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Concerts

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Beyoncé concertgoers ready for the Renaissance World Tour at FedEx Field Sunday night (Aug. 6) were told to shelter in place ahead of showtime due to lightning in the area. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Concert organizers at the D.C.-local stadium, located nearby in Maryland, instructed fans […]

Taylor Swift included Lover standout “Death by a Thousand Cuts” during her surprise songs set at SoFi Stadium Saturday night (Aug. 5). Arguably, no one appreciated Swift’s pick more than director/writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who happened to be at this Eras Tour date in Los Angeles. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]

Kendrick Lamar performed in Chicago a year for ago for his Big Steppers Tour. But the last time he performed at Lollapalooza was in 2013. Then, still fresh off his sophomore set, good kid, m.A.A.d. city (2012), a brilliant album that cemented the Compton native as a cultural force with thought-provoking lyrics. Friday (Aug. 4), Lamar — now one of the greatest and influential rappers of his generation — returned to Chicago’s Grant Park to close out day two of the festival.

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As expected, a massive sea of high-energy fans gathered at the T-Mobile stage early on to secure a spot to see the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper up close. As his set time at 8:45 p.m. neared, the area got densely packed with hardly any empty spots around you. Lamar was 15 minutes late but his fans were forgiving. And he made up for lost time kicking off with the big hits (plus he went over 10 minutes over his allotted time). At exactly 9 p.m., “The Heart Part 5” started blasting and seconds later, the man of the hour appeared dressed in blue from head to toe, and a Dodgers-inspired blue cap repping pgLAng, the entertainment company he launched with Dave Free in 2020. He then went on to perform “N95” and “Element,” before officially saying hello to the crowd.

“Is anybody alive right now?” Lamar asked. In return, festivalgoers roared letting him know that they were alive and eager to sing bar for bar with Lamar. “Chitown how are you feeling tonight? Make some noise. It’s a special night in a special city,” the rapper said.

The Grammy-winning artist went on to perform a mesmerizing set — with a group of interpretive dancers in aprons and a live band in tow — which spanned his greatest hits of the past decade-plus, including tunes from his rich body of work such as Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, DAMN., To Pimp A Butterfly and good kid, m.A.A.d. city.

“It’s always special when we come out here. It’s always love. I want to make sure you have a good time from start to finish,” the hip-hop icon told fans. Showcasing his lyrical prowess and vast catalogue, Lamar wound through songs such as “King Kunta,” “Backseat Freestyle,” “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “m.A.A.d. City,” “LOYALTY,” “DNA.,” and “HUMBLE.” and “Count Me Out,” to name a few. He closed with the 2015 anthem “Alright,” and said “Until next time Chicago, I will be back.”

Day two of Lollapalooza also included performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Jessie Reyez, Fred Again.., Thirty Seconds to Mars, Tems, Sudan Archives, and Sueco, among others. The 1975 was also a headliner and in charge of closing out the Bud Light stage.

Cardi B stunned fans last weekend when she tomahawked a wireless microphone at an audience member who allegedly splashed a drink at her during a performance at Drai’s in Las Vegas. Now, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department has opened a battery investigation after a fan standing nearby said she was hit, at least partially, by the device.

The incident is just the latest in a recent spate of similar occurrences. Among other episodes, fans have thrown a sex toy at Lil Nas X; a teddy bear at Lady Gaga; and a cell phone at Bebe Rexha — the latter of which caused visible injuries and reportedly led the 27-year-old man who hurled it to be charged with a felony. It’s enough that some event security professionals are worried the trend could tarnish live music’s post-pandemic comeback.

“People have been talking about changes in fan behavior since the return of live events in 2021, and it’s not just in concerts but at sporting events, theater and live comedy as well,” says John Drury, a professor of social psychology at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. Widely recognized as one of the leading experts on crowd behavior at concerts, Drury says that high-profile examples of rule-breakers experiencing the consequences of their actions can serve as an important deterrence against boundary-crossing that can go “beyond throwing things on stage…includ[ing] rudeness, aggression and dangerous behavior.”

Earlier this year, Drury and his colleagues at Sussex’s department of social psychology received funding from concert promoter Live Nation to study the causes of negative behavior at concerts and develop potential strategies for reducing instances of fans acting out. While the visual of Cardi B hurling a microphone at an unruly fan might serve as an important reminder that actions have consequences, it’s unreasonable to expect artists to physically enforce conduct rules at their shows.

It’s more reasonable to task venue personnel with identifying and deterring bad actors from engaging in bad behavior — but that, says Drury, is only slightly more effective. Most venue staff members are responsible for different elements of show production, while security staff is often tasked with defensive objectives like keeping fans out of dressing rooms, enforcing credentials and controlling access to meet and greets. But fans behaving badly in the audience is largely a blind spot.

“Fans are a venue’s most effective resource for preventing show stoppage and disruptive behavior,” says Drury, who advocates for greater resources to train venue staff. Through training and education, Drury wants to see venues develop fan communities that police themselves and deter bad behavior.

