tour attendance record

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour breaks record as highest-grossing music tour ever

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is officially the highest-grossing music tour ever, becoming the first to surpass $1 billion dollars in revenue.

The tour, which began in March 2023 and is set to conclude in December 2024 after a total of 151 shows worldwide, has earned $1.04 billion (£840 million) to date, according to Pollstar.

This breaks the record set by Elton John’s five-year farewell tour which ended earlier this year, bringing in $939 million (£749 million) over 328 shows. 

Swift’s sixth concert tour is in fact so popular that it has earned more than this year’s next two highest-grossing tours (Beyoncé’s and Bruce Springsteen’s) combined.

Beyoncé’s 56-date Renaissance World Tour broke Madonna’s 14-year-old record for the highest-grossing music tour by a female artist , earning $579 million (£468 million) between May and October, before The Eras Tour subsequently took the title.

Described by Swift as a journey through all her musical “eras”, each show is over 3.5 hours long with a set list of 44 songs divided into 10 acts.

It has received immensely positive reviews from critics, who have heaped praise on the production’s concept and quality, as well as Swift’s performances.

Her devoted fanbase, the Swifties, have turned out in full force to see their idol, crashing ticketing sites, selling out hotels, and even causing earthquake-like seismic activity at certain shows, as happened in Seattle in July.

With roughly 72,000 people in attendance at each concert, and tickets averaging around $238, the tour is grossing over $17 million per show.

According to Pollstar, 4.3 million tickets have been sold to date, and at this trajectory, the tour could realistically rake in over $2 billion dollars if all the remaining scheduled shows are played.

Merchandise has also proven to be a lucrative source of revenue, with estimates that it has brought in around $200 million so far.

The Eras Tour is just one of Swift’s many successes in 2023. In addition to recently being named Time ’s Person of the Year, and the re-recording of her decade-old 1989 being the best-selling album of the year, she has broken multiple world records.

In June, she was awarded the record for the most simultaneous albums on the US Billboard 200 for a living artist, with 10 of her albums charting at the same time.

She then broke several more records in July : 

• Most US No.1 albums by a female artist – 12 
• Most US singles chart entries (female) – 212
• Most Top 10 debuts on the US Hot 100 (female) – 31
• Most simultaneous new entries on the Hot 100 (female) – 26
• Most cumulative weeks at No.1 on US albums charts (solo female) – 63

And in August, she made history with the most monthly listeners on Spotify (female) , becoming the first female artist to amass 100 million.

With plans to release more music and continue on her record-breaking tour, we’ve no doubt that Taylor Swift will achieve many more Guinness World Records titles in 2024!

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The World's Highest Grossing Tours of 2023

According to analysts at Pollstar, total grosses for the top 100 tours that year were up 46 percent from $6.28 billion in 2022 to $9.17 billion last year. Attendance figures were also up, rising from 59 million to 70 million - an increase of 18.4 percent.

The following chart is based on data collected by Pollstar on the world’s highest grossing tours of 2023. It reveals that at the top of this list, comes Taylor Swift with her record-breaking “ Eras Tour ” - the first ever to break the $1 billion mark - which visited 60 stadiums in total. It was followed by Beyoncé’s “Renaissance Tour”, which grossed some $580 million in 56 shows and Bruce Springsteen’s “Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour” which grossed $380 million across 66 venues.

Ticket prices for the top 8 grossing worldwide tours ranged between an average of $105.16 for an Ed Sheeran ticket to more than double that for Taylor Swift - $238.95.

Description

This chart shows the box office gross of the highest-grossing music tours worldwide in 2023.

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Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Has Already Made History 13 Times

And she’s not even halfway done yet.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is reaching its halfway point, nearly a year after she kicked off her global trek in March 2023. And it’s already made the history books. The singer started breaking records on opening night — literally — and has reached new heights at nearly every stop along the way.

Few world tours have had the same impact as Swift’s. It has been a huge boost for the global economy, with the U.S. Travel Association estimating that the tour has generated more than $5 billion for local economies.

Its success was also a huge factor in making Swift a self-made billionaire . Given that it’s not even over yet, there’s no telling how much more money it could generate.

Here are all of the records that Swift has broken with the Eras Tour... so far.

The First Billion-Dollar Tour

The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing tour of all time before it was even halfway finished. While Swift’s team doesn’t plan to report box office numbers as many artists do, Pollstar estimated she grossed over a billion dollars, making her the first artist ever to hit that milestone in a single tour.

Guinness World Records made it official in December after Swift concluded the 2023 leg. Since she’s playing shows through 2024, Variety estimates that the number could rise to an astounding $2 billion by the tour’s end.

Swift takes the record from Elton John, whose Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour became the biggest tour to date in January 2023. His years-long trek ended in July 2023, and made $939 million over 328 shows. To put Swift’s achievement in context, she broke the record after performing 66 shows out of a planned 152 shows.

Her Concert Movie Broke 2 Records

The Eras Tour domination didn’t end with concert ticket sales — it translated to the movie theater box office. After concluding the first North American leg in August, Swift announced that her Eras Tour concert movie would premiere in theaters that October. The film earned $37 million in presales on its first day alone and broke AMC’s single-day advance ticket sales record before it even came out.

It didn’t take long for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to be crowned the highest-grossing concert film of all time, with AMC reporting a week before the film premiered that it had already reached $100 million in advance sales . This was enough to beat the previous record-holder, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never .

An Unprecedented Golden Globe Nomination

At the 2024 Golden Globes, Swift’s Eras Tour movie was nominated for Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, making it the first concert film to ever be nominated for a Golden Globe . Sure, it got the nod in a brand new category that was practically tailor-made for a movie like Swift’s.

The Eras Tour film was up against other successful box office movies, like Barbie , Oppenheimer , and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but it eventually lost out to Barbie .

The Biggest Concert For A Female Artist

When Swift performed her first Eras Tour show in Glendale, Ariz., on March 17, 2023, she broke the record for highest attended concert by a female artist in the U.S., with over 69,000 tickets sold . Naturally, she’s went on to break her own record multiple times over the course of the U.S. leg.

She Shattered 8 Venue Attendance Records

Swift has broken attendance records at multiple stadiums worldwide, another sign of the tour’s demand. In the U.S., she achieved the biggest single-day attendance at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium with 71,000 people, Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium with 73,117 fans, and Seattle’s Lumen Field with 72,171 attendees.

Even more impressively, Swift was able to set three-day attendance records at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with 210,607 people, and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium with 217,635 fans.

So far, she’s faring just as well overseas, setting both one-day and three-day attendance records at Sao Paolo’s Allianz Parque, and breaking the three-day record at Melbourne’s Cricket Ground with 288,000 fans, which were the largest shows of her entire career .

METALLICA Now Holds Highest Single-Show Attendance Record At Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium

METALLICA drew nearly 80,000 fans to the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday (August 25) at the first of the band's two shows at the venue. It was the biggest crowd in the history of the SoCal stadium, which opened in September 2020. The San Francisco Bay Area-based metal legends drew a similarly sized capacity crowd on Sunday, August 27.

Fans purchased more than 156,000 tickets for the two-concert stand, which was part of METALLICA 's "M72" world tour.

The "M72" tour features a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, allowing promoters to sell more tickets than usual. And since METALLICA 's stage is hollow in the center, there is even more space available to accommodate fans.

According to Billboard , METALLICA 's giant ring-shaped stage also includes eight towers of monitors and speakers, with each of the towers is anchored by a raised platform that doubles as VIP seating, with eight folding chairs decorated with the black-and-yellow color scheme of the band's new album, "72 Seasons" .

Taylor Swift 's recent six-night bow at SoFi was attended by 420,000 ticket-holders, with 70,000-plus in attendance each time.

