Touring
Page: 29
The Blippi: Join the Band Tour launched in late September and has already visited a number of cities, but still has many, many performances to come.
“We’re in and out of cities every day,” says Shaw, who explains the busy travel schedule is something they consider when casting talent for the show. “We’re looking for high energy, engaged actors and actresses who are excited about the opportunity, not only to play a great role in a great show, but also have the opportunity to travel.”
See a list of the remaining tour dates for 2024 below, and find up-to-date information about all the dates still to come in 2025 on the tour’s official website:
Friday, Oct. 18 – Meridian Centre – St. Catharines, ONSaturday, Oct. 19 – Tribute Communities Centre – Oshawa, ONSunday, Oct. 20 – Living Arts Centre – Mississauga, ONWednesday, Oct. 23 – Peterborough Memorial Centre – Peterborough, ONSaturday, Oct. 26 – Thunder Bay Community Auditorium – Thunder Bay, ONSunday, Oct. 27 – Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts – Winnipeg, MBTuesday, Oct. 29 – Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium – Brandon, MSWednesday, Oct. 30 – Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium – Brandon, MSFriday, Nov. 1 – Conexus Arts Centre – Regina, SKSaturday, Nov. 2 – TCU Place – Saskatoon, SKSunday, Nov. 3 – Enmax Centre – Lethbridge, ABFriday, Nov. 8 – Abbotsford Centre – Abbotsford, BCSaturday, Nov. 9 – Okanagan Events Centre – Penticton, BCSunday, Nov. 10 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver, BCTuesday, Nov. 12 – Jack Singer Concert Hall – Calgary, ABFriday, Nov. 15 – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium – Edmonton, ABSunday, Nov. 17 – Co-op Place – Medicine Hat, ABTuesday, Nov. 19 – MetraPark Arena – Billings, MTWednesday, Nov. 20 – Bismarck Event Center – Bismarck, NDThursday, Nov. 21 – Scheels Arena – Fargo, NDFriday, Nov. 22 – Xtreme Arena – Coralville, IASaturday, Nov. 23 – Taft Theatre – Cincinnati, OHSunday, Nov. 24 – The Family Arena – St. Charles, MOFriday, Nov. 29 – The Riverside Theater – Milwaukee, WISaturday, Nov. 30 – Fisher Theatre – Detroit, MISunday, Dec. 1 – Temple Theatre – Saginaw, MITuesday, Dec. 3 – Old National Events Plaza – Evansville, INWednesday, Dec. 4 – Appalachian Wireless Arena – Pikeville, KYFriday, Dec. 6 – Old National Centre – Indianapolis, INSaturday, Dec. 7 – Mershon Auditorium – Columbus, OHSunday, Dec. 8– Louisville Palace – Louisville, KYTuesday, Dec. 10 – Walton Arts Center – Fayetteville, ARThursday, Dec. 12 – Cable Dahmer Arena – Independence, MOFriday, Dec. 13 – Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts – Springfield, MOSaturday, Dec. 14 – Texas Hall – Arlington, TXSunday, Dec. 15 – Bayou Music Center – Houston, TX
Billboard, in partnership with AEG Presents and Live Nation, has announced the first round of talent and industry leaders for this year’s Billboard Live Music Summit and Awards. The event, taking place Nov. 14 in Los Angeles, will celebrate creativity and achievement in the live music industry through exclusive panels and conversations, featuring some of […]
He’s back: Sam Fender has announced a string of arena shows in the U.K. and Ireland for later this year. The Geordie musician has been working on his third album and shared details of his first full U.K. tour since 2022.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Fender’s dates will kick off in Ireland at the 3Arena in Dublin on December 2, then head to Leeds, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Glasgow and conclude in his hometown Newcastle on December 20. See the full dates below.
He’s also announced a string of shows throughout mainland Europe in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and more for next March. Tickets for all shows go on sale at 10 a.m. on October 25 via Fender’s official website.
Trending on Billboard
£1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Music Venues Trust, and follows Coldplay’s recent commitment to donate 10% of their upcoming tour revenue to the grassroots music scene via the Music Venues Trust.
