Touring
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Taylor Swift, in case you haven’t heard, is back. Her 10th studio album, Midnights, was released on Oct. 21 and moved 1.578 million album equivalents in its first week of release in the U.S. according to Luminate, the most since Adele’s 25 seven years ago. The album’s standard edition blanketed the Billboard Hot 100 in unprecedented fashion, occupying the chart’s entire top 10 positions. And now, she has officially announced the Eras Tour, playing stadiums in the U.S. throughout 2023.
Swift is no stranger to the stadium stage. Her last tour, 2018’s Reputation Stadium Tour, played 53 shows, earning $345.7 million and sold 2.9 million tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
That was enough to make it the highest-grossing and most-attended tour of Swift’s career. She had leveled up from 2015’s The 1989 World Tour, which itself had bested The Red Tour (2013-14). From theaters to arenas to stadiums, and from smaller Midwest markets to global reach, each of Swift’s official five treks have out-grossed and out-sold the one before.
The Reputation Stadium Tour reached career-high status by staying true to its name, sticking to stadiums in all four continents that it played. Swift averaged more than 50,000 paid tickets in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, doubling her previous high in Asia and quadrupling the nightly attendance from her previous run in Europe.
To do so, the stadium-branded tour played it smart. She played 53 shows worldwide, consolidated from the 80-plus dates on The 1989 World Tour and The Red Tour, forcing high(er) demand on an exclusive routing. In Europe, she stuck to three markets in the U.K., and in Asia only played two shows in Tokyo.
Still, Swift played 38 shows in the U.S., breaking her own record for the highest-grossing stateside tour of all time (the record has since been broken by Elton John). With an even more sparse calendar in 2023 so far, Swift will challenge herself to, once again, outdo herself.
The Eras Tour announced 27 stadium shows in the U.S. (Swift assured fans that international shows would be announced at a later date), beginning March 18 in Glendale, Arizona, and wrapping with an on Aug. 4-5 double-header in Inglewood, California. If Swift were to replicate Reputation’s $7 million nightly domestic average, the tour would earn $189.1 million and sell 1.47 million tickets.
But those figures are based on Reputation’s $128.67 average ticket price. In the time since that tour closed, platinum ticketing, dynamic pricing and inflation have changed the potential for sky-high ticket prices, especially for a stadium A-lister like Swift.
And while the initial routing for Eras is light, the time between its March kickoff and August finale is wide open. Swift is only scheduled to play one or two shows a week, leaving ample room for additional markets and, just as likely, additional shows in the cities she’s already announced. Depending on demand in the two and a half weeks between registration for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program and the tour’s general on-sale, Swift’s schedule could bulk up.
And why wouldn’t it? In the time since the Reputation Stadium Tour wrapped in 2018, she has topped the Billboard 200 with six albums and crowned the Hot 100 four times. She was nominated for the Grammy for album of the year three years in a row, winning in 2021 for Folklore. Between her latest record-breaking success with Midnights and the engagement surrounding the Taylor’s Version re-recordings of her older albums, Swift is setting the stage for the cumulative effect of her many eras on their titular tour.
Time to start saving up, Swifties. The news that Taylor Swift is going on her first tour in five years is exciting enough, but once you see the star-studded list of guest artists she’s bringing along for the ride, you’ll really want to purchase a ticket.
The pop star announced Tuesday (Nov. 1) that she would be embarking on The Eras Tour, a celebration of all 10 of the studio albums she’s released since 2006 — at least, that’s what the trek’s title suggests. Swift also shared a poster advertising the tour’s 27-date U.S. leg on Instagram featuring a collage of photos of herself through the years, from the time of her self-titled debut to Midnights, which dropped less than two weeks prior to the tour news.
The Cats star hasn’t hit the road since 2018, when she launched her best-selling Reputation Tour. She had planned on performing again after the release of her 2019 record Lover in a concert series called Lover Fest, but canceled the shows due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
For those who are keeping count, this means that Tay has six albums-worth of new material that she’s never played live — if you include the previously unreleased vault tracks on 2021’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version). Studio albums Folklore, Evermore and, of course, Midnights, have all also been released in the time between Lover and the Eras Tour.
Though additional international dates won’t be announced until a later time, Swift did also reveal exactly who’s joining her during her highly anticipated return to touring. A total of nine artists make up the supporting act lineup for the tour’s first leg — with two acts slated per night to open for Tay night — and some of them are very familiar faces for the Swiftie community.
