

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Country Music Tours Rolling Out in 2016

Some of the biggest artists in country music will be out on the road this year, and Taste of Country has everything you need to know about the top country music tours of 2016.

Garth Brooks will continue his genre-dominating World Tour in 2016, visiting even more cities across North America. The tour kicked off in December of 2014 and could last up to three years, according to the superstar, who raked in $90 million last year to capture Forbes' top spot in their ranking of the top country touring artists of 2015.

Jason Aldean will hit the road for his We Were Here Tour in 2016, playing some of the biggest venues in the country, and Luke Bryan will bring his 2016 Kill the Lights Tour to arenas and even stadiums this year. Kenny Chesney will bring joy to his No Shoes Nation followers with his Spread the Love Tour 2016.

Carrie Underwood will also head back out on the concert trail in 2016, presenting songs from her new Storyteller album in a unique in-the-round format, while Keith Urban will pull the Ripcord on a string of new tour dates in support of his new album. Rascal Flatts , George Strait and Reba McEntire  with  Brooks & Dunn will all play more Vegas dates in 2016, and the Dixie Chicks will tour in North America for the first time since they supported Taking the Long Way in 2006, presenting their DCX MMXVI Tour in over 40 cities this spring and summer.

Taste of Country is one-stop shopping for all of the information you need about 2016 country music tours. Click through the gallery above to see all of the artists who are on the road this year, and click on any artist and tour below for a comprehensive list of cities, dates and ticket information.

2016 Country Music Tours

Alabama 2016 Southern Drawl Tour Dates Jason Aldean 2016 We Were Here Tour Dates Jason Aldean 2016 Six String Circus Tour Dates Frankie Ballard 2016 European Tour Dates Dierks Bentley 2016 Somewhere on a Beach Tour Dates Big & Rich 2016 Summer Tour Dates Blackberry Smoke 2016 Tour Dates Lee Brice Life Off My Years 2016 Tour Dates Garth Brooks World Tour Dates for 2016 Luke Bryan 2016 Kill the Lights Tour Dates Luke Bryan 2016 Farm Tour Dates Chase Bryant 2016 Tour Dates Kenny Chesney Spread the Love Tour Dates 2016 Billy Currington Summer Forever 2016 Tour Dates Dixie Chicks  DCX MMXVI Tour Dates Florida Georgia Line 2016 Tour Dates Brantley Gilbert 2016 Black Out Tour Dates Brantley Gilbert 2016 Take It Outside Summer Tour High Valley 2016 Summer Tour Dates Alan Jackson Keepin' It Country Tour Dates 2016 Chris Janson 2016 Buy Me a Boat Summer Tour Dates Jewel 2016 Picking Up the Pieces Tour Dates Toby Keith 2016 Interstates & Tailgates Tour Dates Charles Kelley The Driver Tour Dates 2016 Lady Antebellum 2016 Tour Dates Miranda Lambert 2016 Keeper of the Flame Tour Dates Kip Moore 2016 Wild Ones Tour Dates Kip Moore Me and My Kind Tour Dates 2016 Kacey Musgraves 2016 Country & Western Rhinestone Revue Tour Dates 2016 Next Women of Country Tour Dates Brad Paisley 2016 Crushin' It World Tour Brad Paisley 2016 Life Amplified Tour Dates Dolly Parton Pure & Simple Tour 2016 Margo Price 2016 Tour Dates Rascal Flatts 2016 Rhythm & Roots 2016 Tour Dates Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas 2016 Dates Chase Rice Back to College Tour 2016 Kenny Rogers 2016 Farewell Tour Dates Darius Rucker Good for a Good Time 2016 Tour Dates Chris Stapleton, Hank Williams Jr. 2016 Tour Dates George Strait 2016 Strait to Vegas Dates Blake Shelton 2016 Tour Dates Tanya Tucker Summer Tour Dates 2016 Steven Tyler Out on a Limb 2016 Tour Dates Carrie Underwood 2016 Storyteller Tour — Stories in the Round Dates Keith Urban 2016 RipCord Tour Dates Chris Young 2016 I'm Comin' Over World Tour Dates

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