It’s always a guarantee that Bruce Springsteen will have a hot tour, and according to “Billboard’s” mid-year touring report Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s “The River” tour is the highest grossing for the past six months. Based on box office numbers from November 10th , 2015 to June 6th, 2016, Bruce’s tour has raked in $135,355,391 from 45 shows with an accumulated attendance of 1,103,536 concertgoers. Coming in second is Madonna’s already completed “Rebel Heart,” tour with a total gross of $123,904,358 (from 58 shows), followed by Beyoncé at $96,938,247 (18 shows.)
Top Ten Highest Grossing Tours (Mid-Year)
Keep in mind two of the biggest tours Garth Brooks and Adele did not report their box office info.
- Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
- Madonna
- Beyoncé
- The Rolling Stones
- Coldplay
- Justin Bieber
- David Gilmour
- Iron Maiden
- Taylor Swift
- Carrie Underwood
Sting is working on a rock record, and now we know when to expect it. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer announced that his new solo project, “57th & 9th,” is set to drop November 11th. Sting is currently on the road with Peter Gabriel on their “Rock Paper Scissors” tour. The trek hits Calgary tomorrow.
Elton John attended the international AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa earlier this week where he announced that he’s going to create a $10-million fund to support LGBT Africans, who suffer great discrimination and stigma in their country. “We will help them on the ground,” Elton told the crowd. “With these countries sometimes, who knows, it might take 50 years, but I guarantee it will change.” He added “You might have to fight for your own life but it will be worth it because in the end, you will win.” The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) has teamed with the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to distribute grants to organizations working at addressing LGBT stigma and discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. The first two recipients to receive grants are the HIV/AIDS Alliance (The Alliance) and the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF).
Cleaning out your attic is normally not a fun chore. For the family of singer Cilla Black, they ended up with an incredible surprise. A recording of The Beatles‘ “It’s For You” sung by Paul McCartney back in 1964 was discovered inside a brown paper bag. Macca and John Lennon penned the song for Black over five decades ago but McCartney’s demo has been lost…until now. The 7-inch vinyl of “It’s For You” will be hitting the auction block and is expected to bring in up to $26,000. Check out Cilla Black’s version of the song.
Bruce Springsteen is on the road with his “The River” tour until September 14th, but there’s no doubt some fans out there are dying to know when he’ll get to releasing a new album. Well, his manager Jon Landau shared a little bit of information about the record, but not that much. “All I can say is that there is a solo record — and when I say solo record, I’m not talking about an acoustic record,” Jon tells “Billboard.” “It is, in fact, a very expansive record, a very rich record. It’s one of Bruce’s very creative efforts.” Landau added that the album will be “a very different kind of record” from The Boss, but couldn’t say much about when to expect it, or whether Bruce will tour in support of it. “It’s a wonderful record, and we’ll see how the next year unfolds,” he says. “We’re terrible planners. You have people who know where they’re playing 18 months from now and have all of next summer’s festivals booked, and we just have a knack for not planning that far ahead. That’s our way.”
Summer is going to feel extra long for fans of Styx and Journey. Both bands are due to reissue live albums, but not until September. Styx is releasing “Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas” on DVD and Blu-ray on September 2nd. The performance is from July 2014 and while the show were released on CD in 2015, this marks the first time the gig will make it’s way to home video. “Damn, we had a good time on that tour!” guitarist and singer Tommy Shaw remembers. “Night after night following [opening act] Don Felder’s legendary set, we couldn’t wait to hit the stage for our turn at bat. Unforgettable.” On September 9th, Journey is set to reissue “Live in Manila.” The 2009 show, which served as a homecoming for Filipino frontman Arnel Pineda, was originally available on DVD only but now there’s a variety of options. Aside from DVD and CD combo packs along, a standalone audio version will be offered for the first time.
Marilyn Manson is making his move to the big screen. The rocker, who appeared on the show “Sons of Anarchy,” plays a hit man in the upcoming film “Let Me Make You a Martyr” and Rolling Stone has gotten their hands on a clip. The two-minute preview shows Manson’s character Pope having a standoff with one of his targets. “Look, you would have shot me if you were man enough when I walked through the f**king door,” Manson’s part-Native American hit man says. “Let’s just get this shit over with. You know you’re dead already.” “Let Me Make You a Martyr” is making its world premiere on July 22nd at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal but in the meantime, you can check out the clip to the right.
