Touring
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This Blockbuster is also out of business. Busta Rhymes appears to have canceled all of the 21 dates that were set to be part of his North American Blockbusta Tour 2024.
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According to Busta’s Ticketmaster page as well as Live Nation’s event listings for each show, the 2024 North American trek, which was set to begin next week on March 13 in San Francisco and was produced by Live Nation and The Conglomerate Entertainment, will no longer be taking place.
“Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event. No action is required to obtain a refund,” the message on Live Nation reads in part.
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The 51-year-old hasn’t commented on his social media accounts about the canceled dates, but fans have flooded his comments wondering what happened to the North American trek.
Billboard has reached out to Busta Rhymes’ reps as well as Live Nation for comment. Neither Live Nation nor Ticketmaster have a reason for the tour cancellation listed on their websites.
The New York-bred rapper was slated to rumble through Hollywood, Phoenix, Denver, Toronto, Dallas, Miami Beach, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Detroit and more before wrapping up back home in NYC on April 21.
The tour was originally announced in November, and Busta Rhymes was coming off of providing support as an opening act on 50 Cent’s Final Lap Tour across the globe throughout 2023.
Busta also unleashed his latest body of work, BLOCKBUSTA, in November. It was loaded with superstar guest appearances including verses from Chris Brown, Burna Boy, Kodak Black, Coi Leray, BIA, Young Thug, DaBaby, T-Pain and more.
BLOCKBUSTA debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard 200, while reaching No. 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Chris Brown is going to be dancing across the country again. The multi-hyphenate entertainer announced the North American 11:11 Tour on Tuesday (March 5). The 26-city trek will include support from emerging R&B singers Muni Long and Ayra Starr on select dates. Pre-sale tickets will be going on sale on Wednesday (March 6), and the […]
Reneé Rapp has postponed two upcoming performances in her Snow Hard Feelings Tour, revealing that she’s struggling to sing as a result of being sick. In a candid message to fans on X Tuesday (March 5), the Mean Girls star broke the news that she won’t be able to perform her back-to-back concerts at Vinilo […]
Madonna is in the middle of a five-night concert run at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., as part of her Celebration Tour, but less than a year ago, she wouldn’t have been able to even walk onstage.
During her Monday (March 4) concert, the 65-year-old superstar revealed that the severe bacterial infection she suffered in June 2023 — which led to her hospitalization and the postponement of her current trek — at one point made it nearly impossible for her to move around. “This summer I had a surprise,” she told the crowd, holding a cowboy hat in one hand and gripping a guitar in the other. “It’s called a near-death experience.”
“It was pretty scary — obviously I didn’t know for four days because I was in an induced coma, but when I woke up, the first word I said was, ‘No,’” she continued. “I’m pretty sure God was saying to me, ‘You wanna come with us? You wanna come with me, you wanna go this way?’ And I said, ‘No. No!’”
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The “Express Yourself” singer went on to thank her doctor, who she said was in the audience and had advised her to go outside and soak up some vitamin D while she was recovering from her health scare. “It was so hard for me to walk form my house to the backyard and sit in the sun,” Madge recalled. “I know that sounds insane, but it was difficult.”
“I didn’t know when I could get up again and when I could be myself again,” the seven-time Grammy winner added. “It was a strange thing to finally not feel like I was in control. That was my lesson to let go.”
After delaying the career-spanning trek over the summer, Madonna was finally able to kick off her Celebration Tour in October at the O2 Arena in London. She’s currently scheduled to stay on the road through April 26, when she’ll conclude the six-month run with a show at Palacio De Los Deportes in Mexico City.
At a previous concert, the Queen of Pop revealed that her six children were instrumental in pulling her out of her illness. “By the way, I had to almost die to get all my kids in one room,” she joked to her Brooklyn crowd in December.
“And I was thinking, ‘What if I left my children?’” she continued, more seriously. “That would destroy me to leave my children at this moment in their lives. I wasn’t thinking about me. I was thinking about them, and I was thinking about my mother and how scared she must have been to know that she was going to leave us all behind.”
Watch Madonna reflect on her near-death experience below.
The rapper has been sharing his wealth with fans at his shows, paying off everything from health bills to mortgages.
