Concerts
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New Order is among the starry guest list invited to perform at South By Southwest (SXSW), the annual showcase event and conference taking place March 10-19 in Austin, Texas.
The Manchester legends are part of the third wave of SXSW performers, a mix of legends, newcomers and everything in between, set for this year’s 37th edition.
A dive into the latest round reveals a number of standouts, including U.S. rapper Killer Mike, German electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream, “Messy in Heaven” singer Venbee and hotly-tipped Adelaide, Australia indie two-piece Teenage Joans.
Other highlights from the fresh batch of artists, announced Wednesday (Jan. 25), include Anwan “Big G” Glover (Washington, D.C.), Coco & Clair Clair (Atlanta, GA), Diana Burco (Bogotá, Colombia), DJ_Dave (New York, NY), Ekkstacy (Vancouver, Canada), Isabella Lovestory (Tegucigalpa, Honduras), and many others.
SXSW announced a first round of nearly 200 artists back in October; that list included Armani White, Algiers and Balming Tiger. A second wave dropped in December, and featured The Zombies, Lemon Twigs, Ambré and Osees.
The SXSW Music Festival will roll out from March 13-18.
Confirmed speakers this time include Nick Jonas, Blxst and Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Warner Chappell Music co-chair/CEO Guy Moot, Signal and Cipher chief Ian Beacraft, plus authors Douglas Rushkoff and Joost Van Dreunen.
The live-music showcase is a buzzing part of a much larger festival, which was founded in 1987 and is dedicated to celebrating entertainment and culture.
Among SXSW’s partners for the 2023 show are Anniversary Group, Atomic Music Group, Athens in Austin, British Music Embassy, Don Giovanni Records, Fire Records, FOCUS Wales, Gorilla vs Bear, Jazz re:freshed Outernational, Pop Montreal, M for Montreal, Music From Ireland, New West Records, Space Agency and Wide Days Scotland.
As previously reported, SXSW will expand to Sydney for seven days and nights from Oct. 15-22, marking the event’s first foray outside the United States.
SXSW signed a “lifeline” deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, the companies announced in April 2021, making P-MRC a stakeholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is the parent company of Billboard.
Visit sxsw.com for more.
Stevie Nicks has some big plans for 2023. The Fleetwood Mac singer first announced tour plans — a small series of co-headlining shows alongside Billy Joel — back in November, and she received so much enthusiasm from fans, she revealed Monday (Jan. 23) that she’s chosen to extend the run of previously announced dates.
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“Surprise!” Nicks wrote on Instagram, sharing the official tour poster — a photo of her in a black top hat and matching sheer veil, the tour dates below her — to her Instagram. “Tickets for my 2023 tour go on sale Friday at 10am local time. Which show will we see you at?”
After a March 10 co-headlining show with Joel in Los Angeles, Nicks’ solo trek will officially begin March 15 at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The White Witch will make stops in Las Vegas, San Francisco, New Orleans, Toronto, Chicago and more before concluding at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center on June 27.
As for the Grammy winner’s co-headlining dates with the Piano Man, she’ll do nine dates separate from her own solo trek, which are further detailed in her Instagram post.
See Nicks’ new 2023 North American tour dates below.
STEVIE NICKS 2023 TOUR DATES
Wed Mar 15 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sat Mar 18 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
Thu Mar 23 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Sun Mar 26 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Thu Mar 30 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
Sun Apr 02 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Wed Apr 05 – Birmingham, AL – The Legacy Arena at BJCC
Fri May 12 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
Tue May 16 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena
Mon May 22 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Thu May 25 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
Tue Jun 20 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Fri Jun 23 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Tue Jun 27 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
Drake‘s Sunday night show at the Apollo Theater was momentarily put on pause after a man fell from the lower mezzanine balcony into the audience.
“Just gotta make sure somebody’s OK,” the OVO rapper said after a crew member ran onstage to inform him of the fall.
The incident occurred about 90 minutes into the show, just as 21 Savage walked out to perform “Rich Flex” and a slew of other Her Loss hits alongside Drake. The pause lasted about 15 minutes as venue staff treated the injured man.