Keep reading to see who’s joining Taylor Swift on her 2023 Eras Tour below:
Taylor Swift is, at long last, headed back on the road. Following this week’s monumental chart debut of Midnights, her tenth studio album, Swift announced the U.S. leg of her 2023 “Eras” tour on Tuesday morning (Nov. 1), confirming her first official tour in nearly five years following months of rumors.
The 27-date U.S. leg of the tour presented by Capitol One and produced by Taylor Swift Touring and promoted by the Messina Touring Group will begin on March 18 with a show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona Swift announced during an appearance on Good Morning America. “I wanted to tell you something that I’ve been so excited about for a really long time. I’ve been planning for ages and I finally get to tell you: I’m going back on tour,” Swift said on GMA. “The tour is called the ‘Eras’ tour and it’s a journey through all of the musical eras of my career.” Swift said after kicking off in the U.S. the tour will go on an international swing, with those dates to be announced soon.
Support on the tour will come via a rotating cast of opening acts including Paramore, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, Muna, Haim, Gayle, Gracie Abrams and Owenn. The public on-sale date for the tour will be 10 a.m. local venue time on Nov. 18. Swift has partnered with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, with fans able to register here for the TaylorSwiftTix presale now through Nov. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET; registered fans will get a code with exclusive access to purchase tickets on Nov. 15 starting at 10 a.m. local venue time.
Previous Lover Fest Verified Fan purchasers will get preferred access to participate in the TaylorSwiftTix presale; make sure to register with the same Ticketmaster Account as your Lover Fest purchase. Capital One cardholders will have priority access to purchase tickets on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. local venue time through Nov. 17 at 10 p.m. local venue time or until supplies last.
The tour will be Swift’s official follow-up to her Reputation stadium tour, which broke the record for the highest-grossing U.S. tour since Billboard Boxscore began tracking touring data in 1990 upon its conclusion in November 2018. The Reputation tour, in support of Swift’s 2017 album of the same name, grossed $266.1 million and sold over 2 million tickets in the 38 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore.
Swift’s planned follow-up to the Reputation tour, Lover Fest, was scheduled to take place in 2020 following the 2019 release of her Lover album, but was canceled due to the pandemic. Since the Reputation tour, Swift has released four original studio albums — Lover, 2020’s Folklore and Evermore, and Midnights — as well as two re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), both in 2021.
This week, Midnights blasted in atop the Billboard 200 albums chart with 1.578 million equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 27, according to Luminate — the biggest week for any album in nearly seven years. Meanwhile, Swift made history on the Hot 100 by becoming the first artist to claim the chart’s entire top 10 in a single frame, with “Anti-Hero” debuting at No. 1 to become her ninth career chart-topper.
See the full list of “Eras” U.S. tour dates below:
March 18 — Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium (Paramore, Gayle)
March 25 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium (beeabadoobee, Gayle)
April 1 — Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium (beabadoobee, Gracie Abrams)
April 2 — Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium (beabadoobee, Gracie Abrams)
April 15 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium (beabadoobee, Gracie Abrams)
April 22 — Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium (beabadoobee, Gracie Abrams)
April 28 — Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium (beabadoobee, Gracie Abrams)
April 29 — Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium (beabadoobee, Gracie Abrams)
May 6 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium (Phoebe Bridgers, Gayle)
May 12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field (Phoebe Bridgers, Gayle)
May 19 — Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium (Phoebe Bridgers, Gayle)
May 20 — Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium (Phoebe Bridgers, Gayle)
May 26 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium (Phoebe Bridgers, Gayle)
May 27 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium (Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams)
June 2 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field (girl in red, Owenn)
June 3 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field (girl in red, Owenn)
June 10 — Detroit, MI @ Ford Field (girl in red, Owenn)
June 17 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Acrisure Stadium (girl in red, Owenn)
June 24 — Minneapolis, MN @ U.S. Bank Stadium (girl in red, Owenn)
July 1 — Cincinnati, OH @ Paycor Stadium (Muna, Gracie Abrams)
July 8 — Kansas City, MO @ GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Muna, Gracie Abrams)
July 15 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High (Muna, Gracie Abrams)
July 22 — Seattle, WA @ Lumen Field (Haim, Gracie Abrams)
July 29 — Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s® Stadium (Haim, Gracie Abrams)
August 4 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium (Haim, Owenn)
August 5 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium (Haim, Gayle)
The inaugural International Anime Music Festival announces its debut tour, bringing virtual music superstars to 37 venues across North America starting Feb. 6, 2023. This marks the first time the popular VTubers (virtually generated animated YouTubers) and Vocaloids (virtual singers with computer generated voices) appear on stage together.
