State Champ Radio Touring
Page: 116
Bud Light is launching its inaugural Bud Light Backyard Tour summer concert series, featuring headliners OneRepublic, Midland, Dashboard Confessional and Bush. The four-city tour, for fans 21 and older, launches in Nashville on Aug. 10 with headliner OneRepublic and opening act Lindsay Ell.
Country trio Midland will headline a concert in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Aug. 15; followed by Dashboard Confessional in St. Louis, Mo., on Aug. 17; and Bush on Aug. 29 in Charlottesville, Va. Dee Jay Silver will serve as the DJ for the dates in St. Louis, Oklahoma City and Charlottesville. Tyler Braden is also set as an opener on the concert series.
According to Todd Allen, Bud Light’s vp of marketing, the yet-to-be announced venues will range in capacity from 1,000 to 3,000. Tickets are free, and fans can enter to win tickets at budlightbackyard.com.
“We really want to deliver an intimate vibe, and deliver that backyard experience where you’re hanging out with your friends, your family, listening to your favorite artists. So we want try to bring these artists closer to fans through these shows,” Allen tells Billboard.
Allen also notes Bud Light’s history in the music space, referencing the brand’s previous Bud Light Dive Bar tours with artists including Post Malone in 2019, and Bud Light Sessions over the years with artists such as Brad Paisley, Jason DeRulo, Jack Harlow and Teddy Swims.
The tour news comes as Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has seen sales decline following backlash against the Bud Light brand after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a video to Instagram on April 1 showing a customized, commemorative Bud Light can featuring Mulvaney’s face sent to her by the company. Artists including Kid Rock, John Rich and Ted Nugent then called for a boycott of the brand or pledged to stop stocking it at their bars and backstage. As a result of the boycott, Bud Light fell from its position as the top-selling beer in America in June.
With the upcoming summer shows featuring performances from country music artists including Midland, Ell and Braden, Allen tells Billboard of Bud Light’s relationship with the country music audience, “First and foremost, we care deeply about all of our customers. I’ve been across this country, visiting with consumers, visiting with our wholesalers, visiting with partners. Consistently, the No. 1 thing people tell me about is the love and passion they have for this brand, and that what they want and expect from Bud Light is to get back to what we do best, and that’s being the beer of easy enjoyment, and that means bringing family and friends together over live music.
“That’s why we’re getting back to what we’re doing with the Bud Light Backyard Tour,” Allen adds, “and we’re going to do that with our country music fans, the same thing we’ve been doing for the past 40 years.”
Billboard reached out to teams for Midland and Ell for additional comments regarding the upcoming shows and the controversy that has surrounded the Bud Light brand. In a statement to Billboard, Ell said, “As an artist who always wants to use my voice for good, I have spent the past few years learning as much as I can about marginalized communities and how we, as humans, can work together to lift each other up. When deciding who to work with or what brands to partner with, I tend to lean into partnerships that encourage larger conversations surrounding the power of considering humanity before all else, including gender or race. Because of that, I recognize that we, as a nation, are in a phase of learning and that we’re inevitably not going to get it right every time. But I also know that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to teach ourselves how to love others better. I am looking forward to the Bud Light Backyard Tour in Nashville and hope that together, OneRepublic and I will bring both music and important conversation to fans there.”
Midland said via a press release, “We’re looking forward to showing up and rocking out for our fans at the Bud Light Backyard Tour. We can’t wait to perform for fans in Oklahoma City, reminding everyone that live music is even better when we can kick back in the backyard with an ice cold beer and all of our friends.”
Playboi Carti announced his upcoming fall and winter Antagonist Tour on Wednesday (July 12), which his Opium label signees Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang will be joining. The tour marks their first time hitting the road as an Opium collective. The Antagonist Tour also marks Carti’s first headlining tour since 2021’s Narcissist Tour, […]
The Las Vegas residency is the new staple in the careers of pop icons — superstars such as Adele, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson are currently lighting up the Strip with their shows. Now, Kylie Minogue is teasing that she might be joining their ranks soon. On the Tuesday (July 11) episode of Watch What […]
The Cure is more than 40 years deep into its career, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for new peaks. The British band embarked on the Shows of a Lost World Tour and generated its biggest grosses and attendance ever. After playing its final show earlier this month, the tour grossed $37.5 million and sold 547,000 tickets over 35 shows in the U.S. and Canada, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
While those figures are personal highs among the band’s global touring career (dating back to The Cure’s first Boxscore reports in 1985; the band has been touring since the late ‘70s), apples-to-apples comparisons against its North American treks spotlight the tour’s success even better. The $37.5 million revenue total is more than double the band’s previous North American high of $18 million in 2016. And the 547,000 tickets surpass 1992’s 402,000.
