While it may not seem like an apples-to-apples comparison to other dates on a Dead & Company tour, or any other tour for that matter, the final figures for Playing in the Sand are still staggering. The $18.7 million earnings outpace recent multi-artist Mexican festivals like Corona Capital and Electric Daisy. In fact, the three Playing in the Sand events rank as the third, fourth, and fifth highest-grossing Mexican engagements in the history of Billboard Boxscore.
The only events to out-gross the Dead & Co. fest were a three-show run by U2 at Estadio Azteca in 2011 ($22.9 million; 282,978 tickets; May 11, 14-15) and a 30-show spread by Luis Miguel at Auditorio Nacional in 2006 ($19.3 million; 267,528 tickets; Jan. 18-Feb. 27).
The three editions of Playing in the Sand are Dead & Company’s only reported shows in Mexico but at a combined $51.2 million, they are the ninth-highest grossing act in the country’s Boxscore history. The Rolling Stones ($206.1 million), Luis Miguel ($165 million) and U2 ($104.6 million) are the country’s all-time leaders.
See below for the full Hot Tours tally, featuring Tedeschi Trucks Band, Aventura, and the Eagles.
HOT TOURS - MARCH 7, 2020
Ranked by Gross, Compiled from Boxscores reported Feb. 25 - March 2
ACT
Total Gross
Show Date Range
Venue, City (Shows/Sellouts)
Total Attendance (Capacity)
RANK
1 Dead & Company
$18,691,827
Jan. 16 - 19
Moon Palace Riviera, Cancun, Mexico (4/4)
6,127 (6,127)
2 Eagles
$8,871,615
Feb. 7 - 11
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Ga. (3/3)
39,375 (39,375)
3 Aerosmith
$7,953,838
Jan. 29 - Feb. 15
Park Theater, Las Vegas (0/8)
37,094 (37,597)
4 Blake Shelton
$7,750,287
Jan. 25 - Feb. 27
Choctaw Grand Theater, Durant, Okla. (1/1)
Moda Center, Portland, Ore. (1/1)
Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Wash. (1/1)
Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash. (1/1)
Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, Claif. (1/1)
Save Mart Center, Fresno, Calif. (1/1)
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif. (1/1)
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah (1/1)
88,944 (88,944)
5 Aventura
$7,131,966
Feb. 5 - 8
The Forum, Inglewood, Calif. (4/4)
52,162 (52,162)
6 Marc Anthony
$6,914,827
Jan. 25 - March 1
Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, Atlantic City, N.J. (1/1)
Madison Square Garden, New York (1/1)
Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. (1/1)
Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C. (1/1)
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. (1/1)
H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas (0/1)
60,182 (60,569)
7 The Lumineers
$2,613,312
Feb. 25 - 29
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa. (1/1)
KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y. (1/1)
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. (1/1)
Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn. (1/1)
44,315 (44,315)
8 Post Malone
$1,692,240
Feb. 16
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec (1/1)
15,523 (15,523)
9 Tedeschi Trucks Band
$683,592
Feb. 14 - 22
Warner Theatre, Washington, D.C. (4/4)
6,876 (6,876)
10 tobyMac
$555,333
Feb. 21 - 23
Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colo. (0/2)
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah (0/1)
16,459 (18,115)
