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 .
25-616: Symphonica (also promoted as Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour ) was an orchestral concert tour by George Michael and his last tour. The singer performed the songs mainly from Songs from the Last Century and Patience albums as well as some cover versions in new arrangements. The tour was officially announced on 11 May 2011. Due to high demand for tickets, extra shows were added in Dublin, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Rotterdam, Herning and Verona. A Brussels show
50-418: 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 the retirement of a singer, the disbanding of a band, or the end of a show's run. Many of
75-404: A handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any material that can be written or printed on, but are most commonly paper , cardboard or cardstock . They are also often laminated , especially for outdoor venues. The setlist is usually taped onto
100-449: 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 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
125-476: A running setlist on one or more Internet forums devoted to the performer of the night. When internet-connected smartphones came about, fans began to post the setlists directly to these forums and websites themselves, often as part of a running play-by-play commentary of their concert experiences on social media sites such as Myspace and later Twitter . Collecting setlists has become nearly as popular for music fans as collecting ticket stubs and show posters, with
150-404: Is done to provide a more accurate record of each individual show, which is later used to differentiate between performances during a tour, as many artists will change their setlist from one night to another. In the pre-smartphone era, devoted followers attending concerts of popular artists such as Bruce Springsteen or Led Zeppelin , which have very large fan bases spanning the globe, often took on
175-435: 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 the stage, sound equipment, instruments, props, and clothes. When Beyoncé visited
200-445: Is the use of technologies such as instant polling on social media and websites, where fans can choose material to be performed. Many performers also craft their playlists to highlight other elements of their shows, such as visual ambiance, choreography, or to refer to specific albums or phases of their careers. Music fans also refer to the setlist in the non-physical sense of what a performing artist chooses to play. Many artists use
225-461: The stage where the musicians can see it, or to equipment such as a monitor or amplifier. Artists and bands use setlists for a variety of reasons beyond the mere order of performance events. They are often used to help create the set's overall mood by establishing a memorable sense of range and variety in tone, tempo and dynamics between songs. They are also used to create sets for specific audiences and locations. An increasingly common application
250-404: 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. Setlist A set list , or setlist , is typically
275-523: 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 is U2 's 360° Tour , with $ 736.4 million. Global touring revenue reported to Billboard Boxscore exceeded $ 5.5 billion in 2016. Due to
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#1732802068517300-508: 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 a promotional campaign to support an album release. Hence, new songs from
325-413: The actual physical setlist becoming a treasured and uniquely rare souvenir for concert goers and fans of music, in general. Fans often wait around after a concert just so they can grab one off the stage after a performance or so they can try requesting one from a roadie or other event staff. Crew members also sometimes keep items like original setlists, guitar picks, drumsticks and other items used during
350-599: The band, along with Michael's long-time background vocalists Shirley Lewis, Lucy Jules, Lincoln Jean-Marie and Jay Henry. The stage had a semi-oval shape with a huge screen projecting different visual effects, sometimes featuring Michael himself. Some visuals were taken from the previous tour. On 25 November it was announced that all further concerts in 2011 had been cancelled due to Michael's illness. Eventually, it took longer time for Michael to recover, resulting in all concerts postponed and scheduled for April and May being postponed to October and November 2012. On 3 May 2012 it
375-534: 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, 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
400-584: 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 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
425-439: 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 a road manager whereas large concert tours are managed by a tour manager . The main challenge in concert tours
450-444: The premiere concert on 22 August 2011 at State Opera House – Prague, Czech Republic. 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 is a long break at some point), countries and/or continents, or different opening acts. In
475-455: 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 the concert represents one of her albums . In another case, artists embark on
500-441: The same list for every performance on a concert tour . Others prefer to vary their lists during a tour, either for the benefit of fans who attend multiple performances or to avoid a sense of monotony among the musicians. The Grateful Dead was known for never playing the same setlist twice. Some such artists have predetermined "slots" in an otherwise mostly fixed show where different songs can be inserted. Some artists even state that
525-440: The same song will not be played at two shows in a row; and still others, such as Van Morrison , use no predetermined list at all. There are websites that track and report information on such things as the venue and bands on the bill of each date, as well as which band members were in attendance, copies of the show posters and other memorabilia available, and most importantly, the actual setlist used for that particular event. This
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#1732802068517550-405: The task of tracking which songs were played and in what order, creating their own handwritten version of the correct setlist for the event to be shared later with other fans through fan clubs and other forums. When early cellular phones became commonplace with the general public, people began using text-messaging to report the songs played in real-time to a friend or fellow fan who would then update
575-430: 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 is Taylor Swift 's Eras Tour , with $ 2.089 billion earned from 125 shows. In 2024, Coldplay 's Music of
600-715: Was announced that scheduled for early April shows in Australia would be postponed to November 2012. His performance in Perth on 10 November would've been the headline act for the Perth Arena Gala Opening. But later due to recovery restrictions from the illness, Michael was forced to cancel all Australian dates. It was announced on Michael's website that his album Symphonica , released on 17 March 2014, would consist of studio material initially rehearsed for this tour including some live recordings. The setlist of
625-597: Was later announced on 3 June. Milan and Copenhagen shows were later announced. Many of the shows had already sold out completely. Prague, Antwerp, Rotterdam, London (Royal Albert Hall and Royal Opera House), Dublin, Cardiff, Sheffield and Newcastle had all sold out. The show included four new core band members who were selected by producer Phil Ramone and George Michael. These new members included musical director and pianist Henry Hey , guitarist Ben Butler, bassist David Finck , and drummer Mark McLean . In addition, percussionist Lea Mullen and guitarist Phil Palmer completed
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