The "M72" tour launched in late April in Amsterdam.

A portion of proceeds from the shows go to METALLICA 's All Within My Hands foundation, which seeks to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported the band and combat food insecurity; provides disaster relief; and bestows scholarships.

METALLICA 's production travels in 87 trucks — 45 for the band and its setup, plus two groups of 21 each for the steel stage and towers. There are 130 people in the band's crew, plus 40 steelworkers, local hires and truck drivers.

METALLICA 's manager Cliff Burnstein told Billboard that between 80% and 90% of fans at each concert are attending both shows.

METALLICA 's two-night stand at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas earlier this month was livestreamed to movie theaters across the globe. It marked METALLICA 's first appearance in Texas since November 2021, when the band played before, during and after a Triad Combat event at Globe Life Field.

. @Metallica now holds the highest single-show attendance record at #SoFiStadium . Thank you for two incredible sold-out nights! ⚡️🤘 #M72LA pic.twitter.com/bnxV7sLKAJ — SoFi Stadium (@SoFiStadium) August 28, 2023

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Taylor Swift Sets Billion-Dollar Record With the Eras Tour

The stadium tour marks the first trek to cross the 10-digit threshold

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has become the first set of concerts to gross over a billion dollars — $1,039,263,762 to be exact.

Concert-tracking website Pollstar  estimated the data  based on box office reports and research into market ticket prices, record capacities at the stadium venues and other tour numbers.

Swift not only broke Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” gross record, but she also set the money mark in a shorter amount of time — eight months, during which she played 60 shows starting March 17 with the tour’s debut in Glendale, Arizona, and ending on Nov. 11 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Elton John’s farewell tour hauled in $939 million after 328 (more than five times the amount Swift played) shows in five years. The “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour began Sept. 8, 2018, and ended July 8, 2023. Another distinction to mark lies in John’s performance at arenas versus Swift’s performance at stadiums with an average capacity of 72,000.

According to Pollstar, she sold a mind-boggling 4.3 million tickets at an average ticket price of $238.95, putting her average show gross at a massive $17,321,063 for this leg of the tour. Her average ticket price wasn’t the highest priced. In fact, of the top 20 tours on the 2023 Worldwide Tours chart alone, she was only the fifth highest.

The Eras Tour set individual stadium records as well, including the six shows Swift played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the highest three-day attendance totals (217,635) ever at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as well as Dallas’ AT&T Stadium (210,607) and single-day attendance records of 71,000 people at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, 73,117 at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium and 72,171 in attendance at Seattle’s Lumen Field.

Swift still has many shows left to play when she picks up the international leg of the Eras Tour in Tokyo in February 2024. She has also set dates to play in certain cities in the United States she missed on the first round at the end of 2024 — including Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis.

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Ed Sheeran breaks MetLife Stadium’s attendance record on massive new tour

• Updated: Jun. 13, 2023, 9:24 a.m. |
• Published: Jun. 12, 2023, 2:38 p.m.

Ed Sheeran performs June 10, 2023, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Medi

• Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

As Ed Sheeran finished off his second of two massive Mathematics Tour performances in the Meadowlands Sunday night, the pop superstar made a bit of New Jersey concert history.

Sheeran’s crowd comprised more than 89,000 fans, breaking the concert attendance record at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford — New Jersey’s largest sports and entertainment venue. The new record was announced by an Atlantic Records spokesperson Monday and confirmed by a spokesperson for MetLife Stadium. The total also marked Sheeran’s largest U.S. concert to date.

The previous MetLife concert record was held by U2, whose July 20, 2011 show — on the band’s worldwide 360-degree tour — amassed 88,491 fans.

How was the “Thinking Out Loud” singer able to top not only U2 but the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and Taylor Swift, all of whom have performed similarly sold-out shows at MetLife? Chalk it up to the design of Sheeran’s stage, which was in-the-round style, built in the center of stadium floor. This allowed for fans to be seated in all stadium sections, like a New York Giants or Jets football game.

Most concerts at MetLife position the stage at one end of the floor with large video screens, and don’t sell tickets for sections behind the stage where the view is obstructed.

Opened in 2010, MetLife Stadium is in the midst of its busiest concert season to date, with 18 shows booked for 2023. Swift played the stadium for three nights over Memorial Day Weekend, drawing about 70,000 fans each day. The stadium’s next show is K-pop girl group TWICE July 6. Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and BLACKPINK play later this summer.

Sheeran’s album “Subtract (-)” was released May 5.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to further clarify Sheeran broke MetLife Stadium’s concert attendance record.

Bobby Olivier may be reached at [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook .

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The Weeknd Breaks London Stadium Attendance Record With ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ Two-Night Stand (EXCLUSIVE)

By Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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Over the past weekend, the Weeknd broke London Stadium’s record for highest attendance with his two-night stand at the venue on Friday and Saturday, which drew 160,000 people to his “After Hours Til Dawn Tour.”

The tour also holds the record for highest single-night attendance for any show at the stadium with 80,000 fans.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd)

Popular on Variety

Darryl Eaton, CAA’s co-head of North American touring, adds, “On the heels of an enormous, hugely successful U.S. tour, Abel continues to sell at an astounding level across Europe. Abel entertained 160,000 fans across two nights at London Stadium, with another show in London to come at Wembley in August. We couldn’t be more proud to work with him and his team on this incredible tour!”

The second leg of the After Hours Til Dawn Tour continues with a show in Brussels, Belgium at King Baudouin Stadium before heading to Barcelona, Milan, Paris and more — with more dates to be added. The Weeknd will also embark on his Latin America run this fall with shows in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and more before wrapping up on October 25 at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico.

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Did Kid Rock and Jason Aldean's Tour Break Taylor Swift's Concert Attendance Record?

"the success of the 'you can’t cancel america tour' lies in its ability to resonate with a wide range of audiences," the article claimed., taija perrycook, published jan. 11, 2024.

About this rating

On Jan. 6, 2024, Esspots.com published an article positing that ticket sales for Jason Aldean and Kid Rock 's joint concert tour had broken an attendance record previously held by pop legend Taylor Swift . "The success of the 'You Can’t Cancel America Tour' lies in its ability to resonate with a wide range of audiences," the article claimed. But the story was a piece of fiction.

The article began:

Breaking: Kid Rock and Jason Aldean’s You Can’t Cancel America Tour Breaks Taylor Swift’s Attendance Record In an unprecedented event in the world of live music, Kid Rock and Jason Aldean’s joint venture, the “You Can’t Cancel America Tour,” has shattered the concert attendance record previously held by pop sensation Taylor Swift. This groundbreaking achievement not only marks a new era in the live music industry but also highlights the evolving tastes and preferences of music enthusiasts across the United States.

The claim made its way to Facebook, where a post by account @SpaceX Fanclub received more than 27,000 reactions and 2,900 comments, as of this writing.

First, although Kid Rock and Aldean do have an anticipated tour together, it is not set to begin until April 2024. It is not titled "You Can't Cancel America," as the claim states; rather, the seven-stop tour will visit primarily small towns and is titled the "Rock the Country" tour , with dates extending through July 2024.

The claims made by Esspots.com have no basis in reality and there is no evidence to indicate that the pair's attendance rates are projected to exceed those held by Swift.

Esspots.com describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:

Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire , parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only.

According to Newsweek , Swift currently holds the record for the most-attended concert by a female artist ever in the U.S., with a 69,000 strong crowd. While Swift has also broken the record previously held by Elton John for highest grossing tour in history with The Eras Tour, exceeding ticket sales of $1 billion to date, she does not hold the top spot for most-attended concert tour for anyone in the U.S., which the Esspots.com article vaguely claims. The highest attended concert in U.S. history was a 1977 show by The Grateful Dead, which drew 107,019 fans.