Routing for the Shows of a Lost World Tour mixed arenas and amphitheaters in the U.S., yielding its biggest returns in the expected markets. Three shows at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl grossed $4.9 million and sold 50,800 tickets, while a three-peat at New York’s Madison Square Garden brought in $4.1 million from 44,300 tickets. Atlanta, Montreal and San Francisco follow.
Nightly attendance never dipped below 12,000, and averaged 15,629. That marks a 43% improvement over 2016’s 10,952, which itself was a 48% bump from The Cure’s 2008 tour. The band hadn’t averaged such a high attendance since 1989, when it paced 19,539 tickets in support of Disintegration. (That album was, at the time, the band’s highest charting album on the Billboard 200 [No. 12], containing its highest ranking hit on the Billboard Hot 100: “Love Song” [No. 2].)
This bar graph mirrors the peak-valley-peak trajectory that Billboard reported on Janet Jackson’s comeback spring tour. Both acts have sprawling discographies with close to a half century’s worth of beloved songs. That’s the kind of pitch that, after an extended break, can elevate an artist into their highly profitable legacy era, so-to-speak, soaking one’s deep roster of hits in a bath of nostalgia and extra disposable income.
Janet Jackson and The Cure may not make for the most obvious apples-to-apples comparison. But like Jackson, The Cure established a Boxscore peak around the turn of the ‘90s, before letting its legacy build to a new peak in the 2020s. Like Jackson, The Cure is touring without new material, many years away from its last album. (The band last released a new studio set in 2008.) Their 2023 shows marked the first North American tour for either act since the mid-2010s.
And while the effects of Jackson’s highly publicized mid-’00s controversy don’t quite apply here, the Shows of a Lost World Tour generated its own batch of headlines earlier this year. Frontman Robert Smith spoke out about various “scams” and fees, courtesy Ticketmaster and the larger secondary market, resisting dynamic pricing, platinum ticketing and scaled re-sale. The band went as far as to ensure that every show had a price option of $30 or less. Further, after fans made Smith aware of exorbitant fees, he negotiated with Ticketmaster to issue refunds.
As lines between primary and secondary ticket sellers blur and pricing strategies become more creative, concert revenues for arena acts have surged. And though it may seem like perfect timing to pair those ticketing practices with The Cure’s much-anticipated return to the stage, the band’s defiant public stand against gouging fans worked out in the end.
The Shows of a Lost World Tour averaged a $68.54 price, 37% less than the triple-digit average ticket among the top 50 tours on Billboard’s midyear 2023 recap. Only one artist in that top 50 – The 1975 – averaged less ($63.01), and that was with mostly European shows, where tickets haven’t exploded in the same way as the U.S., where The Cure played.
Still, the tour made enough money to have ranked among the top 20, had its shows been eligible (The midyear charts are based on shows between Nov. 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023. The Cure’s tour began on May 10.). The Cure’s bulked-up, career-high grosses are owed to consistently sold-out crowds, perhaps nudged along by the band’s steadfast dedication to affordable tickets.
Though the Shows of a Lost World Tour has wrapped, The Cure will play a slew of festivals plus a few standalone shows in Latin America between September and December.
Stretching back to 1985, The Cure has grossed a reported $146.1 million and sold 3 million tickets.
Jonathan Shank‘s Terrapin Station Entertainment has announced a majority investment in Los Angeles-based production services company, Black Ink Presents. The agreement connects the Sony Music Masterworks-owned Terrapin with Blank Ink CEO John Kinsner‘s production management and design firm known for its work in concerts, immersive events and “live-to-film” shows in which a full orchestra performs […]
Colleen Ballinger’s upcoming tour dates have been canceled following accusations of grooming and inappropriate parasocial relationships with underage fans.
The tour, which had already been underway before the allegations surfaced, was scheduled to resume on Thursday (July 13) in Boise, Idaho. However, while the tour dates are still listed on Ballinger’s website, when the link is clicked, the website states that the shows are canceled, as initially reported by The Independent.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Allegations surrounding Ballinger’s behavior with her fans first began in 2020, when YouTuber Adam McIntyre made a video claiming that the comedian had a personal friendship with him while he was just a teenager and she was in her 30s. He added that he would help with her social media and would be frequently put in uncomfortable situations, specifically noting that at one point, Ballinger sent him lingerie as a joke. At the time, Ballinger denied some of his allegations in a video.
The allegations resurfaced last month when another YouTuber, KodeeRants, who defended Ballinger against McIntyre in 2020, alleged that Ballinger privately shared screenshots of messages with McIntyre in a fan group chat. She also showed screenshots in her now-deleted video, in which Ballinger asked the group of fans their “favorite position,” among other inappropriate questions.