“Unfortunately, last evening an incident occurred with an audience member who landed in the orchestra from the lower mezzanine,” the venue said in a statement posted to Instagram on Monday (Jan. 23). “Drake, Apollo and SiriusXM halted the show immediately when learning of a potential fan injury and standard protocols were taken. They were seen immediately by EMS on site. The fan and other audience members reported that they were OK. No major injuries have been reported. The Apollo is investigating the situation further.”
In partnership with SiriusXM, Drake announced the concert as a one-night only event last fall. It was originally meant to take place Nov. 11 but was moved to early December to mourn Takeoff, whose shooting death occurred a little over a week prior. The show was then delayed again to January due to production issues, and a second show was added.
The two-night event attracted an A-list crowd, including Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kevin Durant, Odell Beckham Jr., Aaron Judge, A$AP Ferg and more, as Drake performed a mix of his biggest hits and deep cuts spanning his catalog. The Toronto native also brought out Dipset and Lil Uzi Vert as special guests, and hinted at a possible tour with 21 this summer.
Kali Uchis‘ 2023 is booked and busy. On Monday (Jan. 23), the singer confirmed that she will be releasing an album titled Red Moon in Venus, and will be supporting it with a headlining North American tour that will kick off in spring.
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Red Moon in Venus will be released via Geffen Records on March 3, and is currently available to pre-order and pre-save on streaming services. Speaking on the record’s overarching theme, Uchis explained that “love is the message.” “Red Moon In Venus is a timeless, burning expression of desire, heartbreak, faith, and honesty, reflecting the divine femininity of the moon and Venus,” the singer shared in a press release. “The moon and Venus work together to make key aspects of love and domestic life work well. This body of work represents all levels of love — releasing people with love, drawing love into your life and self-love. It’s believed by many astrologers that the blood moon can send your emotions into a spin, and that’s what I felt represented this body of work best.”
The Red Moon in Venus tour will start on April 25 in Austin with a stop at the Moody Amphitheater in Waterloo Park. Uchis will make stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Orlando, Atlanta, Boston, Toronto and more before concluding the trek on May 30 at Phoenix’s Arizona Financial Theatre. Raye will support Uchis on all dates except May 26, 28 and 30.
Before heading out on her headlining tour, Uchis will have a chance to get her feet wet with a series of festival appearances starting in March. Festival season will see the “I Wish You Roses” singer perform at Lollapalooza Argentina, Chile and Brazil, Colombia’s Esteréo Picnic and Coachella.
See Kali Uchis’ album announcement and tour dates below.
Tour dates:
March 17—Santiago, CL—Lollapalooza Chile
March 19—Buenos Aires, AR—Lollapalooza Argentina
March 24— São Paulo, BR—Lollapalooza Brazil
March 26—Bogotá, CO—Estéreo Picnic
April 16 & 23—Indio, CA—Coachella
April 25—Austin, TX—Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park*
April 26—Houston, TX—713 Music Hall*
April 27—Irving, TX—The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory*
April 30—Miami, FL— FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park*
May 1—Orlando, FL—Hard Rock Live Orlando*
May 2—Atlanta, GA—Coca-Cola Roxy*
May 4—New York, NY—Radio City Music Hall*
May 7—Philadelphia, PA—The Met Philadelphia*
May 9—Washington, D.C.—The Anthem*
May 10—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*
May 12—Toronto, ON—Coca-Cola Coliseum*
May 14— Detroit, MI—The Fillmore*
May 16—Chicago, IL—Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom*
May 18—Denver, CO—Fillmore Auditorium*
May 21—Portland, OR—Keller Auditorium*
May 23—Vancouver, BC—UBC Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre*
May 24—Seattle, WA—WAMU Theater*
May 26—San Francisco, CA—Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
May 28—Las Vegas, NV—The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
May 30—Phoenix, AZ—Arizona Financial Theatre
* with RAYE
“I’d like to take you on a little journey tonight, if that’s ok?,” Drake asked onstage at the Apollo Theater on Saturday (Jan. 21).