The Young Money militia is invading New Jersey in April. Live Nation announced on Tuesday (March 5) that Drake has added a pair of dates to his Big as the What? Tour, where he’ll be reuniting with Lil Wayne for two shows at Newark’s Prudential Center. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
London’s O2 Academy Brixton is set to reopen in April, more than a year after two people died and several people were seriously injured during a crowd stampede outside the venue.
Security guard Gaby Hutchinson and Rebecca Ikumelo were killed when fans without tickets tried to force their way into a sold-out concert by Nigerian singer Asake on Dec. 15, 2022.
A 22-year-old woman injured on the night remains in the hospital in critical condition. A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The famous South London venue, which has a capacity of just under 5,000 and has previously played host to everyone from David Bowie to Lady Gaga to The Clash, had faced the threat of permanent closure after the Metropolitan Police urged the local council to remove its license in the wake of the crush.
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Following a two-day hearing last September, Lambeth Council ruled that the venue would be allowed to host live music events again, but “only once it is compliant” with 77 new safety conditions, including stronger doors, new crowd management systems and new security and management.
During the hearing, much of which was held in private, it was revealed that O2 Academy Brixton owner and operator Academy Music Group (AMG) had spent £1.2 million ($1.5 million) on maintenance and improvements to the building during the period it was closed to the public.
At the time of the council’s decision, the venue’s owner, Academy Music Group (AMG), which runs 18 music venues across the United Kingdom, said it was “committed to ensuring” the tragic events of Dec. 15 “can never be repeated.”
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (Mar. 4), the venue announced that it will be reopening Friday, Apr. 19 with performances by tribute bands Nirvana UK and The Smyths, followed a week later by concerts from Definitely Mightbe (an Oasis tribute band) and the UK Foo Fighters.
Upcoming shows by The Black Keys and British indie rock band Editors, both scheduled for May, were also announced Monday.
“This is a significant moment not only for the venue itself but for the entire live music industry,” said Michael Kill, CEO of industry trade group the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), in a statement welcoming the news.
“Brixton Academy holds a special place in the hearts of music lovers, artists, and industry professionals alike,” said Kill, adding: “Its reopening marks a symbolic resurgence of the night-time economy, signalling a return to the vibrant cultural landscape we all enjoy.”
Prior to last year’s council hearing, more than 110,000 people signed an online petition to save the historic venue, which first opened in 1929 as a cinema and began hosting live music gigs in the early 1980s.
Co-op Live, the Oak View Group-owned and operated entertainment arena set to open next month in Manchester, U.K., announced Monday (March 4) that The Black Keys will perform at the arena on April 27, during its opening week.
The acclaimed duo is preparing to release their 12th studio album, Ohio Players, on April 5 via Nonesuch Records, just two weeks before taking the stage at Co-op Live. The new record features collaborations with friends and colleagues including Beck, Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and more.
Gary Roden, executive director and general manager of Co-op Live, says: “We are thrilled that a band of The Black Keys’ caliber will be taking to the stage. The show will be part of an amazing week of performances that kicks off a jam-packed opening season.”
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Co-op Live’s opening season will see the arena feature more than 30 artists across more than 50 shows, including a seven-night Take That residency, a five-night U.K.-exclusive residency as part of the Eagles’ final tour, Barry Manilow‘s only U.K. arena show and Eric Clapton’s first Manchester performance in 10 years. Legendary comedian and Manchester local Peter Kay will open the arena with two shows on April 23 and 24.
In addition to seeing an array of international artists perform, Co-op Live was recently announced as host of the 2024 MTV European Music Awards – the first time music’s biggest global awards show will be staged in Manchester – and the awards return to the U.K. for the first time in seven years.
Co-op Live, a joint venture between Oak View Group and City Football Group, will be the country’s highest-capacity arena and the U.K.’s most socially responsible arena, operating 100% electric, with pledges for zero waste direct to landfill, rainwater harvesting and use of reusable cups to significantly reduce plastic usage across the site.
Co-op members will gain first-in-line access to The Black Keys tickets through a designated pre-sale from 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 6. General sale tickets will be available through Co-op Live from 10 a.m. on Friday, March 8. Tickets available here.