The International Anime Music Festival will feature #kzn, the original singeroid developed directly from the voice of popular Japanese Virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI, vocal duo HIMEHINA, vocal trio MaRiNaSu, Megumi Nakajima voiced anime singer GUMI, and pop twins LiLYPSE. The show will be presented as live DJ-led multimedia concert with the fan-favorites of the international anime-music movement brought to life with state-of-the-art LED and high-definition digital projections.
Originating in Japan, these superstar avatars have exploded globally over the past two years, drawing tens of millions of followers worldwide, generating over 62 million Google searches, and more than 1.2 billion views (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and others).
Artist presale starts on Monday, October 31st at 10am local time. Tickets for all North America shows go on sale Friday, November 4th at 10am local time. VisitIAMF.LIVE to learn more, sign up for presale access and to purchase tickets.
The worldwide festival will continue its tour throughout 2023, in Europe, Southeast Asia and South America.
“I feel honored and privileged to be working with the talented IP holders and character creators of the five acts appearing on our International Anime Music Festival,” says producer and BASE Hologram co-founder Bob Ringe. “The response from the Anime community and Anime creators worldwide has exceeded my expectations. See you all at the festival!”
“I am excited to work with this extraordinary visually exciting Art Form,” says producer and BASE Hologram co-founder Marty Tudor. “The energy that this group of Virtual Artists has is amazing and incites the best of our superb creative team. This show will be a blast!”
Banc of California is underwriting the tour. The International Anime Music Festival is produced by Anime Entertainment LLC with Creative Director Rob Roth (Tony Award winner for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast). The tour is represented by Wasserman Music (North America) and UTA (Internationally).
North American Tour Dates below. Artist Presale starts on Monday, Oct. 31 at 10am local time. Tickets for all North America shows go on sale Friday, November 4th at 10am local time. VisitIAMF.LIVE to learn more, sign up for presale access and to purchase tickets.
Mon, February 6, 2023 | Vancouver, BC | Orpheum Theatre
Wed, February 8, 2023 | Seattle, WA | Paramount Theatre
Thu, February 9, 2023 | Portland, OR | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Sat, February 11, 2023 | San Jose, CA | San Jose Civic Auditorium
Tue, February 14, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA | Microsoft Theatre
Thu, February 16, 2023 | Phoenix, AZ | Arizona Financial Theatre
Fri, February 17, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV | The Theater at Virgin Hotels
Sat, February 18, 2023 | Albuquerque, AZ | Revel Entertainment Center
Sun, February 19, 2023 | Denver, CO | Mission Ballroom
Tue, February 21, 2023 | Kansas City, MO | Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
Thu, February 23, 2023 | Austin, TX | ACL Live at Moody Theater
Fri, February 24, 2023 | San Antonio, TX | Tech Port Arena
Sat, February 25, 2023 | Irving, TX | The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun, February 26, 2023 | Houston, TX | 713 Music Hall
Tue, February 28, 2023 | Oklahoma City, OK | The Criterion
Wed, March 1, 2023 | St. Louis, MO | The Factory At The District
Thu, March 2, 2023 | St. Paul, MN | Myth Live
Fri, March 3, 2023 | Milwaukee, WI | Riverside Theatre
Sat, March 4, 2023 | Chicago, IL | Riviera Theatre
Sun, March 5, 2023 | Detroit, MI | Masonic Temple Theatre
Tue, March 7, 2023 | Indianapolis, IN | Murat Theater at Old National Center
Wed, March 8, 2023 | Cleveland, OH | The Agora
Thu, March 9, 2023 | Cincinnati, OH | Bogart’s
Fri, March 11, 2023 | Montreal, QC | MTELUS
Sun, March 12, 2023 | Toronto, ON | HISTORY
Tue, March 14, 2023 | Pittsburgh, PA | Roxian Theatre
Wed, March 15, 2023 | New York, NY | Terminal 5
Thu, March 16, 2023 | Boston, MA | Roadrunner
Fri, March 17, 2023 | Mashantucket, CT | The Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Sat, March 18, 2023 | National Harbor, MD | MGM National Harbor
Sun, March 19, 2023 | Philadelphia, PA | Franklin Music Hall
Tue, March 21, 2023 | Charlotte, NC | Blumenthal Performing Arts Center – Belk Theatre
Wed, March 22, 2023 | Jacksonville, FL | Florida Theatre
Thu, March 23, 2023 | Durham, NC | DPAC
Fri, March 24, 2023 | Atlanta, GA | Fox Theatre
Sat, March 25, 2023 | Orlando, FL | Hard Rock Live
Sun, March 26, 2023 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Thu, March 30, 2023 | Monterrey, Mexico | Arena Monterrey
Fri, March 31, 2023 | Mexico City, Mexico | Arena CDMX
Shania Twain will launch 2023 with a massive tour and a new album! The pop-country queen’s sixth studio album, Queen of Me — the first the singer-songwriter has released in six years — will arrive Feb. 3. The album marks her first recording under her new label deal with Republic Nashville.