After two postponements last fall, the Toronto superstar finally graced the stage at the legendary Harlem venue on Saturday night for his first of two shows there this weekend. In partnership with SiriusXM and his radio show Sound 42, the concert was originally meant to take place on Friday (Nov. 11) but was moved to early December to mourn Takeoff whose untimely death occurred a little over a week prior. The show was then delayed again due to production issues.
Twenty-five minutes after his scheduled set time of 9:00 p.m., a white screen lifted to reveal Drake sitting in a bedroom made to look like his old room in his mother’s basement. The other side resembled a record label office.
Drake then took fans and guests on a journey through his career. As he sat on the edge of the bed “where I wrote a lot of these songs,” he said, he took the crowd back to his early days with songs like “Marvin’s Room,” “Say Something” and “Practice.” After 15 minutes there was a slight pause before the set changed to an office, representing the times he played his music at record labels, only to get rejected. Early hits like “Best I Ever Had,” “Over,” “Headlines” and “I’m On One” soundtracked that scene.
Drake powered through a good mix of his biggest hits and deep cuts. Below are eight best moments from Drake’s night at the Apollo.
Free merch
Fans and guests were treated to free OVO T-shirts that were especially made for the show. The shirts were white with the OVO owl and the Apollo Theater’s logo on the left chest with the original show flier printed on the entire back.
The star-studded crowd
What’s a Drake show without a star-studded guest list? Notable people like Elliott Wilson, Kevin Durant, Odell Beckham Jr, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Ice Spice, 2 Chainz and more were in attendance for Drake’s first show in, what he said, “like five years or some s—.” A few times throughout the performance, the rapper also thanked his longtime friend and producer Noah “40” Shebib, who was in the crowd.
Drake’s nods to his Degrassi days
As he opened the concert with Take Care cut “Over My Dead Body,” Drake sported his Degrassi character Jimmy Brooks’s basketball jersey with baggy jeans and white Air Force 1s. “That’s what this sequence is about, me trying to grind my a– off and let people know that I’m not in a wheelchair in real life [and] Canadians can make music or whatever it was,” he joked later in the night after the record label scene.
The night was about gratitude
About seven minutes into his set, Drake took time to address the crowd. “I wanted to make this show about gratitude. This is a little story we put together about my deep love for my family, for my dear friends and for each and every one of you that have been supporting me for a long time,” he said. The star said he associates New York City with feelings of making it, and he revisited those feelings of gratitude by performing his biggest hits and deep cuts spanning his catalog thus far.
Drake being a mama’s boy
We all know that Drake is mama’s boy at heart. The rapper pointed out his mother, Sandi Graham, sitting in the mezzanine and thanked her for everything she’s done for him.
Dipset and diamond bracelets
After the record label scene, the stage design transitioned to a Harlem bodega and Dipset emerged along with Drake, who was wearing Cam’ron’s original pink mink coat and headband combo. The Harlem rap group — which includes Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana and Freekey Zekey — performed their songs “I Really Mean It,” “Dipset Anthem” and Jones’s solo hit “We Fly High (Ballin’).” “I know I talk a lot about being influenced and I got a lot of love, but like … these guys right here from Harlem made us dress different, talk different, walk different, rap different, all the way in Canada,” said Drake after they performed. Jones then gifted Drake a diamond bracelet with jewels resembling the Dipset bird, praying hands, OVO logo, OVO owl and the Apollo logo.
’21, can you do something for me?‘
Fans were in for a treat when Drake brought out 21 Savage to perform a slew of Her Loss songs for the first time together. The two started with “Rich Flex” then tag-teamed for “Privileged Rappers,” “Spin Bout U,” “Jimmy Cooks” and “Knife Talk.” The Atlanta rapper told the crowd that his friendship with Drake is beyond music saying the Toronto native Drake would check on him often after they met in 2015. “He helped me every step of my career behind the scenes,” 21 said before hugging his friend.
