Touring
Maxwell, Joe and Anthony Hamilton Soulfully Command the ‘Night’ at Inglewood’s Kia Forum
The newly christened Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., oozed with soul Friday night (April 29) as Maxwell and his fellow gurus of love — Joe and Anthony Hamilton — rolled into town for the latest stop on Maxwell’s The Night Tour. As Maxwell proclaimed at one point to a screaming audience, “We’re three Black men here on this stage to celebrate you.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Given that this particular tour stop was rescheduled from its original April 15 date owing to COVID-19 protocols, audience anticipation was revved up even higher. However, the R&B trio more than met the demand expected of them, packing a lot into their respective sets. Among the celebs in the audience co-signing their electric performances were Bobby Brown, Kel...
Celine Dion Pushes European Tour Dates to 2023 Amid Ongoing Health Issue
Celine Dion is once again postponing a leg of her Courage World Tour amid an ongoing health issue. “I’m so sorry we have to change our tour plans for Europe one more time; first we had to move the shows because of the pandemic, now it’s my health issues causing us to postpone the shows,” Dion said in a statement posted to her website on Friday (April 29) announcing her European dates were rescheduled. In her message to fans, Dion directly gave a more detailed update about her condition, which she has previously identified as severe and persistent muscle spasms, promising that she is doing her “very best” to get back to being performance-ready. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I am doing a little bit better … but I’m still...
Stagecoach Bans Confederate Flags on Festival Campgrounds
Goldenvoice has quietly instituted a new rule banning Confederate flags at this year’s Stagecoach, according to the General Resort Rules page on the festival’s official website. The change was first spotted by Palm Springs’ Desert Sun. The rule bans “divisive symbols, including, without limitation, Confederate flags and racially disparaging or other inappropriate imagery/public displays” on Stagecoach’s campground, known as the “The Resort.” Goldenvoice declined to comment when Billboard reached out about the ban. Stagecoach attendees have previously complained in online forums about the display of Confederate flags at the festival. One of them, Gigi Mitchell, started a Change.org petition in 2020 calling for a ban, though it garnered just 57 signatures. The Confederate flag has long had a...
Shawn Mendes Announces Sustainability Initiatives for Wonder Tour: Exclusive
Along with presenting his 2020 album Wonder to the masses, Shawn Mendes’ upcoming Wonder world tour will feature a slew of sustainability initiatives, Billboard can exclusively reveal. Mendes is following in the footsteps of artists like Coldplay and Billie Eilish, as the music industry aims for greener and more climate-positive tours. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The Wonder tour, which kicks off in Portland on June 27, will reduce its per-show carbon footprint by implementing simple but effective practices that can be done by both fans and tour crew. In order to achieve its reduced emissions goal, the tour will offer merchandise with sustainable fabrics and fewer dyes, along with energy-efficient lighting and power for the show itse...
Jordan Hallpike Joins WME UK Office as Crossover Music Agent
WME today announced that Jordan Hallpike has joined the company as a crossover agent in the music department, based in London. In his role, Hallpike will focus on forging new creative opportunities on behalf of WME’s client roster in addition to serving as a lead for business development projects. Hallpike comes to WME with over 10 years of experience across the music and creative sectors in Europe. He has served as the director of music at the Ibiza Rocks Group where he was responsible for talent booking, event programming, and creative direction. Hallpike is also the co-founder of the creative studio Midnight Movement, where he worked with Live Nation, Island Records, Sky, ITV, and Warner Music Group. Hallpike’s hire comes on the heels of several key promotions in the agency’s musi...
Tim McGraw & Sam Hunt to Headline Debut GoldenSky Country Music Festival
California is getting another new country music festival. Sacramento’s GoldenSky Music Festival will debut Oct. 15-16 with headlining performances from Tim McGraw and Sam Hunt at Discovery Park. The new event is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents (Welcome to Rockville, Louder Than Life) in partnership with Visit Sacramento and will feature performances from top-tier country acts including Brothers Osborne, Midland, Carly Pearce, Parmalee, Michael Ray, Diamond Rio, Brian Kelley and Lindsay Ell. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In addition to the musical acts, the weekend will also include a daily beer festival with more than 100 selections of local, regional and national craft beers, seltzers and ciders. The GoldenSky Beer Festival is free with fe...