Twain has released the lead single from the project with “Waking Up Dreaming,” and the new song “Last Day of Summer.”
“These days, I’m feeling very comfortable in my own skin – and I think this album reflects that musically,” Twain said via Instagram. “Life is short and I want to be uplifted, colorful, unapologetic and empowered. I want to carry a clear message, particularly as a woman, to always remember my power and I hope the songs are a reminder to you, of that same power inside you!”
Additionally, she’s taking her signature phrase “Let’s Go, Girls!” literally as she prepares to launch her upcoming 2023 tour, which will span approximately 50 concert dates. Her Queen of Me tour will launch April 28 in Spokane, Wash., and will cross the United States and Canada, and include several U.K. dates. Her opening acts on select dates will include “My Truck” hitmaker Breland, as well as several top-tier female singer-songwriters: Lindsay Ell, Hailey Whitters, Kelsea Ballerini and Mickey Guyton.
Tickets for Twain’s Queen of Me tour will go on sale starting Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.
See the full list of tour dates and her announcement below:
April 28 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena ^April 29 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena ^May 2 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^May 3 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^May 5 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place ^May 6 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place ^May 9 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ^May 10 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ^May 12 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre ^May 14 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre ^May 16 – Madison, WI @ Kohl Center #May 17 – St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center #May 19 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena #May 21 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena #May 24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre #May 26 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre #May 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl #May 30 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion #May 31 – Thousand Palms, CA @ Acrisure Arena #June 3 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center +June 4 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL +June 7 – Nashville, TN @ GEODIS Park + >June 9 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion +June 12 – Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre ~June 14 – Moncton, NB @ Avenir Centre ~June 17 – Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Centre ~June 18 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre ~June 20 – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre ^June 21 – London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens ^June 23 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^June 24 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^June 27 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion &June 28 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion &June 30 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center &July 1 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre &July 6 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa BluesfestJuly 8 – Syracuse, NY @ St Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview +July 9 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center +July 11 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden +July 13 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake +July 15 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center $July 19 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center $July 21 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion $July 22 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion $Sept. 16 – London, UK @ The O2Sept. 19 – Dublin, IE @ 3ArenaSept. 22 - Glasgow, UK @ OVO HydroSept. 25 - Manchester, UK @ AO ArenaSept. 26 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena Birmingham
^ = w/ Lindsay Ell# = w/ Hailey Whitters+ = w/ Breland > = w/ Kelsea Ballerini~ = w/ Robyn Ottolini& = w/ Priscilla Block$ = w/ Mickey Guyton
Shania Twain will launch 2023 with a massive tour and a new album! The pop-country queen’s sixth studio album, Queen of Me — the first the singer-songwriter has released in six years — will arrive Feb. 3. The album marks her first recording under her new label deal with Republic Nashville.
Twain has released the lead single from the project with “Waking Up Dreaming,” and the new song “Last Day of Summer.”
“These days, I’m feeling very comfortable in my own skin – and I think this album reflects that musically,” Twain said via Instagram. “Life is short and I want to be uplifted, colorful, unapologetic and empowered. I want to carry a clear message, particularly as a woman, to always remember my power and I hope the songs are a reminder to you, of that same power inside you!”
Additionally, she’s taking her signature phrase “Let’s Go, Girls!” literally as she prepares to launch her upcoming 2023 tour, which will span approximately 50 concert dates. Her Queen of Me tour will launch April 28 in Spokane, Wash., and will cross the United States and Canada, and include several U.K. dates. Her opening acts on select dates will include “My Truck” hitmaker Breland, as well as several top-tier female singer-songwriters: Lindsay Ell, Hailey Whitters, Kelsea Ballerini, Mickey Guyton, Priscilla Block and Robyn Ottolini.
