It's Still Rock and Roll to Me!

The list of final concert tours to see before the end of 2024

Randi Mazzella,

AARP Experience Counts

Comments

Published January 18, 2024

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith perform at UBS Arena on September 09, 2023 in Elmont, New York.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

When I was nine months pregnant with my third child, my husband was offered two floor-level tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert. My husband is a huge fan, but given that the concert was so close to my due date, I thought it wasn't the best idea for him to go, just in case I went into labor.

But he really wanted to go. He said he would put his phone ringer on high and ensure his friend did the same. He pleaded with me and argued, “This could be my last chance ever to see him in concert.” I relented and told him to go ahead.

That was in September 2003 (I went into labor four days later). My husband loved the experience, but it was not his last chance to see Springsteen in concert. In fact, he saw him again last August at MetLife Stadium.

From 2019 to 2023, KISS held its End of the Road tour with the promise that after 50 years of touring, its last concert would be held in New York's Madison Square Garden. But don’t think the band, which has held previous goodbye tours, including its makeup-free 1983 tour, is disappearing. The band members are merely moving to avatars thanks to Pophouse Entertainment Group, which produces virtual concerts.

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After 52 years of performing and his own set of goodbye tours, Elton John ended his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Stockholm in July 2023. The tour lasted over five years due to postponements from the pandemic.

The Eagles, Kenny Loggins and others also hung it up in 2023. But how do you know when it really is goodbye for your favorite band?

The Last Hurrahs

Announcing that a tour is the “last” creates a demand and a sense of excitement, which translates to increased ticket sales. Artists such as Cher, Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue have announced final tours, only to return and tour again. It's impossible to know if a goodbye tour is your last chance to see your favorite band perform live.

However, between aging, the physical demands of travel, and the energy needed to perform live multiple nights in a row, it is not surprising that older artists might consider ending their touring days.

Several bands and artists have announced they will stop touring by the end of 2024. I am not sure if they mean it, but if you don’t want to gamble on whether it’s your last chance to see them, here’s the line-up of farewell performances:

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Billy Joel – His monthly residency at Madison Square Garden is set to end in July 2024, marking his 150th performance there.

Aerosmith - Their Peace Out Farewell Tour with special guests, the Black Crowes, is set to end sometime in 2024.

Foreigner – Their Feels Like the Last Time Farewell Tour will play its last show on November 9, 2024.

The B-52’s – The B 52’s announced a farewell tour in 2022 but will be performing in Las Vegas in April 2024.

Gladys Knight – Her final tour is set to end in July 2024, with a last stop in the United Kingdom.

How to Get Tickets Concert tickets can be costly, especially if you go through a resale website such as SeatGeek, VividSeats, or StubHub. The best way is to get tickets straight from the box office. Ticketmaster and Live Nation have many presale codes to help buyers get into the queue early when the most extensive selection is available. These presales are often offered to certain credit card holders (such as American Express and Capitol One) or the artists' fan club members. If you can't get tickets in advance, you can go to the concert and save money by waiting until the last minute. Re-sellers drop their price as the concert approaches and tickets are in stock. While you may wind up missing the show, you also may wind up with a great ticket for less money by playing the stand-by game.

Is This the End?

Springsteen has never said that his tour in 2003 was his “last” (it was just my husband’s fear at the time). But he is 74, so his tour with the E Street Band could be their final hurrah. Springsteen did cancel several dates in 2023 due to illness, although he has rescheduled for 2024.

Madonna also had rescheduled dates on her current tour (which she has not formally announced as her last) due to illness. And Aerosmith announced in September that it had to postpone all the remaining shows on its 2023 farewell tour until 2024 due to frontman Steven Tyler’s vocal injury.

One More Time

While artists say they are wrapping it up, financial incentives and changes in attitude may change their minds in deciding to call it quits. It may also change the minds of their fans about whether to go to a show or not.

After Billy Joel announced that he was ending his residency in 2024, my husband suggested we see him one last time. Even though Joel is one of my all-time favorites, I wasn't sure I wanted to see him again. We had been fortunate to see him in concert many times over the years, and his show was not great the last two times. He seems tired and uninterested in being there. But my husband had heard Joel was different since he announced his retirement.

We went last July, and the show was excellent. He was the performer I loved and remembered from my youth. Getting to hear him, the one and only Piano Man, perform one last time was the goodbye I needed to hear.

Share your experience: What's the band or act you want to see one last time before they're gone from the stage?

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Randi Mazzella is a freelance writer specializing in a wide range of topics from parenting to pop culture to life after 50. Her work has been featured in many online and print publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Next Avenue, AARP’s The Girlfriend and Charlotte Parent. She is a mother of three grown children and lives in New Jersey with her husband. Read more of her work on randimazzella.com.

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