U2, Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift were among the winners at the 8^th annual Billboard Touring Awards, held on November 10 at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel.

The touring awards celebrate excellence in touring, promotion and performance, and are based primarily on global box office numbers. This year’s awards were based on the period from October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.

U2 was presented with both the Top Tour Award and Top Draw Award in honor of its 360 Tour, which was highest grossing and most attended tour of the year.

Jason Aldean received the breakthrough award. Aldean’s most recent record, My Kinda Party, was released in November 2010 and currently is the best-selling country album of 2011.

The Concert Marketing & Promotion Award was presented to Taylor Swift for her Speak Now World Tour 2011, which was sponsored by Covergirl. Swift’s 2010 album Speak Now, for which the tour was named, has sold over 5.5 million copies worldwide.

Other winners at the ceremony included Live Nation for Top Promoter, C3 Presents for Top U.S. Indie Promoter and Front Line Management for Top Manager. The Coachella Music & Arts Festival was named best festival and the Comcast Center in Mansfield Main was named best amphitheater. The 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. won the award for Best Club, an honor that is based on attendance.

Journey was presented with the Legend of Live award, honoring the band’s 38 years of touring. Not merely focusing on music, there was also an award for top comedy tour, which went to Jeff Dunham.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the music trade magazine also hosted a two-day Touring Conference, which was highlighted by a keynote speech from Jane’s Addiction frontman and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell. Farrell also received the first Apple Award, which honors legendary concert promoter Bill Graham.

Pop icons Usher, U2 and Lady Gaga have been asked to help celebrate the William J. Clinton Foundation’s 10th anniversary. Over the years the organization has made large contributions to different charities.

On Saturday October 15 the three performers will be sharing the stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles to commemorate the William J. Clinton Foundation’s 10th birthday. The organization has raised more than $10 billion to help with causes like feeding the hungry and global AIDS/HIV treatment. The concert is scheduled to be broadcast via Yahoo exclusively on a worldwide basis. The event will also double as the belated birthday celebration for Clinton. On August 19 he turned 65 years old.

“A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating Ten Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation” is also going to include an acoustic performance by The Edge, the U2 guitarist, along with other celebrity guests and additional performers to be announced later.

Control Room is producing the concert. The organization has been the mastermind behind several other large scale events like Live Earth in 2007. An announcement was made by a spokeswoman that the general public will be able to purchase tickets. It is expected that proceeds will be going to charity.

We already learned this week that albums sales in 2011 have increased, which is the first increase since 2004. Now the music industry has just received more good news. For the first six months of this year, concert revenue has increased 11 percent.

Pollstar reported the good news. The company’s figure was arrived at by examining the earnings from the top 50 highest grossing worldwide tours, which earned a total of $1.65 billion. North America’s music industry was particularly strong, with a 16.2 increase in earnings.

Overall ticket sales, however, showed a 2.1 decrease, down to 16.4 million. What this means is fewer tickets were purchased but more was paid. The cost of the average ticket price saw a 13.6 increase to $10.23.

Gary Bongiovanni, Pollstar editor, hypothesized that perhaps the figures could be explained from better artist packaging or artists performing in smaller venues with higher prices, which tend to increase the costs of the show but offer better value for fans when it comes to their money spent on tickets.

So who were the artists driving the increased revenues? The leader was U2, unsurprisingly, with revenues of $164 million. The band was followed by $97.9 million from Roger Waters, $92.1 million from Bon Jovi, $65.3 million from Lady Gaga and $62.2 million from Usher.

Later this month, the gigantic “360 Tour” of U2′s is coming to end. Hopefully the music industry will be able to remain strong once it current biggest earner is no longer on the road.

Members of Muse and U2 covered songs from Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones and David Bowie at a Brazilian nightclub during a secret show.

The bands, after finishing their stadium tour of South American on April 13, met up at the nightclub Bar Secreto in Sao Paulo.