Outside of the U.S., the highest attended concert ever was in 1994: a free Rod Stewart concert in Brazil attended by approximately 4.2 million people, according to Guinness World Records. The title for the highest-selling tour in history, also according to Guinness World Records, belongs to Ed Sheeren for his "÷ [Divide] Tour," which 8,882,182 people attended across six continents.

We've previously debunked other rumors regarding Kid Rock and Aldean, including that actor Mark Wahlberg would be joining them on tour.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Facebook . https://www.facebook.com/SpaceX6683/posts/pfbid02hr42e3cDpuQrPcGwDz1SDjUGy7Aqufam4ZkhEFazwKD1juUYPEmrDWXiBQef6mrol. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.

‘Highest Attendance for a Music Tour’.  Guinness World Records , 26 Aug. 2019, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/585769-highest-attendance-for-a-music-tour.

Jason Aldean, Kid Rock Headline Rock the Country Festival Visiting Small Towns. Here’s What to Know.’  The Tennessean , https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/11/14/rock-the-country-tour-what-to-know-about-jason-aldean-kid-rock-tour/71580644007/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.

‘Largest Free Rock Concert Attendance’.  Guinness World Records , 31 Dec. 1994, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/73085-largest-free-rock-concert-attendance.

Mutsoli, Vivian. ‘Top 15 Biggest Concerts Ever with the Largest Crowd as of 2024’.  Tuko.Co.Ke - Kenya News. , 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/music-singers/463351-top-largest-crowds-a-concert-history/.

Robin, Alex. ‘Breaking: Kid Rock and Jason Aldean’s You Can’t Cancel America Tour Breaks Taylor Swift’s Attendance Record’.  Esspots , 6 Jan. 2024, https://esspots.com/breaking-kid-rock-and-jason-aldeans-you-cant-cancel-america-tour-breaks-taylor-swifts-attendance-record/.

By Taija PerryCook

Taija PerryCook is a Seattle-based journalist who previously worked for the PNW news site Crosscut and the Jordan Times in Amman.

Article Tags

• Entertainment

Taylor Swift’s masterpiece Eras Tour sets Lumen Field attendance record

Concert review

Taylor Swift was just getting warmed up. With a little help from a sold-out Saturday night crowd at Lumen Field that came ready to scream every line, Earth’s biggest pop star had just ripped through “Cruel Summer” — a 4-year-old electro-pop banger that’s arguably the song of this summer — when she decided to have a little fun.

Without saying a word, Swift pointed to sections of the Seattle crowd, which she pegged at 72,000, who would erupt like audible geysers on their queen’s command. “This could go to my head,” Swift said playfully. “You just made me feel so powerful, you know what I mean?”

It was a winking setup for a booming “The Man” — a joyful stomp-and-romp rebuke of sexist double standards — that saw Swift bro-ing around a gargantuan office-themed stage, fist-bumping her battalion of business-suited dancers in jest, as her sequined jacket and boots glistened in the fading sunlight.

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After Saturday night, Swift has every right to feel powerful. Although Lumen Field reps couldn’t confirm the final attendance figures Sunday morning, it was the largest concert crowd in the venue’s history, breaking a record previously held by U2’s 360 Tour, which drew more than 70,000 fans in 2011. According to Swift’s team, 72,171 fans were in the house Saturday.

From the opening segment of Swift’s Eras Tour, for which there was an almost unprecedented amount of anticipation , Swift came ready to shoot-to-kill-you-with-a-look, as the stadium exploded with the strike of every pose or lick of her bright red lips. The three-and-a-half-hour marathon was barely underway, and it was already clear fans were in store for a night of entertainment on the biggest, grandest scale.

At 33, Swift already has around 15 years of pop stardom under her belt. In that time, she’s developed a reputation for having one of the strongest work ethics and most meticulous eyes for detail in the biz, and her ambitious, career-spanning Eras Tour takes that to another level. It’s customary for artists with catalogs as deep as hers to draw from the different periods of their careers with any tour. But the breadth and depth of the ground Swift covered across her whopping, 40-some-song set — without a proper set break, no less — was truly impressive, both physically and artistically. (Of her 10 albums, only her 2006 debut was omitted.)

Rather than working through material chronologically, Swift and her band — who flanked the back line of the stage, which had a long catwalk jutting out to the middle of the stadium and a secondary, diamond-shaped stage in the middle — ping-ponged between older and newer stretches of her career, helping the pace of the show.

Breaking out the set into nine or so album-specific segments, each with their own imaginative stage designs and wardrobe changes, only magnified the multitudes of Swift, the country-singer-turned-certified-pop-juggernaut who prompts economic impact studies in every metropolis she visits. Shuffling through the various periods of her career often felt like visitations from the ghosts of Taylors past, from the teenager singing of high-school romance (“Fearless” and “Speak Now”) to the crossover pop star starting to realize her widescreen visions (“Red” and “1989”) and the snake-slaying superstar whose life played out in the tabloids (“Reputation”).

The starkest, most potent juxtaposition came during the first half of the show, when Swift segued from the indie-folk underpinnings of “Folklore” to “Reputation,” with the buzzing synths and crunching trap drums of “Ready For It” making it clear we were out of the woods.

With a wealth of newer songs from a prolific four-album run she’d never before toured on (spanning 2019’s “Lover” to last fall’s “Midnights” LP), the star’s abbreviated throwback dives into her transitional “Speak Now” and “Fearless” eras felt particularly fan service-y.

It’s hard to fathom Swift getting more popular than she already was during her last Seattle date, when she brought her popcorn-ready Reputation Tour here in 2018. But kicking off a two-nighter at the same venue five years later, it seemed that for every millennial going “back to high school” with Swift on a gleeful pass through “You Belong With Me,” there was a 7-year-old singing along just as loudly to “Love Story,” the same 2008 seeds bearing yet another generation of Swifties.

One of Swift’s strengths as a performer is turning some of her less overtly stadium-ready songs into some of the biggest moments in her shows.

Sitting alone at a moss-covered piano, in keeping with the woodsy motif of her “Folklore” and “Evermore” albums, Swift eased in to a heart-leveling “Champagne Problems.” For a minute, there was a rare stillness in the air that the crowd seemed to breathe in, only to let loose in a triumphant choir, joining their leader loudest at the bridge. As the stadium erupted in an extended “Taylor” chant when the final note slipped away, even Swift seemed to well up a little on the big screen.

With each section of the show, the stage transformed into distinct mini universes, and for all the more explosive, fire-cannon-blasting moments, those woodsy “Folklore” and “Evermore” portions felt especially Northwest. When Swift later returned atop the mossy-roofed “’Folklore’ cabin,” she joked that the pandemic-conceived “fantasy world” was “in the middle of the woods — somewhere in Washington state, probably.”

Save for a pair of surprise acoustic songs (Saturday night it was “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” and “Everything Has Changed”), there isn’t a ton of variation in the set list from night to night on the Eras Tour. But with sibling rock trio HAIM joining the tour as one of the openers in Seattle, fans were treated to the debut of the country-rock-tinged “No Body, No Crime” with Swift accompanied by her three “besties” to kick off the “Evermore” portion of the night. Even though her country roots seem a lifetime away, the dark, brooding number is proof Swift can channel an outlaw spirit anytime she wants.

Having executed the most ambitious tour of her career as well as she did Saturday night, it’s fair to wonder if there’s anything left Swift can’t do.

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The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.

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Taylor Swift in Seattle: Eras Tour breaks Lumen Field attendance record

Jul 24, 2023, 4:02 PM

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

(Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

BY FRANK SUMRALL

MyNorthwest Content Editor

Seattle residents and tourists made history over the weekend, as 72,171 Taylor Swift fans were in attendance at Lumen Field Saturday night to watch The Eras Tour, the most ever in the venue’s history for a concert.