Drake hinted at a summer tour with 21
“You should come see us this summer, we might be around,” Drake said before 21 left the stage.
Beyoncé‘s 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy joined her mom onstage in Dubai on Saturday (Jan. 21), entering to loud applause for “Brown Skin Girl.”
“Where are all my brown skin girls? Give it up for my baby, my brown skin girl, Miss Blue Ivy Carter,” Beyoncé said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, who was in attendance at the event taking place at the city’s new luxurious hotel, The Atlantis Royal. The star put on a nearly 75-minute performance at the invite-only event.
“Brown Skin Girl” is Blue Ivy’s Grammy-winning collaboration with her mother; its video won the best music video award last year. The mom-and-daughter duo performed some choreography together on the Dubai stage, with Beyoncé encouraging the crowd to sing along “if you love brown skin women.”
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Much of the family was in attendance, too, including Jay-Z and her other children, and Tina Knowles-Lawson and Mathew Knowles.
“My beautiful children are here to see their mom perform,” Beyoncé announced to the crowd, with celebrity guests in attendance including Kendall Jenner, Rebel Wilson, Ellen Pompeo, Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, Liam Payne, Chloe x Halle, Bar Refaeli and Swedish House Mafia.
THR reports that Beyoncé opened with a cover of Etta James’ “At Last.” She didn’t treat the crowd to anything from Renaissance, perhaps saving their debut for a future tour — but songs that did make the set list that haven’t been heard live in a while included “Beautiful Liar,” “I Care,” “Ave Marie” and “Flaws and All.”
She performed also “Crazy In Love,” “Countdown” and “Naughty Girl,” plus “Halo,” “XO,” “Be Alive,” “Freedom,” “Spirit,” “Otherside,” “Bigger” and “Naughty Girl” inviting the crowd to chime in when she asked, “Where are my naughty girls at?”
She ended the special show dancing in water while singing “Drunk In Love” as fireworks went off.
Watch a clip of her opening with “At Last” via The Hollywood Reporter below.
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Your favorite artists are ready to hit the road! After two years of rescheduled, postponed or canceled tours and concerts, music fans can rejoice in knowing that live shows are back in full swing.
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Madonna, SZA, Blink-182, Taylor Swift, Janet Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks are just a small portion of acts heading on tour in 2023. And the list keeps growing.
Below, find a roster of more than 25 of the year’s most-anticipated concerts, tours and music festivals. We’ll be updating this story regularly, so be sure to check back for new dates and ticket information.
For more tour guides, check out our roundups of 2023 Latin Tours in the U.S. and Las Vegas Residencies.
From A-Z: A List of Must-See Music Tours (Updating)
Anita Baker performs in concert at The Austin Music Hall on February 12, 2010 in Austin, Texas.
Jay West/WireImage
Anita Baker — The music legend is hitting the road for her first tour in decades joined by Babyface. The tour kicks off on Feb. 11 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla.
Anita Baker Tour
$from $223
Ari Lennox – The Age/Sex/Location tour kicks off in Las Vegas on Jan. 26. Get tickets here.
Billy Joel — Before he joins Stevie Nicks for a co-headlining tour, Billy Joel has solo shows scheduled at the Hard Rock Live in Florida, New York City’s Madison Square Garden and the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Get tickets to Joel’s solo concerts here and here. Click here for tickets to the tour with Stevie Nicks.
Blink 182 – The band’s tour start March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico. Get tickets here.
Bruce Springsteen – Bruce Springsteen’s 2023 tour launches on Feb. 1 at the Amelia Arena in Tampa, Fla. Get tickets here.
Chris Stapleton – The country star’s tour starts on March 16 at the Houston Rodeo. Get tickets here.
Depeche Mode – The English band’s Memento Mori tour launches on May 18. Get tickets here.
Ed Sheeran – Ed Sheeran’s “Mathematics” tour makes its way to North America in May. Get tickets below.
Ed Sheeran Mathematics Tour
$from $125
Foo Fighters – The Foo Fighters will hit the road this summer. Get tickets here.