Olivia Rodrigo Turned Gracie Abrams’ Last Night on ‘Sour’ Tour Into a Rock n’ Roll Prom
Olivia Rodrigo is going to miss her Sour Tour opening act Gracie Abrams. So, to celebrate the “Unlearn” singer’s final date in Detroit on Saturday night (April 23), Rodrigo told fans she wanted to “do a little something special” for Abrams’ last slot on the sold-out outing. “And since it’s prom seasonnnn I thought maybe we could turn SOUR TOUR into SOUR PROM???? Would u guys be down? Prom attire?” she tweeted. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news And, true to her request, the vibe at the Detroit Masonic Temple Theatre was regal, with both singers dressing up in ruffled party dresses for the occasion in a series of snaps Rodrigo posted on Instagram on Sunday night. In the pics, the pair are holding roses and smiling for the camera in front of a glitt...
After COVID-19, Floods, Bluesfest 2022 Exceeds Expectations
BRISBANE, Australia — As Australians settle into the cooler months, the traditional festivals season ends on a comforting note. Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, one of the great brands on the festivals calendar, wrapped without disruption, and welcomed more than 100,000 guests through its gates. After a tumultuous two years, which included a last-minute aborted mission in 2021, Bluesfest went ahead as planned from Thursday, April 14 to Monday, April 18 at the Byron Events Farm, with more ticket sales than expected. “This year we’ve sold more than 101,000 tickets — more than 15,000 of those in the past week,” explains Bluesfest director Peter Noble. “We had a surge of sales in the last 10 days. People waited to make sure we didn’t get cancelled again before they bought a ticket.” That wait-and-...
Astroworld Report Leads to Finger-Pointing Over Jurisdiction and Blame for Tragedy
Travis Scott‘s Astroworld festival, where 10 attendees died last November, suffered from permitting issues and insufficient training for security, according to a report released Tuesday by the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety (TFCS). The task force, which was created by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to investigate the tragedy and make policy recommendations, concluded that establishing standardized safety procedures could help prevent a similar mass casualty event from happening in the future. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Released five months after the tragedy, the report highlights a confusing web of permitting power over events like Astroworld. Harris County should have had permitting jurisdiction over NRG Park, the report says, but the...
Lorde Covers a ‘Genius’ Rosalia Song to Introduce ‘Liability’: Watch
Lorde just covered a Rosalía song on tour and, as the 28-year-old Latin musician would say: It’s so, so, so, so, so, so good. While performing Monday night (April 18) at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Lorde began singing the lyrics to Rosalía’s sensual, Spanish-language track “Hentai,” prompting ecstatic screams from the audience as soon as they realized whose song the “Solar Power” artist was performing. Sitting on the steps of her stage’s enormous sundial-shaped structure, Lorde’s only accompaniment was a soft piano that began playing the instantly recognizable opening notes of her Melodrama fan-favorite “Liability” once she got through the English lyrics — “So, so, so, so, so, so good” — of Rosalía’s chorus. The 25-year-old pop star has spoken before about her love for “Hen...
Russ Signs KTLYN to DIEMON Records Ahead of The Journey Is Everything World Tour
Russ has officially signed collaborator KTLYN to his DIEMON Records, making her the second signee to the label co-founded by Bugus. In celebration of the new deal, Russ and KTLYN released an extended remix of their hit “Handsomer” on Friday (April 8) — a month after the first remix dropped March 9 — complete with two additional verses. KTLYN will also join Russ alongside Bugus and Bia to perform as part of his newly rebranded The Journey Is Everything world tour. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The tour kicks off in Seattle on April 29. With additional stretches in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, India and New Zealand, the tour is slated to end in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 21, 2023. Additional dates will be added in North Afr...
Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia Tour Up 1,500% From Pre-Pandemic Touring
A tour two years in the making, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia Tour kicked off in February and wrapped its U.S. & Canada leg on April 1, earning $40.1 million and selling 394,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. The tour was promoted by Live Nation in support of her Future Nostalgia album, which was released on March 27, 2020. Business has been strong and consistent, topping 11,000 tickets in 27 of 28 cities. Milwaukee’s scaled-down capacity at Fiserv Forum is the only exception, and still, that was sold out at 6,312 tickets. March 1 was the tour’s highest grossing night, with $2.1 million at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. The next night won top honors for attendance, moving 16,068 tickets in March 2 at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena. But Lipa’s...
