Chart Scene: Rod Stewart Earns Top Debut On LIVE75 With European Arena Shows

Rod Stewart makes his first appearance on LIVE75 since launching his current tour through Europe that is set to conclude with a concert at Piazza Napoleone in Lucca, Italy in July. He kicked off the tour on May 11 at the Antwerps Sportpaleis in Merksem, Belgium, a sold-out arena performance that drew 10,476 fans and grossed over $1.07 million. Those box-office figures, along with sales totals from five more shows that occurred during June, together produced a sold-ticket count of 64,640. That averages 10,773 sold tickets per show, the highest for an artist making a debut appearance on the chart.

Stewart last appeared on LIVE75 last year in the Oct. 16 issue based on sales at concerts in Brazil and the U.S. in the late summer and early fall. His Top 20 ranking this week comes from ticket sales at shows in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, along with the opening performance in Belgium. Copenhagen’s Royal Arena recorded the highest attendance among them with 13,368 tickets sold for a June 9 concert that racked up a $1.56 million box-office haul.

Other ticket counts topping 10,000 included a June 8 show at Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena that welcomed 11,910 fans, followed by a June 12 show at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam that moved 11,712 tickets. Those concerts grossed $1.02 million and $1.13 million, respectively. Then, the tour’s first performance in Belgium also lands in the 10,000-plus category with its ticket total of 10,476.

Following the European run, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member will return to Las Vegas for a final run of shows with his longtime residency “The Hits” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Performances are scheduled from July 24 through Aug. 7. Then, Stewart will play a string of concerts in U.S. markets in August and September including a co-headlining stadium event with Billy Joel at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 13.

While eight concert headliners on the Artist Power Index return to the chart after appearing in the rankings during the past quarter, only one artist makes his first appearance this year. John Legend enters the APX ranking based on his current U.S. tour that launched on May 31 at Choctaw Grand Theater in Durant, Oklahoma. Theater and amphitheater dates are planned for the trek that continues stateside through early October. Among his upcoming shows, multiple performances are planned for the Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia; Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center; Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington; San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall; Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and Meritage Resort in Napa, California.

The No. 1 concert performers on the Artist Power Index, LIVE75 and the Global Concert Pulse all maintain their continuing stand at the top for another week. Taylor Swift has owned the highest APX ranking since returning to the road in May for the European leg of her “Eras Tour.” Her first three shows at London’s Wembley Stadium are among the concerts contributing to her top ranking in this issue. On LIVE75, Luke Combs returns for his sixth 2024 appearance and second consecutive week at No. 1, while also holding the top ranking on Global Concert Pulse for a sixth consecutive week. His steady presence on both charts stems from reported box-office results from his “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour,” produced by AEG Presents and booked at stadiums in U.S. cities. He tops LIVE75 based on the average number of tickets sold per show, and his No. 1 stint on the Global Concert Pulse is determined by his average gross per concert.

LIVE75’s “Breakthrough” headliner is Riley Green who sold out nine concerts to earn that classification as the artist with the best sellout percentage outside the top 25. The country singer-songwriter lands at No. 29 with a nine-show ticket average of 5,353 from concerts at U.S. venues in May and June. The best-attended date was his May 21 show at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver with 9,336 fans in attendance.

Also, on LIVE75, the “Noise Maker” tag for the performer with the largest move up the chart belongs to country artist Brett Young who jumped nine positions to rank 51st with a ticket average of 2,053.