The Dave Mattews Band takes home
Top Act of the Decade award.
Pollstar, the trade publication that
covers every aspect of the worldwide music concert industry, has recently
released its Top Acts of the Decade list. As the first decade of the
21st Century comes to a close, the magazine has compiled its year-end
research from 2000 to 2009 to discover the highest-grossing touring
artists of North America.
Coming in at number one is no other
than Dave Matthews Band, beating Madonna, U2 and The Rolling Stones.
While the latter three held high-grossing tours every few years, Dave
Matthews took the gold for consistent annual live outings. Coming in
at a close second and third were Celine Dion and Kenny Chesney for relentless
performances since 2003. Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and the Eagles
also made the Top 50 chart.
The band has grossed more than $500
million in the last decade of touring, proving that high-grossing concerts
with all the bells and whistles of extreme egos can be overrun by down-to-earth
consistency. Previous winners of the now prestigious and infamous award
include Prince and Paul McCartney, showing that a world tour or new
album release aren’t a sure thing to sell tickets.