Drury’s theory that fan behavior can be externally formed and channeled in a way that encourages self-policing comes from a career spent studying crowd dynamics. Unlike traditional crowd control, which he says was initially created to understand the “madness” of the crowd, crowd dynamics looks at the beliefs and values of crowds. Even an unruly crowd like the one that took part in the Watts Uprising in 1965, Drury says, can help academics understand the dynamics drawing them together.

“While the dominant representation of [those who took part in the Watts Uprising] wasn’t positive and from the outside looked like chaos, violence and disorder, if you look closely, you can see there are limits,” says Drury. “[They] picked only on certain targets … there are limits that serve as a function of who they are, in line with their social values and identities.”

Once those similarities within the crowd are understood and limits are identified, it becomes easier to create conditions within a crowd that “allow participants to be more than just individuals,” he says.

These individuals are key to creating a self-policing culture at a venue, Drury says, and it can be as simple as identifying fans with leadership qualities, encouraging fans to connect with one another and creating events that reward and celebrate a venue or event’s values.

“Our research shows that there is generally a lower incidence of serious disruptive behavior at events with smaller, more intimate crowds in which everyone was there for the same reason,” says Drury.

That can be difficult to achieve at a large stadium show or mega-festival, but Drury says organizers can create community-driven environments that foster self-policing and social order by tapping into the “transformative power of large groups” and encouraging positive participation. That means communicating with fans in a voice that emphasizes the group experience without delineating between fans and event staff.

“Fans are more likely to act out when they feel the event itself is working against them,” he says, citing the disastrous Woodstock ’99, where fans — many loyal to bands — began acting out against the festival itself.

Drury also recommends using signage, social media and pre-event communications that celebrate the positive benefits and emotional highs of fan culture and coming together in groups.

Drury’s behavioral research has included extensive work on the causes of stampedes and mass panic, as well as the psychology of religious pilgrimages like the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudia Arabia. In a Feb. 28 study created to understand how crowds respond to public threats, Drury used virtual reality technology to analyze how participants respond to non-verbal cues during mass panic scenarios, like an explosion in a crowded market.

Drury also utilizes historical research, survivor interviews and sends researchers to observe festivals around the world to shape his models on what he calls “the power of the crowd.” That can be critical when dealing with issues like a spike in cell phone throwing that Drury says feels driven by a need for individual attention. After all, fans and bands have famously thrown things at each other for decades. Underwear was tossed at crooner Tom Jones, mixtapes and CDRs were frisbeed at mashup DJs like Girl Talk and millions of bouquets were thrown on stage for legends like the late Selena Quintanilla and Jenni Rivera. Alice Cooper once had a live chicken thrown at him on stage while performing in Toronto, leading the shock rocker to cup the chicken with both hands and throw it back into the crowd, thinking it would fly off. It didn’t.

In the past, fans threw items on stage to get an artist’s attention, Drury said. “Now, many of these fans simply want attention from everyone.” Drury partially blames an exodus of “trained and experienced employees” from the events sector during the pandemic, along with a new generation of music fans attending shows despite being “unfamiliar with the prevailing norms at events” and older fans who may be “’out of practice’ after a period without events.”

In some instances, that could require a back-to-basics approach, posting the venue rules in large letters near the stage, playing public service announcements between acts reminding fans to be courteous to one another and laying out the consequences for extreme behavior, including arrests and show cancellations. Venues should never use heavy-handed tactics or rely solely on the use of force to de-escalate tensions, Drury says.

“The most valuable people at venues right now are the those that can deescalate situations and diplomatically deal with problematic situations,” he says, noting that music fans are starting to attend concerts at a younger age: “More education is needed to bring younger fans up to speed on what it means to be a lifelong music fan.”

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl welcomed Alanis Morissette to the band’s stage this weekend at the 2023 Fuji Rock Festival at Japan’s Naeba Ski Resort. Together, they honored the late Sinead O’Connor with a live cover of “Mandinka,” which was an early single of O’Connor’s from her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra. Explore […]

Cardi B got even with a concertgoer who tossed a drink at her during the rapper’s performance in Las Vegas on Saturday (July 29). In a video circulating on social media, the 30-year-old hip-hop star is seen hurling a microphone at an unruly audience member after they splashed their beverage on her during a performance […]

The Chicks have postponed more tour dates due to illness, the band announced.
Concerts that were originally set for Nashville, Tenn., on July 27, Knoxville, Tenn., on July 29, and Greensboro, N.C., on July 30 were called off this week.

After announcing that they had to cancel the Nashville show just hours before showtime on Thursday, on Friday afternoon the country group informed fans that this weekend’s concerts in Knoxville and Greensboro were also not happening.

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“We have made the difficult decision to also reschedule our shows in Knoxville and Greensboro due to illness. We are so sorry for the inconvenience, but our priority is to put on a show you all deserve,” The Chicks wrote in an update on their official social media accounts.