The concert on Saturday broke a record previously held by U2, which drew more than 70,000 fans in 2011. Lumen Field reps are still confirming the final attendance figures, but Swift was also the first artist to sell out Lumen Field on consecutive nights.

More from Taylor Swift in Seattle : Nearly 120,000 people in SoDo for soldout Mariners and Taylor Swift

Swift added a few wrinkles to her setlist in Seattle, as she treated the crowd with a live version of “No Body, No Crime,” alongside opening act HAIM — who are also featured on the song off of Swift’s album “Evermore.” She also played acoustic versions of “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” from her album “Reputation” and “Everything Has Changed” from her album “Red.”

Dave Brooks, Senior Director of Live Music and Touring for Billboard, estimated the cost of the tour is “well north of $100 million,” making it arguably the most expensive tour ever, boosting the economy in the process. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced in July that Taylor Swift’s tour helped boost travel and tourism in the region, a claim also made by several other U.S. cities.

According to Forbes , Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is on track to bring in $1.4 billion, with Swift making approximately $110 million already. The first 22 performances (out of 131 total shows) grossed more than $300 million.

More on Taylor Swift in Seattle : King County declares official ‘Taylor Swift Week’ ahead of popstar’s Seattle stop

The Eras Tour is already dwarfing other top-grossing tours worldwide, including Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s $142 million, 36-date tour and Harry Styles’ Love On Tour — the third highest-grossing act worldwide.

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Madonna Wraps Celebration Tour With Record-Setting Free Concert in Rio de Janeiro

The concert at Copacabana Beach on May 4 attracted more than 1.6 million fans.

By Mitchell Peters

Mitchell Peters

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Madonna wrapped her Celebration Tour with a massive free concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Madonna Brings Out Anitta & Pabllo Vittar at Massive Concert in Rio de Janeiro

The Queen of Pop closed her global trek with a record-breaking show at Rio’s Copacabana Beach on Saturday (May 4), drawing more than 1.6 million fans to the majestic site.

Although Copacabana Beach has seen larger crowds during past New Year’s Eve events, Madonna’s free concert beats the previous record held by the Rolling Stones , who performed there in 2006, according to a news release from promoter Live Nation.

The 65-year-old pop superstar’s Rio show also surpasses her record attendance of 130,000 fans at Paris’ Parc des Sceaux in 1987, the Associated Press reports . Ahead of the Rio concert, dubbed the “Celebration in Rio,” Madonna’s website touted the free event as the “biggest gig yet” of her four-decade career.

The Rio show was sponsored by Itaú bank and marked Madonna’s first show in Brazil since 2012. Tickets were made available to fans on a first-come first-serve basis on the day of the event.

Rio de Janeiro marked the last stop on Madonna’s Celebration Tour, which is projected to earn more than $225 million. The tour launched in London in October 2023 before visiting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico City.

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Wallen Celebrates U.S. Tour Kick-Off w/ Record-Setting 39,609 at American Family Field

Morgan Wallen sets attendance record at American Family field, with 39,609 fans at opening night of the U.S. leg of the One Night At A Time World Tour | Photo Credit: David Lehr

For the second time in his career,  Morgan Wallen  walked onstage to a stadium full of fans last night (April 14), this time setting the attendance record as 39,609 packed the stands. Soaking in his first of 58 shows in North America this year, on night one of two back-to-back plays at Milwaukee’s MLB American Family Field Wallen’s energy-packed set encapsulated his excitement in returning stateside to once again deliver his hits to the very fans who made them a success.

The tour name pays homage to his third studio album  One Thing At A Time , which remains at the top of the  Billboard  200 chart, where it has been parked for five consecutive weeks and counting. Hailed by  New York Times  as a “hit-stuffed streaming blockbuster,” the album continues to break records, the latest surpassing Drake to become the artist with the most songs simultaneously charting on the  Billboard  Hot 100, with all 36 songs atop the chart.

The streaming success of the album once again launched Wallen to the No. 1 spot on the  Billboard  Artist 100 all-genre chart for his 11th career week, becoming the only core country artist to simultaneously rule the Artist 100, Hot 100 &  Billboard  200 charts.

One Thing At A Time  has already yielded two No. 1 hits with 10-week No. 1 “ You Proof ” – the longest No. 1 in Country radio history – and “ Thought You Should Know ,” which remained at the top of country airplay charts for three consecutive weeks. Current singles “ One Thing At A Time ” and “ Last Night ” remain in the top-20-and-climbing on country radio, while “Last Night” continues to see success on pop charts, becoming Wallen’s first No. 1 on the  Billboard  Hot 100 all-genre chart.

Internationally, the album continues to soar, as it reaches its fifth consecutive week at No. 1 on the  Billboard  Canadian Albums chart, with “Last Night” sitting at No. 1 on the Canadian Top 200 Songs chart.

Wallen’s  One Night At A Time World Tour  is produced by Live Nation in North America/United Kingdom and Frontier Touring for Australia/New Zealand. It kicked off overseas March 15-25 with shows in New Zealand and Australia with HARDY, and continued stateside with tonight’s show at American Family Field with HARDY; hitting New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Boston’s Fenway Park with Parker McCollum. The tour will return overseas this fall with stops in Canada before heading to The O2 in London on Dec. 3. ERNEST and Bailey Zimmerman will support across North American dates.

Morgan Wallen 2023 U.S. Tour Dates:

Sat, April 15           Milwaukee, WI                   American Family Field*# Thurs, April 20       Louisville, KY                    KFC Yum! Center Sat, April 22           Oxford, MS                        Vaught-Hemingway Stadium*# Sun, April 23          Oxford, MS                        Vaught-Hemingway Stadium*+ Thurs, April 27       Grand Rapids, MI              Van Andel Arena Fri, April 28            Moline, IL                          Vibrant Arena Sat, April 29            Lincoln, NE                       Pinnacle Bank Arena Thurs, May 4          Jacksonville, FL                 VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Fri, May 5               West Palm Beach, FL         iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre Sat, May 6               Tampa, FL                          MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre Thurs, May 18         Hershey, PA                       Hersheypark Stadium* Fri, May 19              East Rutherford, NJ          MetLife Stadium*$ Sat, May 20             East Rutherford, NJ           MetLife Stadium*$ Wed, May 24           Austin, TX                         Moody Center Fri, May 26              Houston, TX                      Minute Maid Park*# Thurs, June 1           Atlanta, GA                        Truist Park*$ Fri, June 2                Atlanta, GA                        Truist Park*$ Sat, June 3               Panama City Beach, FL     Gulf Coast Jam^ Thurs, June 8           Virginia Beach, VA            Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach Fri, June 9               Virginia Beach, VA            Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach Sat, June 10             Myrtle Beach, SC              Carolina Country Music Fest^ Wed, June 14           Pittsburgh, PA                    PNC Park*& Thurs, June 15         Pittsburgh, PA                    PNC Park*# Sat, June 17             Philadelphia, PA                Citizens Bank Park*# Thurs, June 22         Chicago, IL                       Wrigley Field*# Fri, June 23              Chicago, IL                       Wrigley Field*$ Thurs, June 29          Detroit, MI                       Ford Field*# Fri, June 30              Detroit, MI                        Ford Field*# Thurs, July 6            St. Louis, MO                   Busch Stadium*$ Fri, July 7                St. Louis, MO                    Busch Stadium*$ Fri, July 14              San Diego, CA                   Petco Park*# Sat, July 15             San Diego, CA                   Petco Park*# Wed, July 19           Phoenix, AZ                      Chase Field*# Thurs, July 20         Phoenix, AZ                      Chase Field*# Sat, July 22             Los Angeles, CA               SoFi Stadium*# Thurs, Aug 3          Detroit Lakes, MN            WE Fest^ Fri, Aug 11             Columbus, OH                  Ohio Stadium*% Sat, Aug 12            Columbus, OH                  Ohio Stadium*# Wed, Aug 16          Boston, MA                       Fenway Park*# Thurs, Aug 17        Boston, MA                       Fenway Park*# Fri, Aug 18             Boston, MA                      Fenway Park*$ Sat, Sept 2              Washington, DC               FedEx Field*$ Sat, Oct 7               Tacoma, WA                     Tacoma Dome

