The Summer Tours 2010

Ahhhh! Spring has finally (officially) arrived and everyone is gearing up for the most wonderful time of the year. No, not baseball season (although that is close), but the spring/summer concert season. Yes, another year of concerts is upon us and there are some great bands going out on tour for 2010.

Your cousin Ryo has the scoop on the confirmed tours, some rumored tours, and of course the tour dates and prices for all. Please note, the ticket prices are all before fees. Read on, music lovers, read on.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Supporting Acts: Multiple, including My Morning Jacket, Buddy Guy, and Crosby, Stills and Nash
Tour Page: http://www.tompetty.com/tour
Ticket Prices: $50 - $125

Going out on tour in support of their brand new album, Mojo, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will be on the road for most of the summer. The tour kicks off May 6th in North Carolina and is currently scheduled to end August 27th in Saratoga Springs, New York. The prices are a little higher than I would have expected, but $50 for the upper level seats isn’t too bad, especially when you see some of the support acts that are touring with Petty. With a new album to perform, it remains to be seen how many classic Petty tunes will get their time in the spotlight, but if you’ve never seen Petty live before, then this is a great time to start.

Iron Maiden
Supporting Act: Dream Theater
Tour Page: http://www.ironmaiden.com/index.php?categoryid=15
Ticket Prices: $26.50 - $125

The announcement of a brand new album (The Final Frontier) came last week coupled with announcing a North American tour this summer. Both announcements made cousin Ryo extremely giddy. I love Iron Maiden and their concert performances are legendary. While it’s going to be difficult to top their Somewhere Back In Time tour, I’m looking forward to new songs and I’m curious what the setlist will be. No matter what, this is going to be one of the must see concerts of the summer. Up the Irons!

Dave Matthews Band
Supporting Act: Multiple, including Yonder Mountain String Band, Zac Brown Band, and Govt Mule
Tour Page: http://www.davematthewsband.com/#/tour
Ticket Prices: $40 - $90

Launching on May 28th in Connecticut and wrapping on September 15th in Minnesota, Dave Matthews Band is hitting the road again for their annual summer tour. While this is always a great show, what concerns me most this year are the ticket prices. Usually the tickets are in the somewhat affordable range, but this year the prices seem to have gone up dramatically. Tickets start in the $40 range and go up to $100 depending on location. The average price is $75. I can’t recall paying that much to see the band in the past. It’s frustrating, because this is the year that I wanted to see them at several locations.

Nickelback
Supporting Act: Breaking Benjamin, Sick Puppies
Tour Page: http://www.nickelback.com/index2.html
Ticket Prices: $43 – 83

Still touring behind the incredible Dark Horse, Nickelback will be on the road this spring, hitting many of the spots that they missed over the past year. I’ve seen Nickleback in concert three times and each time was an incredible experience. They really know how to interact with their fans and provide an evening of excellent entertainment. A Nickelback concert is guaranteed fun and if you have the chance to catch them this spring, you really should.

U2
Supporting Act: Multiple, including Lenny Kravits, The Fray, and a lot of TBD
Tour Page: http://www.u2.com/tour/index
Ticket Prices: $30 - $250

U2 is still out in support of their latest disc No Line On The Horizon. Playing in stadiums with a unique 360 stage setting, this is one of their most ambitious tours yet. U2 have given many memorable concerts and if you have never seen them in concert, it’s worth the price. However, it’s hard to justify paying $250 to see anyone and that includes U2. Personally, I am going to miss this tour, because the cheaper tickets sold in a matter of seconds, and all that are left (in my area) are the $95 and above. That’s just too much money for a band that I have seen several times.

Bon Jovi
Supporting Act: TBD
Tour Page: http://www.bonjovi.com/tour
Ticket Prices: $36.50 - $150

Another band that used to not charge a lot for their concerts but lately have jacked up the ticket prices is Bon Jovi. I love this band (growing up in New Jersey, you almost have to be a fan), but I am not willing to shell out the kind of money that they are asking. Once again, the cheaper tickets were gone in a heartbeat and all that were left were the 3 digit priced tickets. The new Bon Jovi album is excellent, and I am sure the new songs sound great live, but I’ve heard there are no deep cuts on this tour, and since I’ve seen these guys live more than once, I can miss out on this one.

Papa Roach
Supporting Act: TBD
Tour Page: http://www.paparoach.com/events
Ticket Prices: $25

Papa Roach is a great live band with affordable ticket prices. What more needs to be said? These guys rock like many bands wish they could. Every time I’ve seen Papa Roach, it’s been a concert experience. If they are coming to your town, go see them.

The Eagles
Supporting Act: The Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban
Tour Page: http://www.eaglesband.com/tour.php
Ticket Prices: $55 - $180

Still out in support of Long Road Out Of Eden The Eagles will be bringing two big acts with them, The Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban. Seeing as I am not a fan of either of those bands, nor am I fan of their new album, I will be missing this concert. However, The Eagles are one of those legendary bands and the one time I saw them in concert, it was amazing. If you like the new album and/or the supporting acts, you should think about attending this show.

The Scorpions
Supporting Act: TBD
Tour Page: http://www.the-scorpions.com/english
Ticket Prices: TBD

Touring in support of a new album which is supposed to be their last, The Scorpions are heading out on their farewell tour. While I will be seeing them at M3 this year, the Scorpions will be touring everywhere. As of this writing, tour details are still being worked out, so there is no information on the ticket prices or the support acts yet. However, keep checking their webpage, as information is going to be up soon.

Cinderella
Supporting Act: TBD
Tour Page: Coming Soon
Ticket Prices: TBD

According to their webpage, Cinderella will be touring in 2010. They are already scheduled to appear at the M3 Festival in Columbia, Maryland. An announcement regarding other tour dates is expected in the coming weeks. I’m hopeful that they will team up with other great metal acts of the 80s (Winger, Trixter, or Poison would be nice), but details remain to be seen.

And there you have it. The hot, anticipated tours for this coming summer. Are you going to see any of them? Looking forward to certain ones? Drop a line and let the Guru know.

Comments are open. Feel free to post some.

Labels: Tickets, ticket prices, concerts, Iron Maiden, The Eagles, Cinderella, The Scorpions, Tom Petty, Dave Matthews Band, Papa Roach, U2, Nickelback, Bon Jovi