Best (And Biggest) Of 2017: Country Tours
Touring is where artists make their money these days and just about all of ’em hit the road in a big way this year. There are a handful of country tours that straight up blew us away, however, and we’ve got a year-end Top Five.
Luke Bryan’s Huntin’ Fishin’ Lovin’ Everyday Tour: Clearly the biggest star in country music at the moment, Luke delivered often sold-out shows from the tour’s May opejing through its close in October. Billboard says he played for more than 650,000 fans during during that time, which grossed somewhere north of $35 million. Not bad for six months!
Dierks Bentley’s What The Hell World Tour: Billboard says Dierks’ trek brought in $26 million with ticket sales of more than 660,000. Twenty-two of the 51 shows were sellouts. “We’re out here, life’s short; I want to be around good people, good energy, good vibes,” he told People when things kicked off in January. Mission accomplished.
Eric Church’s 2017 Holdin’ My Own Tour: The Chief played to 930,000 people across 62 shows from January through May with ticket sales of more than $53 million, according to Billboard. That puts Eric among the top-grossing touring artists of the year. Asked by Billboard what was next, he wasn’t sure. “I’m trying to figure out the answer to that question … I currently have nothing. I’m still just trying to process everything.” Like those greenbacks?
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Soul2Soul: The World Tour: It’s a big one and there’s still more to come. The tour kicked off in New Orleans in April and doesn’t wrap until July 2018, by which time they’ll have played more than 100 shows. The run had grossed more than $71 million by October, Billboard reports, and 838,000 tickets had been sold. Soul2ManySouls!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvwXdoOvOpY
The Garth Brooks World Tour With Trisha Yearwood: Garthzilla is still the king, y’all. The North American run (rumors say Europe is next) has been going strong since late 2014 and is wrapping up this month in Nashville. More than six million tickets have been sold to date, making it the most successful by that measure in North America ever, according to Billboard. Garth held the last North American record, too, selling just more than five million tickets in a late ’90s run. Garth doesn’t release box office sales, but we’re guessing he did alright.
Teddy McDonald is a fun-lovin’ country music fan man living in Nashville, Tennessee.