Fender released his most recent album, Seventeen Going Under, in 2021 which topped the U.K.’s Official Album Charts upon release. The ensuing year saw him play several sold-out tours and included huge shows at London’s 40,000-capacity Finsbury Park and at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, home of his beloved soccer team Newcastle United. Earlier this year he collaborated with Noah Kahan on a new version of Kahan’s single “Homesick.”
Fender snagged huge slots across the globe on his last tour, headlining Reading & Leeds Festival in England, as well as appearing internationally at Lollapalooza in Chicago and Splendour In the Grass in Australia. In addition, over the summer he played a brace of U.K. gigs in Plymouth and at Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall.
In recent weeks he has shared teasers of the live dates and his upcoming record and he’s previously performed two unreleased song during shows, “People Watching” and “Nostalgia’s Lie.”
Sam Fender European tour 2024/25 dates:
December 2 – 3Arena, DublinDecember 4 – First Direct Arena, LeedsDecember 6 – Co-Op Live, ManchesterDecember 10 – The O2, LondonDecember 13 – Utilita Arena, BirminghamDecember 16 – Obo Hydro, GlasgowDecember 20 – Utilita Arena, NewcastleMarch 4 – Olympia, ParisMarch 5 – 013 Poppodium, TilburgMarch 8 – Halle 622, ZurichMarch 10 – Palladium, CologneMarch 12 – Zenith, MunichMarch 13 – ChorusLife Arena, BergamoMarch 16 – Uber Eats Music Hall, BerlinMarch 18 – Afas Live, AmsterdamMarch 19 – Forest National, Brussels
Taylor Swift tickets are completely sold out at press time. If you go on Ticketmaster, you’ll see the same message for all remaining tour dates: “Sorry, tickets are not currently available online.”
It won’t be easy to come by tickets at a reasonable price, but there are a few options to explore. Here’s how I would look for tickets for Swift’s concerts in Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto and Vancouver.
How to find face value tickets to a “sold-out” concert on Ticketmaster:
Don’t get your hopes too high, but a small number of tickets typically do get released on Ticketmaster last minute, depending on availability. With The Eras Tour being such a hot ticket, quiet drops are often only accessible to those who have Verified Fan status for that city.
The night of Wednesday, Oct. 16, for example, Ticketmaster opened a queue to purchase tickets for the upcoming weekend’s Miami concerts with this message: “A few last-minute ticket releases have been made available to a number of fans who previously registered for and were screened by Verified Fan for this city.”
Why weren’t all tickets able to be purchased by fans at on-sale when they’re so ridiculously in demand? Often some seats are held by the venue, promoter or artist’s team for various business reasons, and if those aren’t put to use they eventually get put on sale for face value on Ticketmaster. For The Eras Tour, based on personal observation and fan reports on social media, it also seems that extra seats that weren’t originally on the floorplan sometimes get added after the crew sets up, if space allows. It’s a shot in the dark, but any unused or just-added seats will go to someone. Swift’s final Eras shows can all be found here on Ticketmaster.
If you’re still in search of tickets a day or two before the concert, you want to set yourself up for the best chance at snagging them in a very limited-release: You know that meme of the Sims mom distracted by the computer while the Sims baby is on fire? Imagine that level of laser focus on the event ticketing page, minus any real-life neglect and imminent danger: “Not now, honey, I’m refreshing Ticketmaster.” (Dark humor, folks!)
Best of luck, sincerely, to those of you trying to get your family of Swifties to a Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto or Vancouver concert.
A girl holds up a sign asking if anyone has a spare ticket as Taylor Swift fans arrive at Wembley Stadium ahead of her performance on Aug. 15, 2024 in London, England.
How to find resale tickets at a price you’re willing, if not thrilled, to pay:
Desperation can sink in if you really want to see Swift with your kids on The Eras Tour and have exhausted all opportunities to find direct tickets from the original point of sale. That’s where the resale market comes in: StubHub is probably the most popular place for that, but there’s also websites like SeatGeek, TickPick and Vivid Seats.
