A concert tour (or simply tour ) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific tour with a particular album or product. Especially in the popular music world, such tours can become large-scale enterprises that last for several months or even years, are seen by hundreds of thousands or millions of people, and bring in millions of dollars in ticket revenues. A performer who embarks on a concert tour is called a touring artist .
22-606: Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival , founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan , Nettwerk Music Group 's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride , and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It consisted solely of female solo artists and female-led bands. In its initial three years, Lilith Fair raised over $ 10 million for charity. In 1996, Canadian musical artist Sarah McLachlan became frustrated with concert promoters and radio stations that refused to feature two female musicians in
44-463: A road manager whereas large concert tours are managed by a tour manager . The main challenge in concert tours is how to move the performance's logistics from one venue to another venue, especially for a transcontinental tour. Tour logistics should be very organized and everything has to happen on time and in the right order as planned. Autoweek magazine estimated 30 to 50 trucks were required by Taylor Swift 's The 1989 World Tour to bring all
66-955: A new form of theatrical entertainment, a fusion of song, performance art, innovative stage craft, and state-of-the-art technology. She managed to popularize the Las Vegas residency as a desirable way for top artists to essentially tour in place, letting their fans come to them. American singer Lady Gaga , who cancelled the 2018 European leg of her Joanne World Tour , signed for a Las Vegas residency to help manage her fibromyalgia illness, which can be exacerbated by touring. The 2015 study by charity Help Musicians found that over 60% of musicians suffered from depression or other psychological issues, with touring an issue for 71% of respondents. Performing arts presenters Performing arts presenting organizations facilitate exchanges between artists and audiences through creative, educational, and performance opportunities. The work that these artists perform
88-451: A promotional campaign to support an album release. Hence, new songs from the respective album are included on its tour's setlist . Some tours are known as "greatest hits tours" or "reunion tour" without any new material or specific album release, such as Fleetwood Mac 's 2009 Unleashed tour and No Doubt 's 2009 Summer Tour . Taylor Swift 's The Eras Tour (2023–2024) is a retrospective of her career to that point, where each act of
110-537: A row. Bucking conventional industry wisdom, she booked a successful tour for herself and Paula Cole . At least one of their appearances together—in Vancouver , British Columbia on September 14, 1996—went by the name "Lilith Fair" and included performances by McLachlan, Cole, Lisa Loeb , and Michelle McAdorey , formerly of Crash Vegas . The next year, McLachlan founded the Lilith Fair tour, taking Lilith from
132-485: Is Taylor Swift 's Eras Tour , with $ 2.089 billion earned from 125 shows. In 2024, Coldplay 's Music of the Spheres World Tour became the second tour to gross $ 1 billion in revenue. In third place is Elton John 's Farewell Yellow Brick Road , with a total gross of $ 939 million from 2018–2023. On fourth place is Ed Sheeran 's ÷ Tour , with a gross of $ 776.2 million. On fifth place
154-400: Is U2 's 360° Tour , with $ 736.4 million. Global touring revenue reported to Billboard Boxscore exceeded $ 5.5 billion in 2016. Due to the collapse of record sales in the 21st century, concert tours have become a major source of income for recording artists. Besides the tickets, touring also generates money from the sales of merchandise and meet-and-greet packages. However,
176-414: Is a long break at some point), countries and/or continents, or different opening acts. In the largest concert tours, it has become more common for different legs to employ separate touring production crews and equipment, local to each geographical region. Concert tours are often administered on the local level by concert promoters or by performing arts presenters . Usually, small concert tours are managed by
198-439: Is a peculiar thing, it doesn't suit me particularly well. I'm a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things." A concert residency concept is offered as an alternative to performers who just need to stay in one venue and the fans come to see them. The concept has been revitalized in the 21st century by Canadian superstar Céline Dion with the success of her A New Day... residency (2003–2007). Her residency introduced
220-585: Is produced outside of the presenting organization. Performing arts presenters are typically found in three varieties: Many organizations also experiment with performances of a more conceptual nature or work across genres. The Association of Performing Arts Presenters , located in Washington, D.C., is the largest organizing body of performing arts presenters in the United States. The primary international organizing body of performing arts presenters
