Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and the Police are among the finalists for the 2008 Billboard Touring Awards, set for Nov. 20 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.
All three of those tours are finalists for the Top Tour and Top Draw awards, which recognize the top grossing and top ticket sellers, respectively. Outside of the special honors, Billboard Touring Awards are based on data reported to Billboard Boxscore between Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008.
“Despite a tough economy, the touring industry has held up quite well, and there were some real highlights and special tours out this year,” says Ray Waddell, executive director of content and programming for touring and live events at Billboard. “We look forward to once again honoring the top tours, venues, events and companies at the 2008 Billboard Touring Awards.”
Other finalists include Kenny Chesney’s Poets & Pirates tour, Journey/Heart/Cheap Trick, and Mary J. Blige/Jay-Z with Dream for Top Package, and Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, and Michael Buble for Breakthrough Artist. The latter acknowledges the top-grossing act that breaks into the Top 25 tours for the first time.
Top Festival finalists are Coachella in Indio, Calif., Lollapalooza in Chicago, and Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn. The Top Boxscore finalists, which go to the top-grossing engagement for the time period, are Spice Girls at the O2 in London, Madonna at Stade de France in Paris, and Celine Dion at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
On the industry side, Live Nation, AEG Live, and 3A Entertainment are finalists for the Top Promoter award, and William Morris Agency, Creative Artists Agency and Artists Group International are the three finalists for Top Agency.
Top Manager finalists are Jon Landau Management, Bon Jovi Management, and Front Line Management. Venue finalists in various categories include Madison Square Garden, the WaMu Theater at MSG, and Radio City Music Hall in New York, along with the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the O2, Bell Centre, Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Top Club and Top Amphitheatre will also be awarded.
Special Awards this year include Widespread Panic for the Road Warrior award, Jon Bon Jovi/Philadelphia Soul for Humanitarian Award, Walking With Dinosaurs for Creative Content, and the Allman Brothers Band for Legend Of Live. The awards wrap the 2008 Billboard Touring Conference Nov. 19-20.
The complete list of Touring Awards finalists:
TOP TOUR
Bon Jovi, Lost Highway tour
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Magic tour
The Police Reunion tour
TOP DRAW
Bon Jovi
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
The Police
TOP PACKAGE
Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige, Dream
Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick
Kenny Chesney, with Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, others
BREAKTHROUGH
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus
Jonas Brothers
Michael Buble
TOP COMEDY TOUR
Chris Rock
Dane Cook
Katt Williams
TOP BOXSCORE
Celine Dion, Bell Centre, Montreal, Aug. 15-Sept. 1, 8 shows
Madonna, Stade de France, Paris, Sept. 20-2, two shows
Spice Girls, O2 Arena, London, Dec. 15-Jan. 22, 17 shows
TOP FESTIVAL
Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tenn.
Coachella, Indio, Calif.
Lollapalooza, Chicago
TOP ARENA
Bell Center, Montreal
Madison Square Garden, New York
O2 Arena, London
TOP VENUE-Under 10,000 seats
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City
Radio City Music Hall, NYC
The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
TOP VENUE-Under 5,000 seats
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
Fox Theatre, Atlanta
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
TOP CLUB
House Of Blues Dallas
House Of Blues Chicago
The Fillmore, San Francisco
TOP AMPHITHEATER
Comcast Center, Mansfield, Mass.
Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, N.J.
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, N.Y.
TOP PROMOTER
AEG Live
Live Nation
3A Entertainment
TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER
Jam Productions, Chicago
C3 Presents
Outback Concerts
TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER (International)
Frontier Touring Company, Australia/New Zealand
Michael Coppel Presents, Australia/New Zealand
3A Entertainment
TOP MANAGER
Bon Jovi Management
Front Line Management
Jon Landau Management
TOP AGENCY
Artists Group International
Creative Artists Agency
William Morris Agency
CREATIVE CONTENT AWARD
Walking With Dinosaurs
HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Jon Bon Jovi/Philadelphia Soul
ROAD WARRIOR
Widespread Panic
CONCERT MARKETING & PROMOTION AWARD (online voting at billboard.com)
Guerilla Union Presents Rock The Bells, Powered By: SanDisk
Crue Fest/Rock Band
The Vans Warped Tour, presented by AT&T
The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Tour
Blackberry Presents John Mayer
The Jonas Brothers Burning Up Tour, sponsored by Burger King
Corona Extra Presents the Kenny Chesney Poets & Pirates Tour
LEGEND OF LIVE
Allman Brothers Band
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