Harry Styles – In March, Harry Styles will perform a string of shows rescheduled from last year’s Love On Tour. Get tickets here and here.
Janet Jackson – The “Together Again” tour starts April 14 in Hollywood, Fla. Get tickets here.
Lizzo – The Special tour resumes overseas in February and returns to the U.S. in April. Get tickets here.
Luke Combs – The country star’s tour launches on March 25. Get tickets here.
Madonna – The highly-anticipated Celebration Tour kicks off in July. Tickets went on sale Friday and another batch of presale passes will be released via Ticketmaster on Monday (Jan. 23). Get tickets for select dates below.
Madonna Celebration Tour
$from $140
New Edition – The group’s Legacy tour, featuring Keith Sweat and Guy, begins on March 9. Get tickets here.
From left: Taylor York, Zac Farro and Hayley Williams of Paramore photographed on November 4, 2022 at St. Rocco’s in Brooklyn, NY.
Meredith Jenks
Paramore – The pop-punk band scheduled to perform at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Feb. 6 and the Bud Light Super Bowl Fest on Feb. 9. Get tickets to see Paramore live here.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Red Hot Chilli Peppers tour, featuring Iggy Pop, The Roots, The Strokes St. Vincent and more, starts March 29 in Vancouver. Get tickets here.
Santana – The band’s upcoming tour dates includes a performance at the House of Blues Las Vegas on Jan. 25. Get tickets to see Santana here.
Shania Twain – The country legend launches her tour at the Tortuga Music Festival in March. Get tickets to the Queen of Me tour here.
SZA – The S.O.S. tour starts on Feb. 21 in Chicago. Get tickets here.
Taylor Swift – The Eras tour, featuring Paramore and Gayle, officially kicks off on March 17. Get tickets here.
Wizkid — The North American leg of Wizkid’s More Love, Less Ego tour launches in March. Get tickets here.
Zac Brown Band – Zac Brown & Co.’s 2023 tour dates include the Houston Rodeo on March 5. Get tickets here.
2023 Music Festivals: Where to Get Tickets
A general view of atmosphere during day 2 of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Weekend 2 at the Empire Polo Club on April 23, 2016 in Indio, California.
Daniel Leist/GI for Coachella
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival — April 14-16 & April 20-23; Get tickets here.
Bonnaroo Music Festival — June. 15-18. Get tickets here.
Rolling Loud — March 3-5 (California); Jul 21-23 (Miami). Get tickets here.
SXSW — Mach 10-19 in Austin, Texas. Click here to register for tickets.
Madonna is booked and busy. On Thursday (Jan. 19), the pop star announced the addition of 13 dates to the North American leg of The Celebration Tour due to popular demand.
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The original, 35-date tour has expanded to include second shows in Seattle, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, as well as a third show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
The North American leg of the tour will kick off Saturday, July 15, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver and will make additional stops in Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal and more before concluding at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 8. The tour’s European leg will pick up with a pair of dates at The O2 arena on Oct. 14-15 and will make stops in Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Berlin and more before concluding in Amsterdam on Dec. 1 at the Ziggo Dome. As previously announced, Bob the Drag Queen will be a special guest on the tour.
Tickets for the new concert dates will go on sale starting this Friday, Jan. 20, at 10 a.m. local time. Phoenix, Denver, St. Paul, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Washington and Atlanta will go on sale Friday, Jan. 27, at 10 a.m. local time, with Citi cardholders getting earlier access to tickets starting Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. local time.
In a recent feature with Vanity Fair, Madonna discussed her creative process and return to the stage, as well as her biopic in the works. “I’m about to create another show, and I’ve been working for several years on the screenplay about my life,” the singer told the magazine. “This is a good time for me — I’m gathering ideas, getting inspired, hanging out with creative people, watching films, seeing art, listening to music.”
See the full list of dates, with the newly added ones bolded, below.
