The pent-up demand for live music will result in a historically busy 2022. In fact, Live Nation has already booked twice (!) as many shows for next year as it did in all of 2019.
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino previewed the packed 2022 concert calendar during a call with investors on Thursday.
“Around the world, people are showing the need to get out and socialize once again which reinforces our expectation that a return to concerts will be the logical progression as vaccines are readily available to everyone who wants to get one,” Rapino said. “This is generally already the case in the U.S. where we are confidently planning our reopenings, particularly for outdoor shows, and we expect many of our other major markets will follow this summer.”
Thanks to the upward trajectory of COVID vaccinations, especially here in the US, Live Nation is increasingly confident in the return of live music, and sooner rather than later. To that point, the company has already confirmed several significant tours for 2021, including Dave Matthews, Megadeth with Lamb of God, Brad Paisley, and Chris Stapleton, as well as fall festival dates for Bonnaroo, Rolling Loud, and Electric Daisy Carnival. Festivals in particular are selling out in record time, according to Rapino.
“We are already seeing confirmed major tour dates for 2022 up double digits from the same time pre-pandemic in 2019 for 2020,” Rapino added. “Many of these artists will have multi-year tours, spanning the U.S., Europe and often either Asia or Latin America, setting us up for a strong multi-year growth run.”
Among the tours already announced for 2022: Rage Against the Machine and My Chemical Romance, both of which are embarking on long-awaited reunion tours; Bad Bunny; Roger Waters; and Rina Sawayama.
Listen to The What Podcast break down Bonnaroo’s 2021 lineup:
