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Concerts

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Emilia is closing 2023 with a historic career achievement — selling out 10 shows at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires in only 10 hours. 
The record-breaking news occurred Monday (Dec. 4) as part of the Argentine pop star’s .mp3 tour in 2024. She has surpassed the previous record held by Luis Miguel, who sold out nine dates in one day at the venue with another date added later. Billboard can confirm that, to date, only Emilia and “El Sol de México” have achieved this feat.  

The concerts are set to take place at the venue on April 6, 7, 19, 20, 21 and 23, and May 3, 29-31 for a collective audience of more than 100,000 fans. 

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“Having sold out shows in my career is truly special,” Emilia tells Billboard exclusively. “To me it basically means my fans are connecting with my music. I am so thankful. I know I say it all the time, but it goes back to believing in yourself, because dreams do come true if you work for them.” 

The 27-year-old artist — who’s currently making the rounds with her sophomore studio album .mp3 — says she’s ready for the intense vocal and dance rehearsals because “I want every detail of the performances to be just right. It’s all about creating an unforgettable experience for my fans.” 

She also shared details on what fans can expect from her hometown concerts. 

“The stage will be decked out with eye-catching sets. I’m taking fans back to the 2000s, and there will be so many surprises,” she notes. “People can also expect a blending of some of my classic [songs] like ‘420,’ ‘La Chain’ and ‘Como Si No Importara’ with the fresh tracks from my new album.” 

Emilia has placed various entries on the Billboard charts, including Latin Pop Airplay, Billboard Global 200, and Global Excl. U.S., in addition to three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart.

In addition to her Movistar Arena run, concert dates in Rosario, Córdoba, Montevideo, Salta and Asunción were also unveiled. For more information, visit Emilia’s official website. 

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Meta Quest, the leading VR headset device on the market, has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to curating moments for music and entertainment fans in the sprawling Metaverse. The great minds at Meta Quest are rolling out a new Music Valley concert series, featuring the likes of Victoria Monét, Jorja Smith, and more.
Music Valley is an innovative VR concert series experience that lives in the Meta Horizon Worlds realm and features some of entertainment’s biggest names. The desert venue features a large main stage screen and a dance floor that will allow Meta Quest fans to let loose and even grab some objects while jamming in the Metaverse.

Things jumped off last month in the valley via iHeartRadio LIVE with The Kid LAROI and tonight, (December 4), the aforementioned Victoria Monét will grace the virtual stages at 8 PM ET. In January, Jorja Smith will lend her formidable talents to the Music Valley experience.
Along with those names, K-Pop stars BLACKPINK will be highlighted in BLACKPINK: VR Encore, which was filmed during the Born Pink World Tour finale show at the Gocheok Sky Dome in South Korea with The Diamond Bros serving as producers.
Red Rocks Live will also deliver a VR experience with acts like Louis The Child rocking the major venue of Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado with other acts set to grace the stage in this developing partnership with Dorsey Pictures.
For all those who can’t make the shows when they air, Meta Quest is kindly hosting the concerts for one month after their air date. That means it’s time to sign up for the Music Valley experience and take in all the sights and sounds that extend far beyond concerts with mini-games, DJ sets and more to do inside the valley.
Learn more about Music Valley, including air dates and times, by clicking here.
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Photo: Meta Quest

Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Buddy Guy, Heart’s Ann Wilson and ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons will join the Jim Irsay Band for a free concert benefiting charity on Jan. 11 at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Over the years, Irsay — the […]

Maná, Fuerza Regida, Alejandro Fernández and Junior H will headline La Onda, a packed two-day festival slated to take place June 1-2, 2024 at the Napa Valley Expo. The festival lineup also includes Farruko, Eslabon Armado, Café Tacvba, Los Ángeles Azules, Mon Laferte and more.
The new festival is the brainchild of Dave Graham‘s Latitude 38 — the Live Nation-backed company that produces the annual award-winning BottleRock festival in Napa — and Maná manager Jason Gardner. Graham, who grew up studying Spanish in school and only speaks Spanish in his home with his children, has long wanted to create an event for Napa Valley’s flourishing Hispanic community, which now makes up 41% of the population in the region.

