Greetings Rockers ’N’ Rollers! Winter is in full swing but Harrisburg continues to bring noteworthy shows this past month. The Martin Bros, The Jellybricks and Jet Silver all played together at the Village in Lancaster on November 27th. A great night from all three bands who have been a huge part of the Central PA music scene for nearly 30 years. Anthrophobia visited Harrisburg’s HMAC on December 6th as part of the Toys For Tots Fundraiser. The benefit show also featured Defiant, Atlas at Hold, The Galaxy Has Eyes and Seglock. Anthrophobia hail from Reading, PA and recently released their new album “Going Out Swinging” on November 22nd. Junk Punk (featured on the cover of this issue) also returned to Central PA with an intimate show at downtown Harrisburg’s Lovedrafts on Deember 7th. Junk Punk has many shows in the works for 2025, plus a debut album releasing at the end of March. The legendary Marky Ramone of the Ramones played Mechanicsburg’s JB Lovedrafts on December 15th. The 72-year old drummer played to a packed house with over 40 Ramones classic songs including “Beat on the Brat,” “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Labotomy.” Marky replaced original drummer, Tommy Ramone, in 1978 and was in the band most of their career until disbanding in 1996. Joey Dalto of Swisher Sweets, played a solo show on December 20th at Beerded Goat Brewery where he played great cover songs and original songs from his full length-album ‘All For You’ released in 2020.
This past year the music industry witnessed history. The two top tours of all time – one by gross and the other by tickets sold – were out on the road simultaneously. Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” smashed the all-time touring record with an estimated $2.2 billion gross. At the same time, Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres World Tour” sold over 10.3 million tickets— the most ever by any artist in the history of live. The run also grossed over $1.14 billion thus far and is the second highest grossing tour of all-time—and they still have 48 more shows slated for 2025. Swift, 34, performed a total of 149 shows across 51 stadiums in 21 months across five continents for the greatest tour of all time. The U.S. Travel Association said Swift’s “total economic impact likely exceeded $10 billion,” for all the cities she played. Her fans travel to major cities creating revenue spent on accommodation, food and beverage, retail and transportation.
AC/DC are set to make their return to the United States for the first time in nine years with their “Power Up” tour next spring. Brian Johnson returns as the band’s frontman and vocalist, with Angus Young on lead guitar, Stevie Young as rhythm guitar, Matt Laug on drums and Chris Chaney on bass. AC/DC will land at 13 stadiums, including Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on May 8th and Landover, MD Northwest Stadium on May 12th. They toured stadiums throughout Europe last summer with their last concert taking place on August 17th at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, which sold out with 82,298 tickets grossing a total $14.3 million. Def Leppard, Nickelback, Mötley Crüe, and Shinedown are set to headline the inaugural Boardwalk Rock festival, in Ocean City, Maryland, May 17th-18th. The two-day lineup debuts with more than 25 artists across three stages on the shores of Ocean City Inlet Beach. Bret Michaels, Halestorm, Fuel, Three Days Grace, Alice Cooper, 3 Doors Down, Bush, Chevelle, Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm and more are also set to play, and fans will also have free access to the Iconic Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park located inside festival grounds.
