Where else but in the world of touring would Miley Cyrus and Leonard Cohen be on the same short list?
This year’s tally of Top 25 Tours comprises many artists long familiar to concertgoers, but the list is not completely dominated by veterans whose biggest hits are behind them. Nor, as evidenced by Cohen’s appearance, are the top tours limited to producers of hits.
The top tours are a mix of legends, legends-to-be and promising breakthroughs. As usual, the list skews toward the legends. Thirteen of the top 25 can be considered to have broken at least two decades ago. Seven can be considered products of the ’90s, and five-if one counts “American Idol” as an “act”-are products of this century.
The top tier is all about the guys from Jersey. For the time period covered by Billboard Boxscore-from Nov. 14, 2007, through Nov. 11, 2008-Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway tour is No. 1 for the year with 99 shows and 99 sellouts grossing more than $210 million (see story, page 59).
Following closely is Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s Magic tour, the top-grossing trek of Springsteen’s long and storied career. Both tours carried conservative ticket prices, and both sold out stadiums across Europe and arenas and scattered stadiums in North America. With much-praised current album releases behind them and long track records of touring success, both tours were expected to do well, but perhaps not at the record-setting levels of box office they generated.
For the rest of the top 10…
Click here for the full story, including a look at all of the year’s top tours, where 2008’s top tours fit with the most successful tours of all time, and more.
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