“About 14 percent of BottleRock attendees are Latino and we’ve been for some time that they we want something for they can call their own,” says Graham, who led the booking efforts in collaboration with Gardner as well as Live Nation’s Jorge Garcia, Manuel Moran and Han Schafer.

La Ondo takes place the weekend following BottleRock and will provide a premium experience with two full days of music; regional Latin cuisine and specialty beverages; elevated, shaded lounges and viewing options; and immersive activations including a relaxing spa, dance club and silent disco.

“Jason kind of took me under his wings, so to speak, and Jorge and Hans and Manuel and those guys really helped me understand La Onda once I described what we wanted to be,” says Graham. “Everything from curat[ing] a lineup the right way to find support with Live Nation and making it feel authentic with the audience. We want the Latino community to feel part of La Onda and celebrated at the festival.”

Weekend/two-day and single-day festival tickets go on sale Friday (Dec. 8) at 10 a.m. PT at LaOndaFest.com. General Admission tickets begin at $169, GA + tickets begin at $219 and VIP tickets begin at $389. Weekend El Mirador tickets begin at $1,199 while weekend Diamante tickets begin at $3,299. Layaway plans for all ticket levels are available at the festival website.

To keep up to date, visit LaOndaFest.com and sign up for text message notifications and/or follow the festival on TikTok, X, Snapchat and Instagram @LaOndaFest.

When Coldplay’s world tour heads to Australia and New Zealand in 2024, the Brits will go where no band has gone before.
Coldplay’s tour Down Under expands with the addition of six new stadium dates across Melbourne (Marvel Stadium), Sydney (Accord Stadium) and Auckland (Eden Park), for a total of 11 trans-Tasman shows.

With the addition of two dates at Eden Park, Chris Martin and Co. become the first act to play three nights at the Auckland venue, the nation’s home of rugby, and biggest stadium, whose history dates back 123 years.

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As it stands, Coldplay will now perform four shows in Sydney and Melbourne, and three in Auckland, the most populous cities in both markets.

According to Live Nation, which is producing the lap of ANZ, Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour has enjoyed “unprecedented demand for tickets” during the pre-sale period.

Interest for the shows were pumped by a pair of concerts last month at Perth’s Optus Stadium – marking the group’s return to Western Australia for the first time since 2009. Coldplay last played Australia’s east coast and NZ back in 2016.

The pop-rock outfit is a legitimate heavyweight in these parts, with 2022’s Music Of The Spheres blasting to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, for the group’s seventh leader. They’ve previously led the national chart with A Rush Of Blood To The Head (September 2002), X&Y (June 2005), Viva La Vida (June 2008), Mylo Xyloto (October 2011), Ghost Stories (May 2014) and Everyday Life (December 2019).

The Music Of The Spheres World Tour is already in the history books. Since it kicked off date in March 2022, the trek has notched more than 9 million tickets. Recently, the band strolled into Billboard Boxscore history, following the Rolling Stones to become just the second artist to score a half-billion double-up in the top 10 of all-time highest-grossing tours, when their current tour crossed the $500 million mark.

Coldplay 2024 Australia & NZ Tour:

October30 – Melbourne, Marvel Stadium31 – Melbourne, Marvel Stadium

November2 – Melbourne, Marvel Stadium *3 – Melbourne, Marvel Stadium *6 – Sydney, Accor Stadium7 – Sydney, Accor Stadium9 – Sydney, Accor Stadium – *10 – Sydney, Accor Stadium – *13 – Auckland, Eden Park15 – Auckland, Eden Park – *16 – Auckland, Eden Park – *

(*New show)

Rapper Polo G is suing a European tour booking firm over canceled plans for a string of concerts, claiming that the company continued to advertise the shows anyway — actions he calls “a shocking and outrageous fraud.”
In a complaint filed Monday (Nov. 27) in New York federal court, attorneys for the rapper (real name Taurus Bartlett) accused Netherlands-based J. Noah B.V. of violating his intellectual property rights, claiming the company “lied to the public” by continuing to promote shows “they knew would not occur.”

“Bartlett’s counsel demanded that defendants immediately remove all uses of Bartlett’s client’s name and image from the website, from Instagram, and from all other social media channels,” Polo G’s lawyers wrote. “Inexcusably, defendants failed to do so, and ignored this demand entirely.”