Remaining Morgan Wallen 2023 International Tour Dates: Sat, Aug 5             Camrose, AB                     Big Valley Jamboree^ Thurs, Aug 24       Dieppe, NB                       YQM Country Fest^ Thurs, Sept 14       Toronto, ON                      Budweiser Stage Fri, Sept 15           Toronto, ON                       Budweiser Stage Sat, Sept 16           Toronto, ON                      Budweiser Stage Mon, Sept 18         London, ON                      Budweiser Gardens Thurs, Sept 21       Ottawa, ON                       Canadian Tire Centre Fri, Sept 22            Quebec City, QC               Videotron Centre Sat, Sept 23           Montreal, QC                    Bell Centre Thurs, Sept 28       Winnipeg, MB                  Canada Life Centre Fri, Sept 29            Saskatoon, SK                  SaskTel Centre Sat, Sept 30           Calgary, AB                      Scotiabank Saddledome Tues, Oct 3            Vancouver, BC                 Rogers Arena Wed, Oct 4            Vancouver, BC                 Rogers Arena Sun, Dec. 3            London, UK                    The O2~ * Stadium Dates ^ Festival Dates # HARDY, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman $ Parker McCollum, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman & HARDY, Bailey Zimmerman % Riley Green, ERNEST + HARDY, ERNEST ~ openers TBA

ABOUT MORGAN WALLEN Hailed by  Billboard  for making “his superstar arrival as a touring artist” in 2022, Morgan Wallen recently wrapped his 55-show  Dangerous Tour  with his first headlining stadium show at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, which saw him shatter attendance records previously held by Elton John and Lady Gaga. Now, the CMA Entertainer of the Year nominee who had record-setting shows in 30 venues across the country – with the only country tour nominated for  Pollstar’s Major Tour of the Year  – is embarking on a massive world tour in 2023. Spanning 30 stadium-plays across 5 countries and 3 continents, plus arenas, amphitheaters and festivals, Wallen’s 65-show  2023 One Night At A Time World Tour  will deliver the man  The New Yorker  dubbed as “the most wanted man in country” to fans worldwide.

With over 18.2 billion on-demand streams and eight chart-toppers at Country radio, the East Tennessean’s latest hit “ Thought You Should Know ,” cowritten with Nicolle Galyon and Miranda Lambert, remained at No. 1 for three consecutive weeks. Recent breakout hit “ You Proof ” became his fastest climbing single to-date, reaching No. 1 after just 14 weeks and remaining at No. 1 on  Billboard’s  Country Airplay chart for a record-breaking ten non-consecutive weeks. Current singles “ One Thing At A Time ” and “ Last Night ” remain top-20-and-counting on country airplay charts, as “Last Night” becomes Wallen’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1. On the heels of the unparalleled success of his 4x platinum, ACM Album of the Year,  Dangerous: The Double Album  (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic Records) – which topped 2021’s all-genre  Billboard  200 Albums year-end chart and notched historical chart status as  Billboard’s  longest running Top 10 album in history for a solo artist (with 113 total weeks spent in the Top 10, eclipsing Adele’s  21  and Bruce Springsteen’s  Born In The USA ), Wallen’s 36-song deeply personal third studio album,  One Thing At A Time,  is available now, where it remains at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts for its fifth consecutive week. With ten career weeks atop the  Billboard  Artist 100 all-genre charts, $3 from every U.S. ticket sold for the  One Night At A Time World Tour  will benefit the  Morgan Wallen Foundation\

ERNEST onstage at Milwaukee’s American Family Field for opening night of One Night At A Time World Tour | Photo Credit: Austin Collins

HARDY joins Wallen onstage at American Family Field, April 14, 2023 | Photo Credit: David Lehr

39,609 fans attend night one of two at Milwaukee’s MLB American Family Field | Photo Credit: Danielle Marshall

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Will Taylor Swift’s Melbourne show really be her biggest concert attendance ever?

The US singer is playing some of the world’s largest stadiums and arenas – but it is likely her shows at the MCG in Australia will draw her biggest crowds yet and break the record for her highest attended concert.

• Taylor Swift Melbourne concert live updates: Eras tour hits Australia
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W hen the Eras tour moved through 17 states in the US last year, Taylor Swift toppled attendance records almost everywhere she went. She played in enormous sporting stadiums and arenas to anywhere between about 50,000 to 70,000 people (her biggest show on the Eras tour so far was in Pittsburgh, with 73,117 people).

But it’s likely that Swift is about to set a new personal record in Australia, where she will perform to her biggest audience ever. The Melbourne Cricket Ground, where she will be performing on 16, 17 and 18 February, is predicting 260,000 people over three nights – an average of 86,000 a night.

The MCG can fit far more than 86,000 people – its official capacity is 100,024, and Ed Sheeran played to a record crowd of 109,500 people in a single night there last year.

The reason for the sizeable difference between Sheeran and what is predicted for Swift comes down to the size of her enormous stage on the Eras tour. Her stage is actually three separate parts that change shape through hydraulics, along with a long ramp – estimated to be about 80 metres long by the MCG – that juts into the standing area.

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Swift’s stage will be positioned at the city end of the MCG, which means some stands will be blocked from being used by concertgoers. But Sheeran’s unique circular revolving stage was placed in the middle of the turf, which meant all of the seats could be used.

The MCG show will each host more than what is predicted at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, where she played her previous biggest concert ever (about 76,000 people in 2015 on her 1989 tour). Accor is anticipating 300,000 at her four shows in Sydney, which works out to be 75,000 people a night.

This means the MCG will set a new record for attendance at a single Swift show that may not be toppled even in Europe when she heads there later this year.

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Most of the venues she’s playing in Europe have an official capacity of about 50,000-85,000 before her stage is factored in. The only show that may pose a challenge to the MCG is one of her eight shows in Wembley Stadium in London in June and August; the stadium can officially house up to 90,000 seated and another 25,000 standing.

But Wembley’s actual capacity varies with the artist and their stage. To give a sense of what Swift might achieve in London, the Weeknd set a record for a concert with an end-stage set-up (where the audience is only in front of the stage) last year with 87,000 people . But Adele (who tends to perform with little more than a piano) performed to 98,000 in Wembley in a single night in 2017. Given the size of Swift’s stage, it is likely that, even after her final shows in the US and Canada in November and December this year, the MCG will remain her biggest ever show.

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Madonna Performs Her Biggest-Ever Concert, With 1.6 Million Fans in Attendance in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO — Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro’s vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.

It was the last show of The Celebration Tour, her first retrospective, which kicked off in October in London.

The “Queen of Pop” began the show with her 1998 hit “Nothing Really Matters.” Huge cheers rose from the buzzing, tightly packed crowd, pressed up against the barriers. Others held house parties in brightly lighted apartments and hotels overlooking the beachfront. Helicopters and drones flew overhead, and motorboats and sailboats anchored off the beach filled the bay.

“Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna, 65, told the crowd. Pointing out the ocean view, the mountains and the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city, she added: “This place is magic."