THE CELEBRATION TOUR NORTH AMERICAN DATES:
Sat Jul 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers ArenaTue Jul 18 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge ArenaWed Jul 19 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena – JUST ADDEDSat Jul 22 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint CenterTue Jul 25 – Denver, CO – Ball ArenaThu Jul 27 – Tulsa, OK – BOK CenterSun Jul 30 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy CenterWed Aug 02 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldhouseSat Aug 05 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars ArenaMon. Aug 07 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints ArenaWed Aug 09 – Chicago, IL – United CenterThu Aug 10 – Chicago, IL – United Center – JUST ADDEDSun Aug 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank ArenaMon Aug 14 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena – JUST ADDEDSat Aug 19 – Montreal, QC – Bell CentreSun Aug 20 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre – JUST ADDEDWed Aug 23 – New York, NY – Madison Square GardenThu Aug 24 – New York, NY – Madison Square GardenSat Aug 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden – JUST ADDEDWed Aug 30 – Boston, MA – TD GardenThu Aug 31 – Boston, MA – TD Garden – JUST ADDEDSat Sep 02 – Washington, DC – Capital One ArenaTue Sep 05 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm ArenaThu Sep 07 – Tampa, FL – Amalie ArenaSat Sep 09 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade ArenaSun Sep 10 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena – JUST ADDEDWed Sep 13 – Houston, TX – Toyota CenterThu Sep 14 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center – JUST ADDEDMon Sep 18 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines CenterTue Sep 19 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center – JUST ADDEDThu Sep 21 – Austin, TX – Moody CenterFri Sep 22 – Austin, TX – Moody Center – JUST ADDEDWed Sep 27 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com ArenaThu Sep 28 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena – JUST ADDEDMon Oct 02 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 CenterWed Oct 04 – San Francisco, CA – Chase CenterThu Oct 05 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center – JUST ADDEDSat Oct 07 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile ArenaSun Oct 08 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena – JUST ADDED
THE CELEBRATION TOUR EUROPE DATES:
Sat Oct 14 – London, UK – The O2Sun Oct 15 – London, UK – The O2 – JUST ADDEDSat Oct 21 – Antwerp, BE – SportpaleisTue Oct 24 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal ArenaSat Oct 28 – Stockholm, SE – Tele2 ArenaWed Nov 01 – Barcelona, ES – Palau Sant JordiMon Nov 06 – Lisbon, PT – Altice ArenaSun Nov 12 – Paris, FR – Accor ArenaMon Nov 13 – Paris, FR – Accor ArenaWed Nov 15 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess ArenaThu Nov 23 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum ForumTue Nov 28 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz ArenaFri Dec 1 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
As the 2023 festival season becomes more fully realized with the unfurling of major lineups over the last two weeks, ODESZA has emerged as the summer’s new powerhouse headliner, with top billing at both Bonnaroo and Governor’s Ball.
The Seattle-based live electronic duo will play the ‘Roo alongside fellow headliners Foo Fighters and Kendrick Lamar and at Governors Ball alongside Lizzo and another Lamar performance. These two shows, both in June, will mark the biggest performances of ODESZA’s career — an achievement that’s been in the works since the duo launched back in 2013.
It was then that the pair — Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, along with their manager Adam Foley of Redlight and agent Jay Moss at Wasserman — decided that while the guys made music that fell within the electronic realm, they’d be positioned as a live band rather than DJs. (The guys both play live instruments during their performances, with their huge and often ethereal music blending electronic and analog sounds.)
This strategy set them on a trajectory that eschewed the club sets, Vegas residencies and major dance festivals (like EDC Las Vegas and Tomorrowland) frequented by most electronic producers, and instead put them in hard ticket venues. Over time these spaces grew from 300 to 500 to 2,000 to much bigger capacity rooms.
“We had developed a show more akin to a rock band’s in the sense that we’re rolling in with a bunch of trailers and need space to set it up,” says Foley. “It was, ‘Here’s our world,’ versus us stepping into your world.”