I’ve purchased tickets from StubHub and TickPick in the past and had a fine experience with both. Eras resale tickets are overpriced, most of the time obscenely so, and riddled with fees, but real. In the rare case there’s an authenticity or delivery issue with your purchase (which has never happened here, but the possibility exists), customer service policies say they’ll replace your tickets with “comparable or better tickets” (StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee), or “equal or better quality” (TickPick’s BuyerTrust Guarantee). Check the policies on the website you’re buying from before you go through with an order to make sure you’re comfortable with all outcomes.
How to find the best seats for the best deal through the resale market:
Get familiar with how ticket resale outlets work. Unless you see the obvious Deal of the Eras Tour, don’t buy immediately. Test the website’s different options for sorting available tickets. Memorize the seating chart so you know what sections you want to zone in on. If you’re a family of more than three people, consider splitting up if that helps save a few bucks or gets everyone in better seats — with one parent sitting with one kid, and the other parent sitting with the other kid, or however it works out for the makeup of your family. Keep checking the websites you’d feel comfortable buying from for new ticket listings until the price and seats feel right for your situation.
If you’re not finding exactly what you want and willing to take a risk, you might consider heading in the direction of the venue without tickets just in case a better option pops up. Confirm with the venue if you can park there without a ticket, or park somewhere that’s on the way to the stadium and search. It takes strategic thinking and high hopes. Just remember, if you’re with your kids you’ll want to be at peace with buying from whatever’s left and still spending a good amount of money. For other artists price ranges often lower dramatically across resale platforms as start time nears on the day of the show, but not always. Do not rely on this. Be aware that this has not been the trend with Swift’s Eras Tour tickets.
As disappointing as it is to witness, I’ve spent enough time on real-time ticket-buying research to see incredible seats go unsold on these websites because the total never goes down to a price point anyone’s willing to pay.
Do not buy Eras Tour tickets here, or at least proceed with caution:
Steer clear of buying tickets via an unprotected transaction with strangers via social media. Certainly there are groups made on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit that are meant to feature listings from fans intending to sell tickets they can no longer use directly to other fans, like this account with more than 300,000 followers, but the possibility of being scammed is very real. The people voluntarily running these accounts are connecting Swiftie buyers with sellers and are not responsible for someone scamming you.
If you’re going to gamble anyway, be smart about it. Be aware that tickets sold on Ticketmaster have digital delivery on the Ticketmaster app this tour. A screenshot of the order confirmation is not enough proof that legit tickets will actually show up for the concert — a screenshot can be faked. Use PayPal’s Goods and Services option for any exchange of money, not Apple Pay, Cash App, Venmo or Zelle.
One tip I’ve picked up from research in fan spaces is to ask the seller to get on a video call with you to complete the transaction while they show you the ticket order in their actual Ticketmaster account, at that very moment. Is this whole process a little sketchy? Yep. Is it foolproof? Nope. Could you end up with great seats at a nice price from a kind Swiftie? Of course, but remember, you might never be able to recover the money lost to a con artist.
Breakaway is breaking out. The touring electronic music festival announced Thursday (Oct. 17) that it’s expanding to six new markets in 2025. These new cities are Atlanta; Dallas; Huntsville, Ala.; Philadelphia; Phoenix and a yet to be announced Northern California city. The festival will throw two-day events in these cities next year, along with previously […]
Charli XCX and Troye Sivan played the first of two sold-out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Tuesday night (Oct. 15), effectively turning the 17,500-capacity venue into a revved-up, sex-positive dance party that more than lived up to the tour’s Sweat moniker. Given Charli’s grip on the culture this summer, there was […]
Sphere Entertainment Co. has reached an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism to create a second Sphere in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital city.
“The vision for Sphere has always included a global network of venues, and today’s announcement is a significant milestone toward that goal,” said James L. Dolan, executive chairman/CEO of Sphere Entertainment who oversaw the construction of the Las Vegas Sphere in late 2023. Sphere Entertainment is a spinoff of Madison Square Garden Entertainment and is headquartered in L.A., where a small staff develops the audio and visual components for Sphere’s massive internal video screen.