Read More: Madonna’s Face and the Myth of Aging Gracefully

Madonna performed her classic hits, including “Like A Virgin” and “Hung Up.” For the introduction to “Like A Prayer,” her head was completely covered in a black cape, a rosary gripped in her hands.

The star paid an emotional tribute to “all the bright lights” lost to AIDS as she sang “Live to Tell,” with black and white photos of people who died from the illness flashing behind her.

Later, she was joined on stage by Brazilian artists Anitta and Pabllo Vittar.

Rio spent the last few days readying itself for the performance.

An estimated 1.6 million people attended the show, G1 reported, citing Rio City Hall’s tourism agency. That is more than 10 times Madonna’s record attendance of 130,000 at Paris’ Parc des Sceaux in 1987. Madonna’s official website hyped the show as the biggest ever in her four-decade career.

In recent days, the buzz was palpable. Fans milled outside the stately, beachfront Copacabana Palace hotel, where Madonna is staying, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star. During the sound check on the stage set up in front of the hotel, they danced on the sand.

By midday Saturday, fans crowded in front of the hotel. A white-bearded man carried a sign saying, “Welcome Madonna you are the best I love you.”

Flags with “Madonna” printed against a background of Copacabana’s iconic black and white waved sidewalk pattern hung from balconies. The area was packed with street vendors and concert attendees kitted out in themed T-shirts, sweating under a baking sun.

“Since Madonna arrived here, I’ve been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who sported a gold-colored cone bra and a black cap.

“It’s going to be an unforgettable show here in Copacabana,” said Oliveira Bohrer, a retired civil servant who lives in the area.

Read More: The Time Madonna Almost Quit Music for Good

Eighteen sound towers were spread along the beach to ensure that all attendees can hear the hits. Her two-hour show started at 10:37 p.m. local time, nearly 50 minutes behind schedule.

City Hall produced a report in April estimating that the concert would vinject 293 million reals ($57 million) into the local economy. Hotel capacity was expected to reach 98% in Copacabana, according to Rio’s hotel association. Fans hailing from across Brazil and even Argentina and France sought out Airbnbs for the weekend, the platform said in a statement. Rio’s international airport had forecast an extra 170 flights during May 1-6, from 27 destinations, City Hall said in a statement.

“It’s a unique opportunity to see Madonna, who knows if she’ll ever come back,” said Alessandro Augusto, 53, who flew in from Brazil’s Ceara state—approximately 2,500 kilometers (1,555 miles) from Rio.

“Welcome Queen!” read Heineken ads plastered around the city, the lettering above an image of an upturned bottle cap resembling a crown.

Heineken wasn’t the only company seeking to profit from the excitement. Bars and restaurants prepared “Like a Virgin” cocktails. A shop in the downtown neighborhood famed for selling Carnival attire completely reinvented itself, stocking its shelves with Madonna-themed costumes, fans, fanny packs and even underwear.

Organization of the mega-event was similar to New Year’s Eve, when millions of people gather on Copacabana for its fireworks display, local authorities said. That annual event often produces widespread thefts and muggings, and there was some concern such problems might occur at Madonna’s show.

Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3,200 military personnel and 1,500 civilian police officers on stand by. In the lead-up to the concert, Brazil’s navy inspected vessels that wished to position themselves offshore to follow the show.

A number of huge concerts have taken place on Copacabana beach before, including a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart that drew more than 4 million fans and was the biggest free rock concert in history , according to Guinness World Records. Many of those spectators also came to see Rio’s fireworks show, though, so a more fitting comparison might be to the Rolling Stones in 2006, which saw 1.2 million people crowd onto the sand, according to Rio’s military police, the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported at the time.

Read More: Britney Spears on Her Unplanned, Iconic Kiss With Madonna at the VMAs

Ana Beatriz Soares, a fan who was at Copacabana on Saturday, said Madonna has made her mark across the decades.

“Madonna had to run so that today’s pop artists could walk. That’s why she’s important, because she serves as an inspiration for today’s pop divas," Soares said.

“And that’s 40 years ago. Not 40 days, 40 months. It’s 40 years,” she said.

—AP video journalist Douglas Engle contributed to this report.

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Luke Combs’ 2024 Tour Has Already Broken 5 Records

Luke Combs is taking a unique approach to his 2024 Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour and it appears to be paying off as he has broken five records already. The country singer is camping out in each city on his tour for two days, which has allowed him to break some attendance records in the process.

Luke Combs Breaks 5 Records with 2024 Tour

It didn’t take long for Combs to make a name for himself with this tour. In the opening weekend he spent back-to-back nights in Milwaukee, Wisc. where he set a new standard for both single-night and two-night attendance records at American Family Field. He played in front of a combined 90,828 screaming fans.

Up next, the “Fast Car” singer made a stop in Buffalo, N.Y. His two shows earned him the highest two-night attendance numbers when he sang for a combined 99,671 attendees.

Combs broke two other non-attendance records when he performed at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Penn. The venue is the home of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. The “Where the Wild Things Are” singer performed in front of 73,339 fans across two nights and also claimed the top spot for highest-selling and highest-grossing concert in the outdoor stadium.

Luke Combs Donates $100,000 to Cancer Research

While the North Carolina native was in Buffalo, he shared the story of a young fan named Jocelyn who had just recently beat cancer. She had flown with her family from San Diego, Calif. to see the show. Combs met her backstage and heard her incredible story.

Since beating cancer, Jocelyn made it her mission to raise money for cancer research and was able to raise $100,000 from a lemonade stand. After telling the audience this, Combs announced to the crowd that he would be matching her efforts and pledged to donate another $100,000 to her cause.

Wanna See Luke Combs on His Record-Breaking Stadium Tour?

This summer, Combs will be making a stop at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz. Thanks to Sony Nashville, Taste of Country has your chance to win a VIP trip for two to see the show. This getaway includes tickets, round-trip airfare, a hotel stay and spending cash.

Register to Win a Trip to See Luke Combs Here!

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Madonna’s biggest-ever concert transforms Rio’s Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor

Madonna performs in the final show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Madonna performs in the final show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Boats sit idle off Copacabana beach as fans watch Madonna’s final show of her The Celebration Tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, May 4, 2024 (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Madonna rehearses in a mask for her Celebration tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Madonna, who removed her mask at the end of rehearsal, will conclude her tour on Saturday with a free concert at Copacabana Beach. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A fan dances while waiting for the start of Madonna’s last show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A fan strikes a pose as he waits for the start of Madonna’s last show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Fans take a selfie as they wait for the start of Madonna’s last show of The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A fan strikes a pose as she waits for the start of Madonna’s last show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A fan poses for a picture as she waits for the start of Madonna’s last show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Fans wait for the start of Madonna’s last show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Police officers patrol prior to the start of Madonna’s last show of her The Celebration Tour, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A fan of Madonna, wearing a mask, strikes a pose during a rehearsal for Madonna’s The Celebration Tour, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Madonna will conclude her tour on Saturday with a free concert at Copacabana Beach. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro’s vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.

It was the last show of The Celebration Tour, her first retrospective, which kicked off in October in London .

The “Queen of Pop” began the show with her 1998 hit “Nothing Really Matters.” Huge cheers rose from the buzzing, tightly packed crowd, pressed up against the barriers. Others held house parties in brightly lighted apartments and hotels overlooking the beachfront. Helicopters and drones flew overhead, and motorboats and sailboats anchored off the beach filled the bay.

“Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna, 65, told the crowd. Pointing out the ocean view, the mountains and the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city, she added: “This place is magic.”

Madonna performed her classic hits, including “Like A Virgin” and “Hung Up.” For the introduction to “Like A Prayer,” her head was completely covered in a black cape, a rosary gripped in her hands.