“Even more egregiously, J Noah’s Instagram account continued to contain advertisements for alleged performances by Bartlett … that defendants are fully aware would not be occurring,” the rapper’s lawyers added.

Those splashy allegations are layered on top of a more run-of-the-mill underlying contract dispute over an agreement for 10 concerts, which Polo G’s lawyers say J. Noah has “wrongly” accused the rapper of breaching.

In the complaint, Polo G seeks a ruling that he had “no obligation to perform” at the shows because he sustained an “injury that prevents him from performing” — a valid reason under the contract, his lawyers say. On the contrary, he claims that it’s actually J. Noah that breached the deal by failing to pay his full $495,000 in fees as required under the contract.

But the lawsuit also goes much further than that — turning a contract dispute into intellectual property litigation by claiming that J. Noah then continued to wrongfully use Polo G’s “name, likeness and trademark” even after the deal had been terminated.

“Through these knowingly false advertisements of fictitious concert performances using the Polo G Mark and Plaintiff’s image, Defendants have engaged in knowingly false advertising—thereby committing a fraud on the public and causing irreparable harm to the Polo G Mark and Plaintiff’s reputation,” Polo G’s lawyers wrote.

A spokesperson for J. Noah did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.

The music of Mushroom, its mighty roster, and the chutzpah, energy and x-factor of its late leader Michael Gudinski was on display Sunday, Nov. 26 for Mushroom 50 Live, an all-star concert celebrating the independent music company’s half century.

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Billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime event,” the show at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena was a conveyer belt through a musical time machine, taking the audience for a non-linear stroll through the history of Mushroom, glued together with interviews, tributes, vintage reels and footage of MG.

When Jimmy Barnes delivered a fiery performance at the top of the show, a statement was made — strap in.

Barnes, the rock legend who boasts more No. 1 albums on the ARIA Chart than any other artist, and who fronted Cold Chisel, the quintessential Aussie rock band, performed two of his signature songs, “No Second Prize” and “Working Class Man.”

“It is so nice to be here celebrating 50 years with Mushroom,” Barnes told the crowd. “I was singing with Mushroom for 40 of those years. The other 10 I was watching Mushroom and watching the bands they were developing. It’s such an honor to be here. We’ve got a lot of friends in this room, a lot of friends here I can feel them, even the ones who aren’t here, I can still feel them,” Barnes noted, a nod to his old mate MG. “They’re in my heart.”

The hits kept rolling. Vika & Linda performed “I’m Living in the ‘70s,” a classic from Skyhooks, the glam rock band that gave MG and Mushroom its breakthrough. Amy Shark spun a fresh interpretation of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” DMA’S turned their attention to “Silver” and “Lay Down,” Frente returned to “Ordinary Angels,” Paul Kelly hit “Before Too Long” and a cover of Sunnyboys’ “Alone With You,” Christine Anu sang “My Island Home.”

Anyone who has signed to Mushroom “will tell you that that it feels like a family, and tonight feels like an extension of that family” explained Missy Higgins, who made several trips to the stage.

Goanna’s Shane Howard, a late addition to the lineup, had the audience on its feet early with a rousing performance of “Solid Rock,” a statement song that sounds as relevant now as it did on its release in the early ‘80s.

Mushroom’s recognition of the great artistry of Australia’s Indigenous music community was in full view as Yothu Yindi got the room shaking with “Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming)” and “Treaty”, then Dan Sultan orchestrated a pin-drop moment with his rendition of the late, great Archie Roach’s “Took The Children Away.”

Both of MG’s kids, Kate and Matt, spoke on the night. “He created a family environment that extended to artists as well as his staff and the whole music industry,” Kate enthused. “Dad was incredibly proud that a song which was written in our family home at Mount Macedon by a Melbourne band became a global hit.” That song was The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition,” and, naturally, Dougy Mandagi and Co. were on hand to deliver the goods.

On paper, and with 36 artists doing their part, Mushroom 50 Live looked like a logistical nightmare. No doubt it was, though the production team and the artists, the majority performing on a rotating main stage, with several others on a second stage in the round, pulled it off.