The long-term success of Sphere has always been contingent on Dolan’s ability to scale the business model and build additional Sphere facilities to amortize the costs of producing content for the uniquely shaped arena. According to sources, video produced to accompany the 10-bout Noche UFC match in Las Vegas cost last month cost upwards of $20 million.
Trending on Billboard
A second Sphere location would provide Dolan and crew a chance to recoup some of their production costs from a new audience via projects like Postcard from Earth, a multi-sensory film directed by Darren Aronofsky that helped generate more than $1 million in average daily ticket sales on the days it ran during the company’s most recent fiscal quarter, according to a shareholders report.
There’s also an opportunity to save on production costs by staging concerts at both the Vegas and Abu Dhabi venues, although it’s unclear how much demand there would be in the Middle East for Western concerts. Since the end of the pandemic, only a handful of concerts from American artists performing in the UAE have been reported to Billboard Boxscore.
“We are excited to bring Sphere to Abu Dhabi in partnership with Sphere Entertainment, providing our residents and visitors with an extraordinary new form of entertainment,” said H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, in a statement. “Sphere Abu Dhabi will seamlessly integrate advanced technology with captivating storytelling, creating unforgettable memories for everyone who visits. This partnership aligns with our Tourism Strategy 2030, further establishing Abu Dhabi as a vibrant hub for culture and innovation. By embracing cutting-edge entertainment like Sphere, we’re not only elevating our global profile but also setting new standards in immersive experiences and cultural offerings.”
Under the terms of the partnership, which is subject to the finalization of definitive agreements, DCT Abu Dhabi will pay Sphere Entertainment a franchise initiation fee for the right to build the venue, utilizing Sphere Entertainment’s proprietary designs, technology and intellectual property. Construction will be funded by DCT Abu Dhabi, with Sphere Entertainment’s team of experts providing services related to development, construction and pre-opening of the venue.
Following the venue’s opening, Sphere Entertainment plans to maintain ongoing arrangements with DCT Abu Dhabi that are expected to include annual fees for creative and artistic content licensed by Sphere Entertainment, such as Sphere Experiences; use of Sphere’s brand, patents, proprietary technology and intellectual property; and operational services related to venue operations and technology, as well as commercial and strategic advisory support.
In recent years, The Cure’s Robert Smith has been vocal about the shifting touring and ticket market. In 2023, the singer convinced Ticketmaster to give partial refunds to fans who had purchased tickets to their Songs Of A Lost World tour, hitting back at “unduly high” fees. For their U.S. run of dates, the band had kept the prices purposefully low to stay affordable, with some priced at $20, but the fees occasionally outstripped the value of the ticket.
In a new, lengthy interview, first published in the The Times, Smith has commented further on Ticketmaster’s practices and specifically their dynamic pricing model.
Trending on Billboard
“I was shocked by how much profit is made [by ticketing],” Smith said. “I thought, ‘We don’t need to make all this money.’ My fights with the label have all been about how we can price things lower. The only reason you’d charge more for a gig is if you were worried that it was the last time you would be able to sell a T-shirt.”
He continued: “But if you had the self-belief that you’re still going to be here in a year’s time, you’d want the show to be great so people come back. You don’t want to charge as much as the market will let you. If people save on the tickets, they buy beer or merch. There is goodwill, they will come back next time. It is a self-fulfilling good vibe and I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.”
“It was easy to set ticket prices, but you need to be pig-headed. We didn’t allow dynamic pricing because it’s a scam that would disappear if every artist said, ‘I don’t want that!’ But most artists hide behind management. “Oh, we didn’t know,” they say. They all know. If they say they do not, they’re either f–king stupid or lying. It’s just driven by greed.”
You can watch the full interview with Smith at The Cure’s website.
The Cure are releasing their first album in 16 years, Songs Of A Lost World, on Nov. 1 and the LP will be accompanied by a string of shows in London on release week. The band have shared two songs from the record so far, brooding opener “Alone” and “A Fragile Thing.”
