Garth Brooks returned to the concert stage in Nashville during December with nine benefit concerts at the Bridgestone Arena. Revenue from the shows went towards relief efforts related to the flood that devastated the city and surrounding areas last May. Ticket sales totals from the string of performances give the country superstar the No. 1 position on this week's Hot Tours chart. A total of 147,528 tickets were sold during the nine-show run that began on Dec. 16 and ended on the 22nd. On three of those dates, Dec. 16, 21 & 22, the 4-time CMA Entertainer of the Year did double duty with two concerts each day, with single shows on the 17th, 19th and 20th. Brooks invited country veteran Steve Wariner to join him on stage during the run as well as his wife, Grammy-winner Trisha Yearwood. The total gross for the sold out string of concerts was $4,057,020.
This week's Hot Tours rankings include Prince in the No. 2 position based on box office totals from the singer's Jan. 18 performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The attendance total was 18,256 for the sold out concert, the third at the arena during the past two months. Prince also played the Garden on Dec. 18 and 29 with sellout crowds in the house for his Welcome 2 America Tour. With the $1.9 million gross added to the counts from the December performances, Prince's combined total from his MSG shows is $5,941,624 from 54,708 tickets sold.
| Rank | Artist/Event
Total Gross
Show Dates
Show Venue/City (Shows/Sellouts)
Total Attendance (Capacity) |
| 1 | GARTH BROOKS
| $4,057,020 | | Dec. 16-22 | | Bridgestone Arena, Nashville (9/9) | | 147,528 (147,528) | |
| 2 | PRINCE
| $1,956,335 | | Jan. 18 | | Madison Square Garden, New York (1/1) | | 18,256 (18,256) | |
| 3 | JEFF FOXWORTHY
| $875,993 | | Jan. 14 | | Rexall Place, Edmonton (1/0) | | 12,550 (15,950) | |
| 4 | TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA
| $618,045 | | Dec. 12 | | Bridgestone Arena, Nashville (2/0) | | 12,988 (20,302) | |
| 5 | MAZE FEATURING FRANKIE BEVERLY
| $601,722 | | Jan. 1-15 | | Fox Theatre, Atlanta (1/0) | | NOKIA Theatre L.A. Live, Los Angeles (1/0) | | 7,963 (10,402) | |
| 6 | ZAC BROWN BAND
| $525,334 | | Dec. 29 | | Bridgestone Arena, Nashville (1/1) | | 13,974 (13,974) | |
| 7 | LINKIN PARK
| $454,499 | | Jan. 20 | | BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Fla. (1/0) | | 8,678 (10,787) | |
| 8 | CHRIS TUCKER
| $295,369 | | Dec. 31 | | Fox Theatre, Atlanta (1/1) | | 4,231 (4,231) | |
| 9 | VÉRONIC DICAIRE
| $279,243 | | Jan. 12-15 | | Théâtre Capitole, Quebec City (4/0) | | 4,210 (4,384) | |
| 10 | MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER
| $193,508 | | Dec. 28 | | Fox Theatre, Atlanta (1/0) | | 3,274 (4,666) | |
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