Staying Fit
(Clockwise from top left) Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Janet Jackson, Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen.
Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Janet Jackson, Vivian Campbell, Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen
After a massive slump during COVID, the concert industry is again sh-boom, sh-booming! The gross for the top 100 North American tours in 2023 reached $6.63 billion, up 39.5 percent over 2022, with attendance nearly doubling, to 15,008 per show, according to Pollstar.
And this year is shaping up to be another box office blowout. Despite the national outrage over price spikes for eggs, airfare and gas, music lovers seem immune to ticket shock. Ticket prices climbed 22 percent last year, to an average of $135.88, compared to $111.49 in 2022. And the trend is pointing skyward.
Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour and Beyonce’s “Renaissance World” tour ranked first and second last year, but boomer acts remain the tour circuit’s lucrative and reliable summer tentpole, delivering packed arenas and sheds year after year as fans flock to relish the oldies and rekindle the past.
Here are the acts to catch this sunny season.
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Heart (April 20–May 24, Aug. 10–Nov. 22)
Sisters Ann Wilson, 73, and Nancy Wilson, 70, haven’t released an album since 2016’s Beautiful Broken, but they have decades of hits, including “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” “These Dreams” and “Alone,” to draw from on their “Royal Flush” tour. Cheap Trick opens.
Kenny Chesney (April 20–Aug. 23)
After hitting arenas last year, country star Chesney, 56, has booked 18 stadiums for shows with openers including the Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker, his duet partner on chart-topper “When the Sun Goes Down.” All but one of the shows are on Saturdays.
Billy Joel (April 26–Nov. 9)
The Piano Man, 74, has scheduled only 13 dates, four of them at New York’s Madison Square Garden, so ticket stampedes are likely. Fans are curious to know if “Turn the Lights Back On,” Joel’s first single in 17 years, will be added to his hit-heavy repertoire.
The Rolling Stones (April 28–July 17)
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards perform during The Rolling Stones' surprise set in celebration of their album “Hackney Diamonds” at Racket NYC on Oct. 19, 2023 in New York City.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RS
Mick Jagger, 80, Keith Richards, 80, Ron Wood, 76, and company continue their global “Hackney Diamonds” tour, named after last year’s highly praised album, the group’s first batch of originals since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Expect Diamonds cuts and lots of hits.
Stevie Nicks (May 3–June 21)
Between Fleetwood Mac’s songbook and her own solo catalog, singer-songwriter Nicks, 75, has a huge well of material to draw from as she extends a tour that started in February. She’s been performing crowd favorites “Landslide,” “Dreams,” “Rhiannon” and “Edge of Seventeen” as well as Tom Petty hits in honor of her late friend.
George Strait (May 4–July 20, Dec. 7)
A touring juggernaut, honky-tonk country singer-songwriter Strait, 71, resumes the record-breaking stadium tour he kicked off in 2023. He’s joined by Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town. The King of Country serves up “his own Eras tour, leading a well-curated, decades-spanning set of songs,” according to Billboard.
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