Smith’s comments arrive not long after the controversial ticket sale for Oasis’ reunion tour in 2025. Dynamic pricing was used in the process for the band’s 19 stadium dates in the U.K. and Ireland, causing ticket prices to rise and fans forced to make quick decisions on prices that were higher than initially advertised.
The fallout and anger from fans prompted the U.K.’s Competition and Market Authority to investigate the use of the sale tactic. Oasis, who will be playing a run of shows next summer across the globe, distanced themselves from the dynamic pricing model and opted against using the method for their North American dates, which went on sale earlier this month.
Ticketmaster introduced the dynamic pricing scale in 2022 in a bid to help combat touts and the secondary ticket market. The company insists that bands and promoters set the ticket prices and that dynamic pricing is only used with approval by the artist’s team.
Kane Brown will launch 2025 with a new album and a new tour when he releases his album The High Road on Jan. 24 and sets out on The High Road Tour beginning March 13 in San Diego, Calif. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The tour […]
American roots reggae band Stick Figure decided to conduct an experiment earlier this year when they went on sale with tickets for their Sacred Sands Summer Tour 2024.
Hoping to make their tour as fan-friendly as possible, band leader Scott Woodruff and managers Thomas Cussins and Marina Petros at Ineffable Music Group decided to offer refunds to fans who bought tickets to the tour but couldn’t make the show.
“Given that the tour included numerous large-scale amphitheaters with some of the biggest promoters in the world,” the band had to agree to cover the costs of the refunds themselves, explained Cussins.
Trending on Billboard
Refunds are rarely allowed in the concert business and promoters have long been loathe to offer money-back options to fans, worried that a rush of last minute refunds could lead to heavy losses for shows that had previously been considered a sellout. But the problem with the “all sale are final” model, Cussins explained, is that fans might be hesitant to purchase tickets when they go on sale if they are worried about their availability months later.
A refund policy might make fans feel more confident about their purchase, explained Cussins who worked with Petros to develop the rules for Stick Figure’s first ever refund policy. In order for the band to recover the cost of the refund and sell returned tickets to new fans, the band required all refund requests be made up to 10 days before a show. In order to prevent scalpers from taking advantage of the refund policy, tickets listed on secondary market sites like Stubhub were excluded from the promotion.
“Enforcing this second rule was challenging, and some tickets intended for resale likely slipped through the cracks,” Cussins said. “However, on the whole, everyone acted in good faith and used this program as intended.”
The band ultimately sold 135,446 tickets for its 16-date Sacred Sands tour and granted 750 refunds, equal to about $77,852.24, or .55% of the revenue generated from 2024 tour.
“These numbers clearly show that this is a successful formula for a band,” Cussins explains. “As this tour was largely sold out, nearly all refunded tickets were resold. Even in the case of a less well-attended tour, this loss would be worth it based on the statistics from our post-tour ticket buyer survey.”
According to the survey, 65% of buyers were aware of the refund policy and of those who were aware, 82.3% said that the band’s refund policy made them feel more comfortable buying tickets.
“There is a strong case to be made that losing less than 1% of tickets later is still worth the overall boost in consumer confidence,” Cussins concludes.
Based on their experience, Cussins noted that promoters, venues and artists could improve the ticketing ecosystem by offering refunds to “verified fans (not resellers) up until 14 days before a show, with the option to extend this to 7 days depending on stakeholder determination,” Cussins says.
That doesn’t mean taking an aggressive stance against resale, but instead allowing the practice “with a few guidelines to avoid abuse” like speculative ticket selling, where a reseller lists a ticket they have not already purchased. Abuse and price gouging can be limited through thoughtful ticket distribution practices and market monitoring, coupled with dynamic pricing models that keep prices affordable on the secondary market, Cussins said.
“Adding the security of a refund option,” on top of the above secondary market reforms, Cussins concludes, “will increase consumer confidence and drive more early ticket sales, which limits risk for bands, venues, and promoters.”