The evening reached its climax with Mark Seymour’s mini-set, which included Hunters & Collectors’ “Throw Your Arms Around Me.” Seymour performed the much-loved, often-covered song in a virtual duet with Ed Sheeran, whose own solo rendition of the song leads-off the recently-released Mushroom tribute album, 50 Years Of Making Noise. Gremlins did their sneaky work on Sheeran’s video link. No biggie. The audience lapped it up, both in the room and back home.

The free-to-air Seven Network hosted the marathon, four-hour special event and won the night. Mushroom 50 Live was the most-watched entertainment show of the evening, capturing 557,000 metro viewers, according to OzTAM data, with 490,000 tuning in for the late session and 350,000 caught the finale. Across the nation, some 830,000 people tuned in, according to Mushroom.

“We’re one of the great music countries of the world and Melbourne is the music capital of Australia,” Matt Gudinski, chairman and CEO of Mushroom Group, said as he looked down the barrel of the Seven Network’s cameras. It’s a business that was “created to nurture and promote Australian talent.” And today, “we’re passionate as ever about discovering new talent that can be embraced by the world.”

Mushroom 50 Live was part of the ALWAYS LIVE 2023 program, a 17-day statewide celebration of contemporary live music supported by the Victoria Government through Visit Victoria.

When it comes to the marriage of football and music, all eyes are generally focused on the Super Bowl, but in recent years, Thanksgiving has become a spectacular ratings feast of its own for the NFL as it combines two of America’s favorite pastimes. 
Last year, the three football games played on Thanksgiving drew a total audience of 138 million viewers (defined by Nielsen as the number of people who watched for at least 1 minute of the games). That’s not only a record high for the holiday games, but it makes the NFL’s three halftime shows the most watched music events on television other than the Super Bowl, easily surpassing all major awards shows.

This year could topple that record, as Dolly Parton performs the halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders game, Jack Harlow at the Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers game and Steve Aoki at the Seattle Seahawks vs. the San Francisco 49ers game.

The Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving Day game every year since 1934, and the Cowboys since 1966. In 2006, the NFL added a third Thanksgiving game in prime time, with the match-up changing annually. 

Like the Super Bowl, conversations about potential Thanksgiving halftime entertainment begins months in advance, often as early as the spring. “All three teams came to me at the outset to discuss options,” says Seth Dudowsky, the NFL’s head of music. “We collectively brainstorm, and I provide feedback on artist opportunities based on conversations across the industry throughout the offseason. From there, we align on best options and move forward with an offer coming from the team.”

Though the league’s 32 teams have their own dedicated staffs to lead their franchise’s entertainment efforts, Dudowsky’s role is to “be a bridge to the artist and larger music community, while helping teams strategize on artist selection, production execution, media planning, music clearances, and ultimately help the teams and artists tap into the vast NFL ecosystem.”

For this year’s Thanksgiving halftime shows, Dudowsky helped facilitated the introductions between the artists’ teams and Detroit’s senior vp of marketing and brand Emily Griffin and Seattle’s manager of game entertainment and special events Daniel Hardina to help them secure Harlow and Aoki. The Cowboys’ executive vp/chief brand officer Charlotte Jones and vp of brand and marketing Meredith Counce met with Parton’s team when the superstar was in Frisco, Texas, in May to host the Academy of Country Awards after ACM executive director Damon Whiteside made the introductions.

Similarly to the Super Bowl, which will feature Usher at next year’s Feb. 11 game, the goal is to book acts with a broad audience. “We’re looking to feature artists who can appeal to all ages, are culturally relevant, are great performers and ultimately can help us create amazing memories for the fans in attendance and at home,” Dudowksy says. “For us, that isn’t confined to one genre or any specific metric.”

Like the Super Bowl, the acts play for free — though as viewership has risen, the slots have become more competitive. “Certainly as the platform and the game ratings continues to grow, the music community has taken note,” Dudowsky says. “In a media landscape where cutting through the noise is the hardest thing to do, these games provide an unprecedented platform for artist exposure.”