242-862: Is the International Society for the Performing Arts. [1] Performing arts presenters as a segment of the live performance market confronted particular difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic . National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) chair, Maria Rosario Jackson was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying, "Few areas of the U.S. economy were hit harder than the performing arts, with the value added by performing arts presenters (including festivals) to Gross Domestic Product falling by nearly 73% between 2019 and 2020." A press release from
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#1732781024891264-585: The Jewish lore that Lilith was Adam 's first wife who refused to be subservient to him. In 1997, Lilith Fair garnered a $ 16 million gross, making it the top-grossing of any touring festival. Among all concert tours for that year, it was the 16th-highest grossing. McLachlan followed this success with two more rounds, in 1998 and 1999. In 2010, Lilith Fair staged a revival with mixed results, as several dates were cancelled and many performers backed out of scheduled performances. In March 2011, McLachlan declared that
286-580: The Lilith concept was no longer being considered for future shows, due to changing audience views and expectations. Three volumes of Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music documented the performances. The artists appearing at Lilith Fair varied by date (with McLachlan and Suzanne Vega the only artists to play all dates). Appearances were organized into three stages. Almost all Village Stage artists performed only one or two dates. Many of them won slots on
308-410: The bill in a series of local talent searches in their home cities. The artists appearing at Lilith Fair varied by date (with McLachlan the only artist to play all dates). Appearances were organized into three stages. In an April 25, 2009, Twitter post, Nettwerk founder Terry McBride announced that a Lilith Fair tour through North America would be relaunched for
330-425: The bill in a series of local talent searches in their home cities. The artists appearing at Lilith Fair varied by date (with McLachlan the only artist to play all dates). Appearances were organized into three stages. Though Neneh Cherry and Lauryn Hill were scheduled to play some shows, both had to cancel. Almost all Village Stage artists performed only one or two dates. Many of them won slots on
352-408: The concert represents one of her albums . In another case, artists embark on a concert tour to celebrate the anniversary of their past albums, such as U2 's 2017 tour to mark the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree (1987) and Janet Jackson 's 2019 tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). A farewell tour is a concert tour intended to signal
374-442: The only artist to play all dates). Appearances are organized into three stages. Below is a list of artists who performed at Lilith Fair in the 2010 revival. Concert tour Different segments of longer concert tours are known as "legs". The different legs of a tour are denoted in different ways, dependent on the artist and type of tour, but the most common means of separating legs are dates (especially if there
396-406: The retirement of a singer, the disbanding of a band, or the end of a show's run. Many of the tours end up not being the last tour, with frequent regroupings, or revivals of shows. Luciano Pavarotti 's 2004 tour and Kenny Rogers 's 2015–2017 tour are examples of farewell tours which were the last to be staged before their deaths. As of October 2024, the highest-grossing concert tour of all time
418-498: The road as headliners Carly Simon , Norah Jones , Kelly Clarkson , the Go-Go's , and Queen Latifah dropped out, fearing that they would not be paid for their performances. Due to poor ticket sales, thirteen shows (about one-third of the tour) were scratched (two announced on June 25, ten more on July 1, one additional on July 2) and one reassigned to a smaller venue. The artists appearing at Lilith Fair vary by date (with McLachlan
440-520: The stage, sound equipment, instruments, props, and clothes. When Beyoncé visited the United Kingdom with her 2016 The Formation World Tour , it took seven Boeing 747 air freighters and a fleet of more than 70 trucks to get her stage set and other gear to the venues. The logistics phase of that tour did not include transportation of the backstage staff, musicians, performers, and the singer herself. The majority of concert tours are part of
462-585: The summer of 2010, with a two-week tour of Europe to follow. The tour was plagued with financial problems from the beginning. The first seven shows were sparsely attended and the eighth show was the first to be cancelled. Initially, Sarah McLachlan claimed (in an interview posted on the Arizona Republic website on July 9) that the July 8 Phoenix show was cancelled in protest of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 , which she strongly opposes. The tour fell apart on
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#1732781024891484-444: The touring business suffered in the early 2020s because of the COVID-19 pandemic . Pollstar estimated the total lost revenue for the industry in 2020 at more than $ 30 billion. The mobility of concert tours requires a lot of costs, time, and energy. It is very common for musicians to not see family members for over a year during their touring. British singer Adele expressed her unhappiness of concert tours, saying "Touring
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