The COVID-19 pandemic shut down most events that included large numbers of people in venues that were both inside and outside. As more people become vaccinated, this has started to change. Some bands and singers continue to delay or call off tours because of the pandemic. Genesis delayed several dates because some band members had been infected by the virus. The Dave Matthews Band canceled an appearance because of poor “safety protocols.”
Cancellations are such a major problem that “Live for the Music” has a concert cancellation tracker.
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The cancellations aside, Money.co.uk has pulled together a Live Music Hotspots research report. Its study looked at 30 destinations, and one of the primary reasons for the study was:
The live music industry really suffered as a result of the pandemic, with most venues around the world closing their doors and festivals postponed for years on end, but as the world begins to open up again, fans are eager to see their favourite musicians.
Cities were ranked on several criteria, including the numbers of music venues, upcoming concerts and major music festivals in each city, as well as “artists and bands” from the city.
The list of the top locations is dominated by U.S. cities. Of the top 10, six are in America: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin.
However, the number one city was not in America. London topped all other cities. It dominated the category of upcoming concerts with 5,088. Most of the other top 10 had fewer than 2,000.
These are the top 10 cities for live music:
| City | Population | Upcoming concerts |
|---|---|---|
| London | 8,961,989 | 5,088 |
| New York City | 8,804,190 | 3,267 |
| Los Angeles | 3,898,747 | 3,003 |
| Chicago | 2,746,388 | 1,992 |
| San Francisco | 873,965 | 1,915 |
| Toronto | 2,731,571 | 615 |
| Paris | 2,175,601 | 3,105 |
| Atlanta | 498,715 | 1,405 |
| Austin | 961,855 | 998 |
| Berlin | 3,664,088 | 2,254 |
Click here to see which are the 50 most popular rock bands of all time.
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