The trick worked, with ODESZA becoming a progressively more beloved act in and beyond the electronic scene — and all without radio hits. Instead, the guys fostered an extremely dedicated fanbase by grinding it out on the road with their dazzling, emotionally resonant live shows played at progressively larger venues and electronic-oriented fests like Electric Forest and Lightning In a Bottle, which both include live acts alongside electronic artists. (ODESZA will again headline Electric Forest this June, along with Florida’s Okeechobee in March.)
As their community expanded, so too did the reach of ODESZA’S output, with their 2014 sophomore album In Return hitting No. 42 on the Billboard 200 and 2017’s A Moment Apart reaching No. 3. (Neither delivered a Hot 100 single.) The two-year A Moment Apart Tour grossed $9.1 million and sold 198,000 tickets across 35 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore, ending with a pair of sold out shows at the L.A. State Historic Park, which together sold 40,000 tickets.
“After we did those show,” says Moss, “I was like, ‘We can do [do headlining sets],’ and started having those conversations.”
Moss reached out to major talent buyers including Bonnaroo producer C3 and Governor’s Ball producer Founders Entertainment to “tee up” the idea of ODESZA as major multi-genre music festival headliner, with the idea to “make promoters believe it early on.”
Then COVID hit, and while the live events industry was on hiatus, Mills and Knight were in the studio making their first new album in five years. That LP, The Last Goodbye, was released in July of 2022, with a tour presale three months prior selling 80% of all tickets on the first day — a partial result, Moss says, of pent-up demand for the band given their long absence.
“When that tour went on I was convinced we were a festival headliner,” Moss says.
The Last Goodbye run launched in late July, selling out three nights at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena before hitting amphitheaters across the U.S. This venue format was selected for its ability to offer the level of production required by the technically ambitious show and to offer tickets at a wider price range than typically available at arenas. Catering to the widest possible audience, Foley says, “allowed for us to get everyone in the room, even if they could only pay $25 for a lawn ticket” — a move that ultimately expanded the band’s fanbase even wider.
But in terms of continuing the conversations with Bonnaroo and Governors Ball, Moss knew he had to prove the band’s hard ticket worth, “as we’re not the kind of act that’s on the radio or a huge pop band with all these number one singles,” he explains. “Our strongest asset was that we’re worth a ton of tickets and that the guys’ show is incredible.”
With The Last Goodbye tour selling 395,000 tickets and grossing $25.6 million over 32 shows between July 29-Sept. 27, 2022, according to Boxscore, Moss knew “the business that we did cemented that we were that headliner level of artist.” Thus, when Foley and Moss locked in the Bonnaroo and Governor’s Ball deals, Mills and Knight were impressed, if not surprised.
“I think they’re still still kind of pinching themselves seeing it,” Moss says, “but at the same time, they’ve earned it. They’ve done the work over the last decade to get here.”
In 1910’s The Vagabond, the French writer Colette claimed, “The only real things are the dance, the light, freedom, music.” If that’s the case, then there are few pop catalogs more in touch with reality than Madonna’s.
The Queen of Pop kicked 2023 off right by announcing the Celebration Tour, a global trek honoring her four decades of culture-changing hits.
Needless to say, she has a lot of material to choose from — with 12 No. 1s, 38 top 10 hits and 57 titles on the Billboard Hot 100, Madonna is an all-time pop GOAT. And considering her most recent tour (the excellent, intimate Madame X Tour from 2019-2020) was primarily focused on the album of the same name she was supporting, there’s quite a number of beloved classics that Madge hasn’t performed live in several years.
That seems set to change with the Celebration Tour, which promises to be a career-retrospective run of songs from the pop icon, whose self-titled debut introduced the world to a new game-changing superstar back in 1983. And since we’re looking at 40 years of Madonna, we decided to round up 40 songs we would love to hear the Material Goddess perform live.
Now, we’re not saying we want every one of these songs performed in full at every tour stop — a 40-song setlist is less a concert and more of a marathon. Some we’d like to hear in part, perhaps as a segue or in a medley; others we could imagine M performing as a surprise treat on select tour dates. But this is our wish list.