Past halftime performers at Thanksgiving games have included Jonas Brothers, Luke Combs, Pitbull, Destiny’s Child, Big Sean, Bebe Rexha, Mariah Carey and Enrique Iglesias. 

Landing a superstar like Parton “only further cements the NFL Thanksgiving halftime shows as a platform worthy of the biggest superstars in music,” Dudowsky says.  

Each artist performs for roughly six minutes. Fox will air Harlow’s halftime show in full, as will CBS with Parton. NBC will show clips of Aoki’s DJ set interspersed with other footage. The NFL owns the performances and will post Parton’s and Harlow’s sets on their socials following the games.

Parton’s manager, Danny Nozell, says her appearance will feature the biggest production the Cowboys have ever done for a halftime show. Because the time constraints are so precise — Nozell says Parton will perform for exactly six minutes and 15 seconds — they designed a stage on wheels in Nashville for her to practice. “Dolly rehearsed [the halftime show] for a full week here because I didn’t want her going into Dallas and having her going on to the stage for the first time.” Plus, since going over cuts into advertising time, Nozell says, “Dolly is all over me to make sure that she is on that stage and off that stage so we don’t cause anybody heartache and then we are not losing anyone money.”

For Aoki, it was an immediate yes after the DJ’s agent at WME approached him with the offer. “We see sports events are a great unifier,” says his manager Matt Colon. “Performing at a top tier event like F1 last weekend, where Steve performed for the opening, or the NFL game this Thursday allows Steve to not only to play to a larger in person audience but also to a huge swath of demographics that wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to his music or come to his show, and then amplified to a broadcast audience often in the millions or more.”

Aoki’s performance will incorporate an LED light show with fans handed light-up wristbands upon entry, according to a Seahawks press release. 

Additionally, the artists are taking advantage of the games for some additional promotion. Harlow has posted fun TikToks, including one with the Lions’ social media manager, as well as appeared on Monday Night Football on Oct. 30 to announce his Thanksgiving appearance, both of which have also helped boost awareness around his new single “Lovin’ on Me.” 

Parton, who released Rockstar on Nov. 17, is selling a 2-CD Dallas Cowboys limited edition of the album on her website for $24.95. The exclusive, according to the website, can only be sold at the game and online to certain areas of Texas and across Oklahoma, per NFL rules. A Dolly/Dallas Cowboys T-shirt is available via the Cowboys’ website.

Appearing in the Thanksgiving halftime is a “steppingstone” to potentially playing the Super Bowl, Nozell says. “It’s moving in that direction,” he says. “Dolly and I have talked about it several different times and we thought, ‘Let’s do this first because it really is the second largest viewership to the Super Bowl.’”

Grammy best new artist nominee The War and Treaty will perform the national anthem at the Detroit game; Dallas will feature trumpeter Freddie Jones, who has played the anthem before every Dallas home game since 2013; and Tinashe will handle the honors in Seattle.

For the first time, the NFL will air a game on Black Friday via its deal with Amazon, which began streaming Thursday Night Football games this season. Coordinated through Amazon Music Live, Black Friday’s game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets will feature a halftime interview with Garth Brooks promoting his concert from his Nashville bar, Friends in Low Places, that will stream on Amazon Prime and Twitch later that night. 

As for Dudowsky, he’ll be watching the Thanksgiving games from his couch, although likely not in a post-turkey, tryptophan-induced coma like millions of Americans. He’ll have his phone and laptop at hand, “ready to react to any last minute (or in-show) issues and how we’re posting afterwards,” he says. “We have incredible production teams at all three games handling the performances on the ground, so if everything goes according to plan, it’s a great day of football, food and music I get to enjoy from home.”

In light of Cassie’s recent lawsuit against Diddy, Kesha is reassessing the lyrics of her breakout hit single “TiK ToK.” The 36-year-old musician, who is currently on her Only Love Tour, hit Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium on Saturday night and performed “TiK ToK” as the second song in her set. In the 2009 song’s opening […]

“I hate to stop the show like this again,” Monaleo quipped in frustrated jest. “But I’m bout to go slap the s–t out the sound guy!” During the sold-out New York stop on her Monaleo Like Monalisa Tour, the 22-year-old Houston rapper conquered severe technical difficulties — she was forced to stop her show and […]