In response, Ballinger uploaded an unusual 10-minute video to YouTube, choosing to address the allegations through a ukulele song. “For what it’s worth, I never had any bad intentions but I do feel like s—,” the 36-year-old sang, proclaiming, “I’m not a groomer. I’m just a loser who didn’t understand I shouldn’t respond to fans.”
“Your goal is to ruin the life of the person you despise while you dramatize your lies and monetize their demise,” she sang, playing the ukulele and repeating a “toxic gossip train” chorus. “I’m sure you’re disappointed in my s–tty little song, I know you wanted me to say that I was 100 percent in the wrong.”
English metal legends Judas Priest are playing Power Trip festival in Indio, California, after rocker Ozzy Osbourne announced Monday that he would not be performing at the metal-themed festival produced by Goldenvoice.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Osbourne had been scheduled to perform alongside AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Tool, Metallica and Iron Maiden Oct. 6-8 but pulled out of the festival Monday, telling fans in an Instagram message “My original plan was to return to the stage in the summer of 2024, and when the offer to do this show came in, I optimistically moved forward. Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet and I am much too proud to have the first show that I do in nearly five years be half-assed.”
He continued, “The band that will be replacing me on Power Trip will be announced shortly. They are personal friends of mine and I can promise that you will not be disappointed.”
Power Trip is taking place at the Empire Polo Field, the same site used to host the annual Coachella music festival, as well as the annual Stagecoach country music festival. It follows the Goldenvoice-produced Desert Trip festival in 2016 that was headlined by the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and The Who. Ticket prices start at $599, covering all three days. Single-day tickets are not currently for sale.
Judas Priest toured extensively in 2022 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year, but does not currently have any shows on the books for 2023. The band is booked to play a European tour in spring 2024. Led by vocalist Rob Halford, Judas Priest has toured extensively with Osbourne and had been scheduled to tour with him in 2022 before that tour had to be postponed for health reasons.
Osbourne’s health struggles also led to a March announcement that he was canceling his upcoming 2023 U.K. and European tour dates due to a spinal injury.
“My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak,” Osbourne wrote on Instagram at the time.
A third-party software provider is to blame for a major disruption to a ticket sale for six Taylor Swift shows in France, according to a statement issued by Ticketmaster France. “This morning’s sale was disrupted by an issue with a third-party vendor who is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” the company […]
Sacré bleu! Ticketmaster France pressed pause on the presales for four Paris dates and both shows in Lyon for Taylor Swift‘s 2024 European Eras Tour.
“Some of you may be having issues with the site this morning,” the company tweeted on Tuesday morning. “We are working on it and will let you know.”
The four Paris dates at La Défense Arena on May 9, 10, 11 and 12, 2024 were set to go on sale today in two stages, with one sale for May 9 and 10 opening at 9 a.m. local time and another, for May 11 and May 12, due to start at 11 a.m. Sales for the two dates at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium, set for June 2 and 3, were due to begin at 1 p.m.
“We will keep you informed of the new on-sale time as soon as possible,” the company said. “All codes will remain valid.”
As in past presales, fans had to sign up in order to be put into a lottery for code to redeem for a shot at tickets. But shortly after the Paris sale had begun, “winning” fans began having problems and Ticketmaster suspended the presale, citing issues with the site.
Leading up to the sale, the company gave fans an idea of what to expect:
Tickets will be available for purchase via the website for access code holders on July 11, 2023. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis while currently available inventory lasts. It’s a simple, standard purchase process and the steps below will help you navigate your search and purchase.
If you are selected to receive an access code, you will receive an email and two SMS messages the afternoon before ticket sales begins on July 11 2023
The messages will include timing details and a link to where the on-sale will occur, and your unique access code.
Prepare for the sale by creating your customer account in advance if you don’t already have one. Sign-in to your Ticketmaster Account in advance. Know your Ticketmaster password, or reset your password in advance. For a faster checkout, make sure you have a valid credit card with updating billing information in your account.
The company did not respond to a request for details on the nature of the site outage.
Though “July 11” won’t carry the same stain as “Nov. 15” — the date Ticketmaster’s site buckled under the weight of millions of Swift fans trying to purchase initial U.S. Eras Tour dates — it remains another botched sale for a Swift sale for the ticketing giant.
Last week, Swift announced an additional 14 dates for her European trip next year, with Paramore opening all dates. Swift’s Eras Tour launched in Glendale, Arizona on March 17. She plays two nights at Denver’s Empower Field this weekend before heading to Seattle and the San Jose area later in July.
After unleashing his 26-track album Pink Tape on June 30, Lil Uzi Vert’s foot remains on the gas as they announce their first headlining trek in five years with the Pink Tape Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the Pink Tape Tour will kick off Oct. 21 in Minneapolis at The Armory, and will travel through […]