The star paid an emotional tribute to “all the bright lights” lost to AIDS as she sang “Live to Tell,” with black and white photos of people who died from the illness flashing behind her.

Later, she was joined on stage by Brazilian artists Anitta and Pabllo Vittar.

Rio spent the last few days readying itself for the performance.

An estimated 1.6 million people attended the show, G1 reported, citing Rio City Hall’s tourism agency. That is more than 10 times Madonna’s record attendance of 130,000 at Paris’ Parc des Sceaux in 1987. Madonna’s official website hyped the show as the biggest ever in her four-decade career.

In recent days, the buzz was palpable. Fans milled outside the stately, beachfront Copacabana Palace hotel , where Madonna is staying, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star. During the sound check on the stage set up in front of the hotel, they danced on the sand.

By midday Saturday, fans crowded in front of the hotel. A white-bearded man carried a sign saying, “Welcome Madonna you are the best I love you.”

Flags with “Madonna” printed against a background of Copacabana’s iconic black and white waved sidewalk pattern hung from balconies. The area was packed with street vendors and concert attendees kitted out in themed T-shirts, sweating under a baking sun.

“Since Madonna arrived here, I’ve been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who sported a gold-colored cone bra and a black cap.

“It’s going to be an unforgettable show here in Copacabana,” said Oliveira Bohrer, a retired civil servant who lives in the area.

Eighteen sound towers were spread along the beach to ensure that all attendees can hear the hits. Her two-hour show started at 10:37 p.m. local time, nearly 50 minutes behind schedule.

City Hall produced a report in April estimating that the concert would vinject 293 million reals ($57 million) into the local economy. Hotel capacity was expected to reach 98% in Copacabana, according to Rio’s hotel association. Fans hailing from across Brazil and even Argentina and France sought out Airbnbs for the weekend, the platform said in a statement. Rio’s international airport had forecast an extra 170 flights during May 1-6, from 27 destinations, City Hall said in a statement.

People watch a rehearsal for Madonna’s Celebration tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Madonna will conclude her tour on Saturday with a free concert at Copacabana Beach. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

“It’s a unique opportunity to see Madonna, who knows if she’ll ever come back,” said Alessandro Augusto, 53, who flew in from Brazil’s Ceara state — approximately 2,500 kilometers (1,555 miles) from Rio.

“Welcome Queen!” read Heineken ads plastered around the city, the lettering above an image of an upturned bottle cap resembling a crown.

Heineken wasn’t the only company seeking to profit from the excitement. Bars and restaurants prepared “Like a Virgin” cocktails. A shop in the downtown neighborhood famed for selling Carnival attire completely reinvented itself, stocking its shelves with Madonna-themed costumes, fans, fanny packs and even underwear.

Organization of the mega-event was similar to New Year’s Eve, when millions of people gather on Copacabana for its fireworks display, local authorities said. That annual event often produces widespread thefts and muggings, and there was some concern such problems might occur at Madonna’s show.

Madonna rehearses in a mask for her Celebration tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Madonna, who removed her mask at the end of rehearsal, will conclude her tour on Saturday with a free concert at Copacabana Beach. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado

Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3,200 military personnel and 1,500 civilian police officers on stand by. In the lead-up to the concert, Brazil’s navy inspected vessels that wished to position themselves offshore to follow the show.

A number of huge concerts have taken place on Copacabana beach before, including a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart that drew more than 4 million fans and was the biggest free rock concert in history , according to Guinness World Records. Many of those spectators also came to see Rio’s fireworks show, though, so a more fitting comparison might be to the Rolling Stones in 2006, which saw 1.2 million people crowd onto the sand, according to Rio’s military police, the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported at the time.

Ana Beatriz Soares, a fan who was at Copacabana on Saturday, said Madonna has made her mark across the decades.

“Madonna had to run so that today’s pop artists could walk. That’s why she’s important, because she serves as an inspiration for today’s pop divas,” Soares said.

“And that’s 40 years ago. Not 40 days, 40 months. It’s 40 years,” she said.

AP video journalist Douglas Engle contributed to this report.

Time is still on Mick Jagger's side as the Rolling Stones thrash State Farm Stadium

Could there be a human being better suited to performing “Time Is on My Side” in 2024 than Mick Jagger at 80?

To be clear, the Rolling Stones did not include that gospel-flavored classic in the set they played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Tuesday, May 7.

But watching Jagger do what Jagger does for nearly two hours in metro Phoenix so soon after seeing those videos of him leading the Stones through “Time Is on My Side” just five days earlier as a duet with the amazing Irma Thomas, who also sounded great at age 83, at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival?

You couldn’t help but marvel at the age-defying essence of what Jagger brings to a performance .

'So raw': The Rolling Stones' first Phoenix concert in 1965 was a fever dream

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Mick Jagger was in total command at the Stones' Phoenix concert

It went beyond the sheer perpetual motion of it all. Yes, he rarely stopped moving. And there's a world of singers less than half his age who couldn't hope to match the energy he brought to State Farm Stadium.

But there’s an undeniable agility to what he does, an athleticism and a grace that invites you to imagine Mikhail Baryshnikov raised by a family of overcaffeinated roosters.

That side-to-side motion he does with his feet? The graceful swiveling of those hips that have been swiveling since the very early ‘60s? The youthful exuberance with which he glides and struts and sometimes even runs across a massive stage?

There was even a magical moment in the encore as the Stones were bringing “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” to a fevered pitch that he dropped to his knees as though he might channeling a young James Brown — at 80.

He got so into it on "Satisfaction," Keith Richards couldn't stop grinning.

The man was in total command of the stage from the time his bandmates found their footing after staggering into a looser-limbed-than-usual “Start Me Up” to the glorious pileup of iconic hits that brought their set to a breathless climax through the encore-closing “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

Rolling Stones setlist: Every song they sang in Phoenix on the 2024 Hackney Diamonds Tour

The Rolling Stones thrive on rawness and reckless abandon

By the second song, “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll (But I Like It),” the Rolling Stones were firing on all cylinders.

It wasn’t always pretty. And it damn sure wasn’t perfect. But the Rolling Stones have done as much as anyone to help define a rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic that thrives on the rawness and reckless abandon at the heart of what they do.

This is especially true of the guitars.

Founding member Richards and kindred spirit Ronnie Wood, who started playing with the Stones while still a member of the Faces in 1975, are essentially flip sides of the same Chuck Berry 45. They spent the night dialing up some of the raunchiest guitar sounds you could ever hope to hear, the volume just too loud enough.

Their guitar work was scrappy and soulful and ragged and real and all those other underrated qualities that make for an exciting night of rock 'n' roll, the kind of night the Rolling Stones have always been so brilliant at delivering.

And it was to great to see them having such a good time, Richards grinning ear to ear in his red knit cap and Wood engaging in the sort of loopy onstage antics that made him such a perfect onstage foil for Richards when he joined the fold back in the '70s.

Here's the Rolling Stones 2024 lineup

This was Rolling Stones’ first time in metro Phoenix since the loss of founding member Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 after encouraging his bandmates to bring in Steve Jordan on drums to finish the No Filter Tour without him when he got too sick to carry on.

Jordan has been touring with them ever since and it’s easy to see why Watts thought he was the right man for the job.

He and Darryl Jones, their touring bassist since Bill Wyman left the group in 1993, are a commanding rhythm section, a point made abundantly clear on a hard-grooving version of “Miss You” that featured a jaw-dropping solo from Jones.

Rounding out their touring band are keyboard player Chuck Leavell; Bernard Fowler on backing vocals and percussion; Matt Clifford on keyboard and the French horn on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”; saxophonists Karl Denson and Tim Reis; and backing vocalist Chanel Haynes, who joined the fold in 2022 and stepped into the spotlight with her awe-inspiring vocal turn on “Gimme Shelter.”

