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Madonna, Prince Top Summer Tours
Radiohead, the Who also lead the hottest jaunts of '06 Following a year in which three of the biggest touring acts in the world -- the Rolling Stones, U2 and Paul McCartney -- all hit the road, summer 2006 doesn't boast quite as much star power. But with Madonna, Eric Clapton, the Who, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and possibly Prince planning tours, promoters are confident they'll avoid a downturn. "This is the time of year when every promoter and talent buyer says, 'Gosh, it's slow,'" says Alex Hodges, executive vice president of House of Blues Concerts. "It's not really slow. I feel good."
Hodges is especially optimistic about Madonna, who played only fourteen U.S. cities in 2004 yet still grossed $79.5 million. She plans a full tour this summer, beginning with an April 30th performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, playing up her disco-oriented 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation -- the country's largest concert promoter (spun off from Clear Channel last year) -- has high hopes for Mariah Carey's first summer tour since 2003. "She's going to be huge," he says. "Her record being Number One in the world just put her back on the pedestal as one of the greats."

Prince -- who has yet to make an official tour announcement, although concert-promotion sources are optimistic he'll be on the road -- was the top-grossing act in 2004 ($87.4 million) and is likely to do huge business this year. Other top tours include the Who, who hit the U.S. in September; Radiohead, headlining the Bonnaroo festival on June 17th before U.S. summer dates; Bruce Springsteen, who plays New Orleans' Jazz Festival, then tours Europe and the U.S. in May and June; and perennials such as Jimmy Buffett, Dave Matthews Band and Tom Petty.

While Pearl Jam could be one of the year's top-grossing bands, their ticket prices will be more in line with Matthews ($40 to $60) than the Stones (who set a record last year with $450 seats). "How rich do you have to be?" asks Kelly Curtis, manager of Pearl Jam, who plan $50 seats. "This band's philosophy is they're really fortunate with the money they're making." Many top attractions, including Ozzfest and Buffett, will continue last summer's trend of "scaling" arenas so that top seats are $100 or more and nosebleeds are $30 to $40.

As usual, some of the best shows aren't necessarily the biggest: The Warped Tour, in its twelfth year, packages punk pioneers the Buzzcocks and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with emo-punk acts like AFI and Saves the Day; System of a Down headline Ozzfest (with Ozzy Osbourne topping the bill for the first ten nights); Nine Inch Nails bring along TV on the Radio and a reunited Bauhaus; Ben Harper has a late-summer run with Damian Marley; and Slayer headline the Unholy Alliance Tour: Preaching to the Perverted.

Such diversity is a promising sign, but many promoters say they have yet to solve ongoing problems. High ticket prices for the Stones, U2, McCartney and others helped the business make more money in 2005, but attendance dropped -- and competitors accuse major promoters such as Live Nation of spending too much money on tours, which drives up ticket prices. "Until these companies change their business plans, they're going to flood the market," says Washington, D.C., independent promoter Seth Hurwitz.

Still, Hurwitz says several shows are already selling well, notably Fall Out Boy and the Black Eyed Peas. And House of Blues' Hodges says average amphitheater sales went up from 9,000 to 10,000 in 2005. "We'll see how that holds, but so far sales and shows look pretty decent," he says. "The summer looks healthy."

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On the Road: What to Expect
First details on eight of the season's hottest tickets

Madonna After grossing nearly $80 million in 2004, the Material Girl hits the road again for an arena tour -- kicking off sometime after her Coachella performance on April 30th, maybe as early as June. Says her spokeswoman, "She'd make more money playing stadiums, but visually she thinks it'd work better in an arena."

Bruce Springsteen His second non-E Street Band tour in a row, this time with his Seeger Sessions folk-rock big band in May and June (in addition to his New Orleans Jazz Fest gig on April 30th).

Radiohead "To keep things more fun and spontaneous, we will be playing new songs that are a work in progress," the band posted on its Web site. The only scheduled date so far is at Bonnaroo on June 17th, with other June dates in the works.

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam follow their hard-rocking new album with their first full North American arena tour since 2003 -- beginning May 9th in Toronto and continuing through June 3rd with My Morning Jacket opening (tickets around $50). Further summer dates aren't yet announced, but Sonic Youth will reportedly open shows in July.

The Who Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and Co.'s world tour -- behind the band's first studio release in twenty-four years -- hits the U.S. in September, according to Townshend, with stops running through December.

Mariah Carey Touring behind The Emancipation of Mimi, the biggest album of 2005 -- and of her career -- Carey will hit the road for a tour that Live Nation president Michael Rapino says will be "big -- it'll be amphitheaters or arenas."

Warped and Ozzfest Warped kicks off June 15th in Columbia, Maryland, with the Buzzcocks and AFI (tickets about $25); Ozzfest hits the road with Ozzy (playing only the first ten dates) and System of a Down in San Francisco July 1st (tickets $31-$135).

Eric Clapton Clapton's tour kicks off on May 5th in France, with a band including Allman Brothers Band slide guitarist Derek Trucks; promoters predict the tour will hit the U.S. this summer or early fall. In related news, Cream bassist Jack Bruce has said that the supergroup will play selected cities this year.

Prince After retiring his hits with the top tour of 2004 (it grossed $87.4 million), Prince, sources predict, will tour behind 3121, his biggest hit since the Eighties.

STEVE KNOPPER

Interesting. I would NOT go see any of these people even if it were free except Prince of course.

All this teasing is killing me!! Announce the tour, already!!

I got an email today from Olympia Entertainment with a list of upcoming shows. No, Prince wasn't listed specifically but look at the banner that was on top:




Get on with it and stop playing with my emotions!!!
[Edited 4/18/06 12:00pm]

SexyBeautifulOne said:

Make an announcement P!! You're driving ppl nuts.

Graycap23 said:

2020 said:

Star Power! Jeez what do these people want! In terms of the past maybe the Stones and McCartney are unrivalled but in terms of the present day and album sales they are WAY off from being the powerhouses they once were. U2, well that's a different story!