This summer’s concert boom marks the first turnaround since the 2008 economic crash. According to Pollstar, North American concert sales were up 5.8% over 2014; Life Nation’s sales (through July) were up 7%; and AEG Live reported 26% gains at the box office. For the past few years promoters have struggled to find the right mix of price/artist for top acts though there have been higher box offices sales since 2013.
Tag Archives: tour
Tom Petty Calls Use of Confederate Flag “Stupid”
In a Rolling Stone article Tom Petty of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) applauded South Carolina for removing the Confederate flag. “Lowering the flag from the statehouse grounds was the right decision. That flag shouldn’t have any part in our government,” he said. The rocker also expressed remorse for his use of the Confederate flag during his 1985 Southern Accents tour. “I just honestly didn’t give it much thought, though I should have,” he confesses. A couple years afterward, he stopped in the middle of a performance after someone threw a Confederate flag onstage and said: “I would prefer if no one would ever bring a Confederate flag to our shows again because this isn’t who we are.”
His views are in direct opposition to a few others. Michigan-born Kid Rock defiantly told Confederate flag protestors that they could kiss his ass.
Philadelphia Orchestra Announces European Tour
With the Philadelphia Orchestra ending 2014 on a positive note of having a $670,000 surplus on its $39.6 million budget, it seems like a good time to travel to Europe. The last time the Orchestra toured Europe was in 2011 during uncertainty with its financial trouble. Now in 2015, with the Orchestra a resounding success comparatively, a tour of Europe has been announced.
There will be 14 concerts in 10 cities over three weeks. The Orchestra will visit the following major European cities: Luxembourg (May 21 and 22), Cologne (May 23), Dresden (May 24), Berlin (May 26), Dortmund (May 27-28), Lyon (May 29), Paris (May 30), Vienna (June 1-2), Amsterdam (June 4), and London (June 5-6).
Along with the announcement, Yannick Nézet-Séguin current music director, stated: “At the conclusion of three years of our magical partnership. I am proud to bring to European audiences this current embodiment of the great Philadelphia sound that we have collaborated on together.”