Kanye West’s short but lucrative five-show run of listening parties for his Vultures 1 album with Ty Dolla $ign generated more than $12 million in ticket sales, Billboard estimates based on available data. West’s first two listening events in the United States — Feb. 8 at United Center in Chicago and Feb. 9 at […]
Kicking off the new year in style, Coldplay leads Billboard’s Top Tours chart for January. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Chris Martin and company grossed $58.8 million and sold 417,000 tickets during the month, essentially doubling its closest competition.
January is traditionally the slowest month of the year, with Elton John and Tool crowning lists in 2020 and 2022, respectively, with less than $20 million each. John himself set a high mark in 2023 with $40.9 million, and now Coldplay improves upon that by 44%. This year’s top 30 tours grossed a collective $271 million, up 75% from last January’s total.
This marks the third time that Coldplay has been No. 1 on Top Tours, having crowned lists in March 2023 and July 2022. The band achieved its hat-trick with eight shows in Asia. Including another two dates in early February and eight shows in November, the latest leg of the Music of the Spheres tour earned $143.3 million.
Coldplay’s January shows break down to two at the Philippine Arena in Manila and six at Singapore’s National Stadium. The latter batch grossed $43.4 million and sold 321,000 tickets, leading Top Boxscores by a margin of 2.8-to-1.
While the phrase “world tour” often translates to the U.S., Canada and western Europe, Coldplay has taken its time to travel the globe. The Music of the Spheres Tour launched in March 2022 and has included three legs in Latin America, two in the U.S. and Canada, two in Europe, and now 18 shows in Asia. More dates in Europe and Oceania await in 2024.
In all, Coldplay’s massive global trek has sold 7.7 million tickets. Only Ed Sheeran’s Divide (÷) tour (2017-19) has sold more, at 8.9 million. With 43 shows scheduled between June and September, Coldplay would need to average about 28,000 tickets per show — less than half of the tour’s global average so far — to close the gap and become the bestselling tour in Boxscore history.
Speaking of Sheeran, he sits at No. 2 on January’s Top Tours chart with Asian concerts of his own. He grossed $31.7 million and sold 194,000 tickets over six dates, with five more in February to count toward next month’s recap.
Sheeran grossed $11.6 million over two nights in Osaka and another $10.6 million from a double-header in Dubai. Similar to Coldplay, his dates in Asia are part of a global endeavor, following legs in Europe, Oceania and North America.
Not only do both acts rub shoulders atop the all-time tally, they wrestle on the opposite end of the top 10. Sheeran’s The Mathematics Tour has now grossed $556.4 million and sold 5.8 million tickets since its April 2022 debut, squeezing into the top 10 highest grossing tours of all time. Collateral damage, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour (2016-17) dips to No. 11, just as the British rock band encroaches on Sheeran’s prior tour at the all-time summit.
At No. 3 on Top Tours, Madonna brought in $31.2 million from a string of arena dates in January. That leaves her just $500,000 away from Sheeran’s runner-up spot, held back by a margin of less than 2%. All of Madonna’s 11 January dates appear on Top Boxscores, spotlighted by her three shows at Madison Square Garden. Those grossed $10.3 million from 41,200 tickets sold.
Now at $121 million, The Celebration Tour is Madonna’s sixth to cross the nine-digit threshold. Only The Rolling Stones (nine) and U2 (seven) have more. Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles also have six $100 million tours to their names.
Madonna has 32 shows left to report in the U.S., plus five in Mexico City. When all is said and done, The Celebration Tour will likely become her third to gross $200 million or more, behind stadium runs Sticky & Sweet Tour ($407.7 million; 2008-09) and the MDNA tour ($305.2 million; 2012).
K-pop offers bright spots in the top 10, with SEVENTEEN at No. 4 with $19.6 million and ENHYPEN at No. 7 with $13 million. Each group played batches of shows in Asia, just like Coldplay and Sheeran. With restrictive weather in the U.S. and Europe, stadiums in southern Asia and Australia are often pillars of early-in-the-year box office.
Comedians make their mark on Top Tours as well, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Peter Kay, Kevin Hart, Jo Koy and Brett Goldstein all ranking between Nos. 14-20.
Though not without significant highlights, the Top Tours chart embraces the winter doldrums of years past, delivering the lowest top-30 gross since last January. John Mulaney and NieR Orchestra close out the top 30 under $1 million, matching 2023’s two sub-million earners. February marks the stage returns of Blink-182, Karol G and P!nk, while introducing new tours from Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo.
A version of this story will appear in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.