They’re all extremely talented musicians more than capable of following the Stones through a variety of musical aesthetics, from the classic boogie-woogie groove of “Tumbling Dice” to the disco moves of “Miss You,” the Latin percussion of “Sympathy for the Devil,” the rock ‘n’ roll swagger of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the soulful splendor of “Gimme Shelter” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

'Hackney Diamonds' is Rolling Stones' 1st new album in nearly 20 years

The Stones are touring in support of “Hackney Diamonds,” their first album of original material in nearly 20 years. A lot of critics have called it their best release since “Tattoo You” in 1981 or even “Some Girls” three years earlier. And it’s easy to hear why those critics would say that.

It’s kind of amazing that a group that’s been around for more than 60 years could still be operating on that level, much less sound so vital.

They only played three songs from “Hackney Diamonds,” but all three more than held their own against the staples fans had come to hear, from the slashing guitar riffs and snarling lead vocals of “Angry” to the disco-flavored “Mess It Up” and the smoldering gospel of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a ballad they boldly held back to open the encore that featured another soulful show of force from Haynes.

“Sweet Sounds of Heaven” also boasted one of Jagger’s strongest vocals of the night. And there were many strong contenders for that title, from the soulful conviction with which he delivered “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” to the excitement he brought to the end of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

He may have flubbed the occasional lyric, and there were some notes he didn’t try to hit. But overall, Jagger’s vocal performance was as age-defying as his movements.

Other highlights ranged from “She’s So Cold,” a song that hadn’t made a setlist since 2019, to Keith Richards taking a turn in the vocal spotlight on “Little T&A” (a song he introduced as “She’s My Little Rock & Roll” after telling the crowd, “It’s good to be here; it’s good to be anywhere”) and “Monkey Man,” which won the online fan vote.

World's greatest rock 'n' roll band? That seems right

It was all great, though. How many bands could even hope to bring a set to a climax by stringing together a series of songs as iconic as “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Miss You,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Paint It, Black” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”?

If you want to be known as the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, that’s one way to do it.

It was after a spirited version of "Tumbling Dice" that Jagger took a moment to address how pleased he was with the welcome the Stones had received from the city of Glendale.

The city renamed a portion of 95th Avenue near the stadium Satisfaction Way and the mayor declared May 7 Ruby Tuesday.

"We’re very honored that you chose to name today Ruby Tuesday, though," he said.

"That is so nice. It’s never happened to us before. Ruby Tuesday. Unfortunately, we’re not gonna be able to play it tonight because we’ve forgotten that one."

As they were nearing the end of their set, after “Honky Tonk Women,” Jagger did some reminiscing.

“My goodness, this is our 11th show in Arizona,” he said. “Isn’t that something? I want to thank you so much for coming back to see us. You know, my favorite show in Arizona was in 1997 when we accidentally set fire to the Sun Devil Stadium.”

Then, after “Miss You,” he told the crowd, “We’re gonna go out to Valley Bar after, OK? So you can join us there.”

Having gone to Valley Bar and hung around until it closed at 2 a.m., I can assure you, he was joking.

By the time they signed off with a raucous thrill ride through an epic “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Tuesday night at State Farm Stadium was everything a Stones fan could’ve hoped for, the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll survivors still going strong after 62 years, invigorated by their new music.

Carin Leon and Electric Mud opened for the Rolling Stones

Forty-five minutes before the show was scheduled to begin, a band from San Diego called Electric Mud (the title of a Muddy Waters album) took the stage and delivered a well-received set that often felt like they were channeling the Rolling Stones of an early '70s vintage, especially those Jagger-esque lead vocals.

Two members of Electric Mud — Marc and Matty Hansen — have an aunt named Patti Hansen who's been married to Keith Richards since 1983. That may be how they got the gig, but they turned out to be a perfect fit.

Electric Mud was followed by regional Mexican music star Carin Leon , whose latest effort, “Colmillo de Leche,"  picked up Best Norteño Album at last year's Latin Grammys.

He wasn't nearly as perfect a fit, but went over surprisingly well on the strength of a powerful performance, fronting a 16-piece band complete with accordion and tuba and wearing black leather pants and matching vest over a black T-shirt, a black cowboy hat completing his look. Highlights of Leon's set included "It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú)" and Johnny Cash's "Man in Black."

Rolling Stones setlist 2024: Every song they played in Phoenix

Here's every song the Rolling Stones performed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ .

• “Start Me Up”
• “It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It)” (tour debut)
• “She's So Cold”
• “Beast of Burden”
• “Monkey Man” (tour debut; fan-voted song)
• “Mess It Up”
• “Tumbling Dice”
• “You Can't Always Get What You Want” (followed by band introductions)
• “Little T&A” (Keith Richards on lead vocals)
• “Sympathy for the Devil”
• “Honky Tonk Women”
• “Gimme Shelter”
• “Paint It, Black”
• “Jumpin' Jack Flash”
• “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”
• “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”

Reach the reporter at  [email protected] . Follow him on X (formerly Twitter)  @EdMasley  and  facebook.com/ed.masley

Support local journalism.   Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Brazil-Mexico Soccer Game Coming To Kyle Field Has Potential To Break Attendance Record

If there’s one thing Aggies can do, it’s fill all 102,733 seats at Kyle Field for Texas A&M Football. Now Athletics Director Trev Alberts puts the challenge out to A&M and surrounding areas, Texas and beyond to break an attendance record for the upcoming Brazil vs. Mexico soccer match at Kyle Field June 8.

The game is part of a five-city U.S. tour, the MexTour , for the Mexican national men’s soccer team in advance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The current MexTour attendance record of 90,526 was set in 2010 at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium against New Zealand.

In anticipation of the match at Texas A&M this summer, former international soccer players Emerson da Rosa from Brazil and Pavel Pardo from Mexico visited campus last week to tour Kyle Field and get to know Aggieland.

During their two-day stay in College Station, accompanied by ESPN soccer commentator and Texas A&M graduate Fernando Palomo , the players visited Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park on April 30 to watch Aggie Men’s Baseball and, while they were there, learned the meaning of “saw ‘em off.”

Pardo and da Rosa were joined by Alberts at a press conference at Kyle Field during their visit. The players were asked what they thought about the stadium — Kyle Field is the largest in Texas and one of the largest in the nation — as well as the campus as a whole. “We are like Aggies now,” Pardo joked. “Congratulations, because all the things you do [at Texas A&M], all the people, it’s amazing. …Part of the game, when you are there on the field, it’s like you say here: ‘the 12th Man.’ That’s very important. For me, when I step on the field with a crowded stadium, it’s amazing.”

Da Rosa was equally complimentary of A&M’s environment. “This place is really special,” he said. “Congratulations on the great structure and for the passion that runs through here. …We hope that Brazil will present itself very well here.”

Alberts thanked the players for their visit to campus and said, “We’re incredibly honored to get to host, this is a really big deal for us. …Kyle Field is a pretty special place, so if you’re going to do something on Kyle Field, it has to be pretty special, something like this.

“And by the way,” he added, “I like breaking records, so can we today announce that we want to break the MexTour attendance record? …This is an international university, we have impact across the globe…so this is a remarkable opportunity for us to participate, to continue growing the brand of Texas A&M as an institution and as an athletic department.”

Alberts and the players discussed their hopes to grow the popularity of soccer in the U.S., noting these types of events can stimulate greater interest in the sport. They noted MexTour games traditionally have fans from 30 different states who are buying tickets, in addition to many countries, so it’s a true international event.

Visit here for more information about the game.

And get your tickets at somoslocales.com .

Media contact:  Lesley Henton, [email protected]

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