Tickets for Twain’s Queen of Me tour will go on sale starting Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.
See the full list of tour dates and her announcement below:
April 28 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena ^April 29 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena ^May 2 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^May 3 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^May 5 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place ^May 6 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place ^May 9 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ^May 10 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ^May 12 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre ^May 14 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre ^May 16 – Madison, WI @ Kohl Center #May 17 – St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center #May 19 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena #May 21 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena #May 24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre #May 26 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre #May 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl #May 30 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion #May 31 – Thousand Palms, CA @ Acrisure Arena #June 3 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center +June 4 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL +June 7 – Nashville, TN @ GEODIS Park + >June 9 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion +June 12 – Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre ~June 14 – Moncton, NB @ Avenir Centre ~June 17 – Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Centre ~June 18 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre ~June 20 – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre ^June 21 – London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens ^June 23 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^June 24 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^June 27 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion &June 28 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion &June 30 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center &July 1 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre &July 6 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa BluesfestJuly 8 – Syracuse, NY @ St Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview +July 9 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center +July 11 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden +July 13 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake +July 15 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center $July 19 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center $July 21 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion $July 22 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion $Sept. 16 – London, UK @ The O2Sept. 19 – Dublin, IE @ 3ArenaSept. 22 - Glasgow, UK @ OVO HydroSept. 25 - Manchester, UK @ AO ArenaSept. 26 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena Birmingham
^ = w/ Lindsay Ell# = w/ Hailey Whitters+ = w/ Breland > = w/ Kelsea Ballerini~ = w/ Robyn Ottolini& = w/ Priscilla Block$ = w/ Mickey Guyton
At 76, Dolly Parton is seemingly indefatigable, releasing a steady stream of albums, books, movies and television projects, as well as hosting the ACM Awards earlier this year. On Nov. 5, she will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Duran Duran, Eminem, Carly Simon and more.
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But according to a new interview Parton did with Pollstar, there is one thing she won’t be doing again: full-fledged touring.
“I do not think I will ever tour again, but I do know I’ll do special shows here and there, now and then. Maybe do a long weekend of shows, or just a few shows at a festival. But I have no intention of going on a full-blown tour anymore,” Parton told the outlet. (Billboard has independently confirmed the news.)
Parton’s most recent tour was her 2016 Pure & Simple Tour, which included 60 shows in the United States and Canada.
“I’ve done that my whole life, and it takes so much time and energy,” she added. “I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband [Carl Dean]. We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time. Something could happen. I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.”
Last year, Parton told Billboard she was planning to work on a rock album, after news came that she was nominated for induction into the Rock Hall.
In her new Pollstar interview, she says she is working on the rock album, and that she plans to re-record “Stairway to Heaven,” the Led Zeppelin classic that Parton recorded in a bluegrass-inspired arrangement as part of her 2002 album Halos & Horns, part of her bluegrass trilogy of albums.
”But I’m going to redo that really on the money,” she told Pollstar. “I did it kind of bluegrass-style when I did it; but when I do the rock album, I’m going to actually re-record it – and do it more true to the regular record. I’m trying to see if Robert Plant might sing on it. Maybe Jimmy Page might do the pick-up part on it. I’m looking forward to dragging in some of the great classic people, girls and boys, to sing on some of the songs. I’m not far enough along to discuss who and what, but I am going to do an album.”
She also noted that she intends to ask several additional artists, including Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus and Heart, as well as country star Chris Stapleton, to be involved with the upcoming rock album.
“Chris Stapleton is one of my favorite people ever,” Parton said. “I have always wanted to do something with him. Even though he’s not considered rock ‘n’ roll, he’s kind of like me: He’s accepted all the way around. I’m thinking that certainly out of the country field, when I do my rock album, I’m going to maybe ask him.”
Executives at one of the largest independent ticketing companies in North America believe malware hidden inside a tracking pixel used for sending customers target advertisements was the source of two-and-a-half-year credit card skimming operation.
Company officials with See Tickets North America, a subsidiary of French entertainment conglomerate Vivendi, tell Billboard that criminals were able to operate a sophisticated credit card skimming fraud on See Tickets checkout pages. While See Tickets officials didn’t detail which events were impacted, the company is one of the largest ticketing sites for indie promoters in North America with clients that include Pitchfork Festival and Disco Donnie Presents’ Freaky Deaky festival, as well as venues like the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.
