By Steve Jones,USA TODAY
Fri May 26,2006

Madonna will be queen of the road this summer.

With last year's top touring acts-the Rolling Stones,U2 and Paul McCartney-touring Europe or taking a break,Madonna's 15-week disco-themed Confessions Tour is likely to be the season's biggest-grossing and most heavily attended concert.It will also be among the priciest,with regular tickets going for as much as $375.

Several other headliners are expected to do blockbuster business,including Bruce Springsteen;Tim McGraw and Faith Hill;Red Hot Chili Peppers;Jimmy Buffet;Dave Matthews Band;Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young;and Paul Simon.

Mariah Carey just announced her 31-city Adventures of Mimi:The Voice,The Hits,The Tour,which hits arenas starting Aug.5 in Miami.Billboard's Ray Waddell says that while Carey has never been a huge draw,that could change on the heels of her multi-platinum,triple Grammy-winning album,'The Emancipation of Mimi'.

Another act that promoters will be watching closely is the Dixie Chicks,who just released their new 'Taking The Long Way' album and hit the road for the first time since lead singer Natalie Maine's criticism of President Bush three years ago sparked a backlash.Their Accidents and Accusations Tour starts July 21 in Detroit.Other country stars such as Kenny Chesney,Rascal Flatts,Keith Urban and Brad Paisley are surefire winners,and Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson are poised to break out.

There will be plenty to satisfy fans of hard rock (Ozzfest,Slayer's Unholy Alliance Tour) and jam bands (Matthews,Phil Lesh and Friends).

Urban music fans,on the other hand,will have a hard time finding live music.R&B sensation Chris Brown will headline an amphitheatre package that includes Lil' Wayne,Ne-Yo,Dem Francise Boys and Juelz Santana.Not much else is scheduled so far.

"There really aren't too many strong-enough headliners in hip-hop to carry a major tour," says Jeremiah "Ice" Younossi of A-List Talent Agency,who has worked with 50 Cent and Mobb Deep.

The industry hopes to rebound after two years of decline.The first quarter saw North American grosses of $375 million,a 28% jump from last year,according to Billboard.Those numbers were boosted by Bon Jovi,Billy Joel,Coldplay and Aerosmith.But with high prices and heavy traffic,not every summer tour can win.

"Ticket prices eliminate the casual concertgoer," says Waddell."Somebody who wants to experiment isn't going to do it for $50."

Average ticket prices jumped from about $25 in 1995 to $57 in 2005,according to Pollster.

Some tours offer alot of bang for the buck.The Korn-led Family Values Tour gives concertgoers dozens of acts with lawn seats for $9.99.The Vans Warped Tour offers nearly 60 acts,while Ozzfest has a plethora of hard-rock acts.

High gas prices are a concern,but they could wind up helping the concert business.

"People will be taking fewer trips and staying closer to home," Waddell says."They may rather spend $100 going to a concert than $300 going to the beach."

Mariah hasn't historicaly been a huge draw because she hasn't toured very often. If I'm correct, this will actually be only her fourth tour ever. She mostly played radio station gigs in the past, and when she did tour, it was to support lackluster albums.

The Dixie Chicks, on the other hand, have sold out arenas, but I wonder if they are going to get death threats from rednecks this time for being right about the Iraq War. Most of the country hates President Bush now, but the remaining people who still love him are (or at least were) the Dixie Chick's fanbase.

As for R&B and hip hop, this just goes to show the incredibly sorry state of that genre. They produce a bunch of disposable acts that struggle to perform in the studio, let alone on stage, and then they wonder why they can't get enough acts to go on tour.

728huey said:

The R&B world is such a mess right now.That's why most of these artists have to go on "package tours" with other artists.Alicia Keyes may have won all those Grammys,but the only way she could sellout an arena is by touring with Missy and Beyonce

As for Mariah,this will probably be her first "blockbuster" tour.Her last tour (2003) had alot of problems,if I'm not mistaken.

DavidEye said:

Yes, you are not mistaken. She was originally booked for a large-scale arena tour, but soft ticket sales forced her to scale back to playing smaller theaters. In fact, I saw her at the United Center in 2003, and it was the only arena she played on the entire tour. And that was because the smaller places in Chicago (Chicago Theatre, UIC Pavillion, Rosemont Theatre, Park West) had already booked shows for that date. Granted, she wasn't the only artist that summer having difficulty getting people to come to her shows, but she was by far the highest-profile artist that had problems.

DavidEye said:

I don't think I want Alicia Keys playing arenas. Her type of music plays better I think in smaller venues of around 5,000. She's done a few sold out shows at Radio City.

728huey said:

Wow!