The Chicks have already announced makeup dates for the postponed concerts: Greensboro, N.C., has been rescheduled for Aug. 8 at Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Knoxville, Tenn., has been rescheduled for Sept. 21 at Thompson-Boling Arena, and Nashville, Tenn., has been rescheduled for Sept. 23 at Bridgestone Arena.

“All original tickets will be honored at the rescheduled performances,” they posted on Friday. “Wild Rivers will still support the newly rescheduled dates. There are no changes to additional dates at this time.”

The Chicks — Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer — are currently touring across North America on The Chicks World Tour 2023. The world tour launched in June in Oslo, Norway.

See the band’s latest tour update below.

Hayley Williams is sharing an update on her health after rescheduling a handful of Paramore concerts due to an illness.
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter took to her Instagram Story on Friday (July 28) to pen an emotional letter to fans explaining why her band was recently forced to postpone four live dates in the United States.

“As you know, we postponed a handful of dates due to illness. We kick back up Saturday in Tulsa (!!!) after a week of misery, sadness, and bellyfuls of antibiotics and steroids,” Williams wrote, referring to the group’s July 29 concert at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. “For the record, we did not have food poisoning or a band-wide s— fest.”

Last Saturday (July 22), Paramore postponed their concert at San Francisco’s Chase Center just hours before it was slated to take place. The group later postponed additional dates in Seattle, Portland and Salt Late City due to an “illness within the touring party.” All of the concerts have been rescheduled for August.

“In all seriousness, this past week has been really tough,” the “Ain’t It Fun” singer continued in her post. “Nobody would know this but I started getting sick in Houston (non contagious) and muscled my way all the way through LA. Adrenaline is a wonder! But by the time the excitement and the nerves from all the LA shenanigans wore off, my body just gave out.”

Williams noted that touring has grown increasingly difficult with age.

“Touring is different at 34 than it was at 16, when leaving home felt like the greatest escape,” she wrote. “At this age, I have my own home life, a community, a dog, my sisters and the rest of my family who are getting older… Alf and I go on neighborhood walks with my elderly neighbor and her dog. It’s quite a lot to leave behind.”

The singer-songwriter continued, “But then, we get on stage for 2 hours and I see the world through this joyous, hopeful and wide-open lens. It’s a view I simply cannot get from home. And it’s very healing — especially as obsessed and addicted to the daily doom-scroll of local, national, and global news as I am.”

Williams concluded her post on an upbeat note, writing, “This tour has done my heart a lot of good. I couldn’t be more grateful for the faces I see the first few seconds after we walk onstage during the intro. Those people revive me, nightly.”

Paramore is touring in support of their sixth album, This Is Why, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in February. After their North American tour wraps on Aug. 13 in Salt Lake, the group will team up with Taylor Swift again for the European leg of her Eras Tour, which launches on May 9, 2024.

See Williams’ health update to fans in a fan-captured screenshot here.

When it comes to items being thrown onstage, there is a certain point where Drake draws the line. The rapper took a moment Wednesday night to call out a fan who threw their purse onstage during his tour stop at Madison Square Garden. “Why would you throw your purse up here? You don’t have a […]

If Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels, then on Wednesday night (July 27) at her U.S. Summer Carnival tour kick-off in Cincinnati, P!nk did everything Rogers did, but in higher (sparklier) heels, while adding sideways, upside down and round-and-round into the mix.

The high-flying singer brought her signature aerial rig to a sold-out, sweltering Great American Ballpark for the second show of her summer extravaganza — it kicked off in Toronto on Monday night — singing flawlessly while boomeranging 100 feet in the air during a two-hour show that mixed joy, pain, pleasure and poignancy with pure spectacle.

Fans have come to expect the former gymnast to take to the air during her concerts, and while P!nk didn’t disappoint on that level during the show that featured spirited opening sets from Grouplove and Brandi Carlile, the singer also found moments to pay loving tribute to her late dad and her musical idol Sinead O’Connor, whose death was reported just hours before showtime.

Inviting Carlile up to join her, P!nk dueted on a reverent cover of O’Connor’s signature Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” with both women summoning their full emotional range to pay homage to the supremely talented, complicated singer who died at age 56 of as-yet-undisclosed causes.

The solemn moment came amid a flashy spectacular that featured neon flamingo scooters and glowing grocery carts skittering around the stage and a mega-trampoline set-up on which dancers performed daring flips and spins to accompany the title track from P!nk’s most recent album, Trustfall. There were also several sweet moments when the singer kneeled down and stopped the show to acknowledge superfans who brought her homemade gifts, which she promised to find a place for at home.

Amid the expected hits (“Get the Party Started,” “Raise Your Glass,” “What About Us,” “F–kin’ Perfect,” “Never Gonna Not Dance Again”) there were some surprise covers and just plain silly moments during a show that featured enough different pink costumes to rival the Barbie movie.

Check out our favorite seven moments from the Summer Carnival show.

Radiohead, Joni Mitchell, Sade and Pat Benatar Cameos