Tracking pixels are typically used to identify customers and share information about the consumer with ad networks and other large technology companies. One popular use of tracking pixels in the events business is to serve ads to fans who visited a music festivals website but did not purchase tickets, in hopes of enticing them to make a purchase.
Company officials believe that an exploit in the pixel See Tickets was using allowed criminals to take snap shots of credit card transactions as they happened without having to break into See Tickets system or database. The malicious code first appeared on the site on June 25, 2019, about nine months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of the live entertainment industry.
“At See Tickets we take securing customer information very seriously and deeply regret this incident occurred,” Boris Patronoff, CEO of See Tickets North America, told Billboard in a statement. “We also understand how this may have negatively impacted on our clients and their customers. We conducted an immediate investigation as soon as the issue was discovered and communicated with clients and customers the moment it was possible to do so. We have since taken additional measures to further strengthen our security,.”
Company officials became aware of the security breach in April 2021 after being contacted by credit card investigators looking at fraudulent charges linked to purchases on See Tickets website site. Within days of being notified, the ticketing company hired two forensic investigation teams to investigate the breach. In January of this year, the malicious code was eradicated from the site.
Last month, See Tickets concluded its investigation and began notifying state law enforcement officials with the details of the breach. While See Tickets’ own customer and promoter data was not accessed during the breach, criminals were able to obtain details from credit card transactions including full name, address, card number, expiration date and CVV.
See Tickets says a majority of ticket buyers who used the site were not impacted by the breach and note that social security numbers, state identification numbers and bank account information was not exposed due to this incident, as they are not stored in its systems.
The breach is the second major hack of a ticketing company in five years. In 2018, hackers briefly took over the Ticketfly home page and took parts of the company offline for months grinding much of the independent music industry to a halt. Ticketfly users and client data were stolen during the attack and wound up on the dark web because of the attack.
AEG Presents company The Bowery Presents announced today the acquisition and opening of Racket, its newest New York City venue. Opening in 2023, Racket takes over the old Highline Ballroom space on West 16th Street — right next to the Western Beef and across the street from the bustling Chelsea Market.
The general admission spot will be The Bowery Presents’ most intimate venue on the island and will serve as an important linchpin in the company’s ecosystem of artist development. The company has a well-documented history of working closely with artists as they ascend from intimate venues to sold out arenas and stadiums.
“We are excited to welcome Racket to The Bowery Presents family. Racket is very much the sister venue to Music Hall of Williamsburg: a fundamental building block for us in Manhattan, and an important addition to Bowery’s commitment to both artist development and amazing experiences for our fans and partners,” says the Bowery Presents founder John Moore and his partner Jim Glancy in a joint statement.
In addition to filling a much-needed gap in terms of capacity and location in the area’s live music scene, Racket will further expand Bowery’s venue ownership and booking footprint across NYC, joining Music Hall of Williamsburg (650 capacity), Webster Hall (1,350 capacity), Brooklyn Steel (1,800 capacity), Terminal 5 (3,000 capacity), and Forest Hills Stadium (13,000 capacity). The company also books and promotes hundreds of concerts in theaters, parks, and arenas in the region. Like all Bowery venues, Racket will be available for private events.
Racket’s opening lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.
Live shows are back in full force — Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, two years after the pandemic relegated it to hockey games in front of empty seats , is currently in a run of 12 shows in a 23-day period, including country concerts headlined by Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Reba McEntire and Wynonna Judd on successive Friday nights.
But the live-show reboot has come with its challenges. The volume of acts has caused logistical problems, including a shortage of available tour buses and operators to drive them. The loss of some venues during the shutdown — particularly at the club level — has increased competition among touring acts for bookings in the remaining outlets, creating routing issues. And artists in smaller venues often encounter spotty attendance, thanks to the glut of concert options for a fan base that isn’t entirely back: 20% of American adults remain uncomfortable with the prospect of attending mass public events, according to a May survey by CivicScience.
It’s in that context that independent singer-songwriter Gretchen Peters — whose body of smart, emotional work includes hits with Martina McBride‘s “Independence Day” and Faith Hill‘s “The Secret of Life” — has announced that her current concert tour will be her last. She remains open to performing the occasional one-off concert, much like George Strait has since he quit doing full-fledged tours in 2015. The feedback from fellow artists has been mixed.
