Tours
What a band's touring record says that the albums don't: the grind of the breakthrough years, the record-breaking runs, and the tours that changed how tickets are sold.
A tour is the closest thing music has to a scoreboard: how many nights, how many cities, how many people, how much money. We take those numbers from the published record (box-office reports, the artists' own figures where we say so, and setlist.fm for show counts) and put them side by side.
At the top end, the Eras Tour played 149 nights over 21 months and, by its own figures, became the highest-grossing tour ever, Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour sold 13.1 million tickets, more than any tour in history, The Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn tour became the highest-grossing tour by a male solo artist, and the Oasis reunion played 41 nights in 14 countries after nearly sixteen years apart. At the other end of the scale, Tool built a career on saying no, and the busiest touring years show how some bands once played more than 200 nights a year.
Going to a big tour yourself? Our guide to getting concert tickets explains presales, queues and resale.
Tours in numbers
149 nights: the Eras Tour by the numbers
It began in Arizona in March 2023 and ended in Vancouver 21 months later, as the biggest-grossing tour there has ever been. The Eras Tour, by the numbers.
Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour in numbers
It started in Costa Rica in March 2022 and paused at Wembley three and a half years later, as the most-attended tour there has ever been. Here's the Music of the Spheres tour, by the numbers.
The Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn tour in numbers
It was meant to be an arena tour in 2020. It became a four-year stadium run of 176 shows that wrapped in Kuala Lumpur this week with more than $1.3 billion, the biggest tour ever by a male artist. Here it is, by the numbers.
41 nights: the Oasis reunion, by the numbers
Nearly sixteen years after Noel walked out, Oasis played 41 shows in 14 countries to more than two million people. Here is the reunion in numbers, and where it goes next.
No phones, 13 years, one No. 1: how Tool won by refusing
Most bands spend their careers saying yes. Tool built theirs on no: no phones at the show, no streaming for two decades, no new album for thirteen years. Then they went to No. 1.