Guns N’ Roses are returning to the road in 2025 to play a European and Middle East tour dubbed “Because What You Want, What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things,” headlining stadiums and festivals throughout the summer. Special guests on the tour include Public Enemy, Rival Sons, and Sex Pistols featuring, Frank Carter on select dates. The 24-date run will see the LA legends perform in Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg for the first time. The grand finale of the tour will take place in Germany’s metal mecca Wacken, where Guns ’N’ Roses will headline the festival for the first time in history. System Of A Down announced six stadium dates with special guests Deftones, Avenged Sevenfold and Korn. Polyphia and Wisp will open for all shows, with Korn joining the band in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on August 27th and 28th, Avenged Sevenfold joining in Chicago on August 31st and September 1st and Deftones joining in Toronto on September 3rd and 5th. System Of A Down performed the first solo concert in Golden Gate Park after dark on August 17th, which sold out with 50,186 fans in attendance, grossing $9.6 million.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA are teaming up for the “Grand National Tour,” which includes stops at 19 stadiums across North America with 22-shows. Dates include: Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field May 5th and Hersheypark Stadium June 16th. Lamar had a massive summer with his hit “Not Like Us,” and the rapper is also scheduled to perform at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show in February. SZA had numerous festival appearances this year, including at Lollapalooza and Osheaga Festival. Electro pioneers Kraftwerk are setting out to tour North America next spring in commemoration of their breakthrough allbum Autobahn and their first United States tour, which took place in 1975. The upcoming “Multimedia” trek begins in Philadelphia at Franklin Music Hall on March 6th and visits Pittsburgh’s Stage AE on March 7th and Washington DC’s Anthem on March 16th. The group celebrated 50 years of Autobahn earlier this year with a nine-night concert series at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Following the release of a new album, playing a 10-date limited engagement in Las Vegas and performing at the CMA Awards, Keith Urban is ready to take his show on the road in 2025. The country singer unveiled dates for his “High And Alive World Tour,” a 28-date trek featuring Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins as supporting acts. “Playing live is what I love to do,” Urban stated. “Looking out from a stage and seeing people singing, forgetting about all the stress in their lives, cutting loose, and feeling alive — that’s what it’s about for me.” The New Zealand-born four-time Grammy Award winner visits Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on June 19th and Giant Center in Hershey on October 2nd.
Pearl Jam will play five sets of doubles in the U.S. as the band’s “Dark Matter Tour” extends in 2025. The rock legends will play Hollywood, Florida; Atlanta; Nashville; Raleigh and Pittsburgh (May 16 & 18). Support will be announced soon. Highlights from 2024 “Dark Matter” dates include a pair of sell-outs at Boston’s Fenway Park September 15th and 17th, selling 74,802 tickets, and two sellouts at Wrigley Field in Chicago selling 81,910 tickets.
Dead & Company will return to Las Vegas’ Sphere in 2025 to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The 18-show run in March, April and May comes on the heels of Dead & Co.’s 30-show residency at the immersive venue, which grossed $131.4 million. The anniversary shows will feature “updated visuals” and will be the only Sphere performances for Dead & Co. in 2025. The residency runs across six weekends beginning March 20. Shania Twain, citing “incredible fan demand,” announced a final “encore” series of summer 2025 tour dates across the U.S., capping off a tour-year run of shows that included more than 70 dates across North America and Europe, and her Las Vegas residency, “Shania Twain: Come On Over” that accounted for 70 more. She’s lined up seven more shows in summer 2025, including July 26 at Hersheypark Stadium. Twain has reported an average attendance of 13,046 per show.
In memoriam: Artists lost in 2024. Toby Keith (Feb 5), Dickey Bettes of Allman Brothers (Apr 18), Jack Russell of Great White (Aug 7), Greg Kihn (Aug 13), Kris Kristofferson (Sept 28), Phil Lesh of Grateful Dead (Oct 25), Quincy Jones (Nov 4), Slim Dunlap of The Replacements (Dec. 18).
JANUARY SHOWS: Wrathchild America – Hagerstown Maryland Theatre Jan 11. Hexbelt – Harrisburg HMAC Jan 11. Steel – Freeland MD Bourbon Tavern Jan 11. Junk Punk – Winchester WV Grannys Jan 18. Junk Punk – Martinsburg WV Jan Tilty McFlippers Jan 24. Four Horseman – Harrisburg XL Live Jan 24. MangoDog – Philadelphia Milkboy Jan 25. Steel – Hagerstown MD Fireside Jan 25. Mannequin Pussy / Militarie Gun – Baltimore Soundstage Jan 31.