“A couple of them said, ‘Oh, no, you can’t stop,’ you know, as if ‘the show must go on’ is actually a rule,” Peters says. “I thought that was an interesting reaction. But then I’ve also gotten — and I won’t mention their names because this is something everybody needs to make public for themselves — but I’ve also gotten quite a few ‘I’m right behind you, girl.’ I’ve gotten a few of those.”
To observers who see only the glamorous, onstage part of touring, the idea of walking away might seem shocking. But the road is never easy — it’s a business in which employees navigate a different working environment on a daily basis, and the lifestyle itself is physically taxing. The costs of putting on a concert in an era of 8% inflation have increased across the board, and many of those expenses are significantly higher. Bus drivers, when they can be located, are sometimes getting double the daily rate they charged before the pandemic. And security costs, compounded by the volume of mass shootings in the 21st century, have risen as much as six times in the last five to eight years.
Those costs are borne by promoters and the acts themselves, who already pay their bands and crews, share commissions with business associates, rent transportation and cover volatile fuel costs. Outside of the top-tier acts, artists are facing a financial squeeze.
“They can’t go out and charge $125, $150 a ticket, so they either have to cut their operating costs [or] go out with less crew, or that cost gets passed on to the promoter. And the only way for the promoter to recoup is to keep their costs down, which is very difficult to do,” says Action Entertainment Collaborative partner Nick Meinema (Trace Adkins, High Valley) . “But the audience is not willing, or in some cases not able, to afford a higher ticket price. That becomes a conundrum.”
There are ways to combat the problem. Some of Meinema’s artists are cutting fuel costs by refusing to tour west of the Rocky Mountains unless they receive a superb contract. Others are declining Canadian offers, choosing to avoid customs issues on top of the fuel costs, or they are asking to book 10-day runs that cover two weekends and the days in between instead of traveling only on the weekend before driving back home. Additionally, some artists are booking fewer dates and discovering in the process that they create higher demand — and higher grosses — by becoming a little more scarce.
“Country music artists overplay at every level,” Meinema says.
During 2023, Reliant Talent artist David Nail will be doing more soft-ticket shows — fairs and festivals — where the income is more reliable.
Transportation has not been. Nail had an issue this past summer when Nashville coach companies ran out of buses. Two days before a Thursday getaway, his team finally located a vehicle in Indiana: Someone had to travel to pick it up and drive it back to Nashville, adding gas charges in the process. And it was only the morning of their departure that they were able to fly a retired driver who still had his license from Texas to man the wheel.
“A lot of that has to do, obviously, with everybody touring, but a lot of huge tours have 15 to 20 buses,” Nail says. “I can remember thinking, ‘Man, I might have to call Luke Bryan and just see if maybe he could double up on the buses and maybe throw me a bone.’”
In the face of that shortage, Meinema has a client who plans to tour strictly in the spring and fall in 2023, taking a summer vacation from the road for the first time in 26 years after a lackluster 2022 experience.
“The shows were great, the money was great, the merch was great, the travel — it was too much, not the level that that artist was accustomed to having,” he says. “It just didn’t feel worth it.”
While much of the fan base is acting as if the pandemic is over, the coronavirus remains an unpredictable issue. Nail has picked up some good money by subbing last minute for other artists whose teams suffered COVID-19 infections. But the artists who have to back out of the shows still have to pay their bands and crews. And the thought of losing dates to the virus is haunting.
“It’s impossible to not feel a little different, whether it’s the meet-and-greets or whatever,” says Nail.
Peters has thought at times during a performance — particularly when the reboot began — that working without a mask made her vulnerable in smaller, indoor venues.
“I was very appreciative of the audience members that masked up early on,” she says. “But just to think, ‘Boy, how much air am I sucking in here tonight?’ I mean, I can’t wear a mask because I have to sing. For somebody with asthma, it was surreal and a bit terrifying.”
By contrast, Peters is comfortable with her decision to back out of touring, ready to discover how her work/life balance will change when her schedule is a little more predictable. She’ll miss the shows, but that’s the smallest portion of the day.
“There’s a whole list of other things that I really won’t miss,” she says. “[Particularly] airlines — I mean, it’s a long list.”
Nail, on the other hand, is committed to slugging it out, even if touring remains unpredictable for the near future.
“I don’t have that plan B,” he says. “This has to work, one way or another.”
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