During the show Larry Mullen and Bono joined Dom Howard and sang “Psycho Killer,” the Talking Heads track.

Later that night The Edge sang “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones and “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie karaoke-style.

Muse supported U2 on their tour for several dates in Argentina and Brazil.

U2 is poised to set the record for having the all-time highest grossing tour. The gross for U2′s “360 World Tour” after their second show in Sao Paulo, Brazil at Morumbi Stadium, will exceed $558 million, which was the take for the Rolling Stones’ “Bigger Bang Tour” from 2005-07. Once the band has wrapped up their North American leg in Moncton, New Brunswick in Canada on July 30, the band will have made a projected $700 million.

U2 will also set the record as the all-time most-attended tour with their “360 World Tour.” This is in part due to the unique staging of the band, which enables stadiums to increase their seating capacity by 15-20 percent.

The 360 tour’s success is a testament to the enduring global popularity of U2. However it is still surprising in some ways that the band decided to tour to back “No Line on the Horizon.” The album hasn’t spawned any major hits and has underperformed in terms of retail sales.

In an interview with the Irish Times Paul McGuinness, U2 manager, said a new album from U2 should be released early next year.

McGuinness said, I am expecting a new album from U2 sooner than people think.  My guess is early 2011, right before their next American tour leg which begins in May.

U2′s new album has a tentative title of “Songs of Ascent.”

Reportedly some of the songs that the band has been playing on their tour this year include “Boys Fall from the Sky,” “Every Breaking Wave” and “Mercy.”

In the meantime the band’s “360 Tour” itinerary continues to expand.  New shows have been added to two continents on two different hemispheres.

Two South African soccer venues for the World Cup- on February 13 in Johannesburg and on February 18 in Cape Town- will be staging the first live concerts there when U2 performs its recently confirmed gigs.  Other new stops for U2 include a May 29 visit to Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The tour now has a total of four Canadian stops.

For the two South African gigs, ticket onsales will start on October 23.  Winnipeg show tickets will go on  sale starting on October 25, according to the promoters.

The last time U2 played in Winnipeg and South Africa was on the “PopMart” tour in 1997.  Earlier this summer, the North American leg of the “360 Tour” was postponed when frontman Bono sustained a back injury.  The leg is now occurring a year later from its original schedule.

The next leg for U2′s North American tour will open in Denver on May 21, followed by 18 more shows in 14 cities.  Meanwhile the next stops for the band will be on November 25-26 in Auckland New Zealand.

With Bono almost in full recovery after going through an intensive emergency back surgery last summer, U2 has just finalized the North American leg of their 360° world tour which had to be postponed due to the lead singer’s medical condition.

As previously announced, the North American slate which was originally set for last summer is now moved to spring-summer of next year with a show in Denver’s Invesco Field at Mile High on May 21, 2011 to kick things off.  The kick-off show follows the band’s two-night stint in Mexico City, Mexico on May 14 and 15.

The itinerary will also include several stops in the west coast and the Midwest such as Salt Lake City, Alberta, Canada, Seattle, Oakland, a two-nighter in Anaheim, East Lansing, MI, Chicago and Minneapolis which will be scattered throughout June and July.  The tour will also entail a few east coast stops including a two-nighter n Montreal, Toronto, Philadelphia, East Rutherford and finally in Pittsburgh which is the latest addition to the slate and will mark the tour’s new final stop.  The Pittsburgh show will take place on July 26 at the Heinz Field.  Ticket information for each of the North American stops are posted on the band’s website.

Tagging along with the Irish rockers as opening acts for their North American jaunt are The Fray for the first three shows, Lenny Kravitz for the west coast shows, Florence and the Machine providing support for the East Lansing and Miami shows and finally, Interpol for the remainder of the tour.

Meanwhile, the band’s three-week gig in Australia and New Zealand later this year will push through as originally planned with a two-night engagement in Auckland’s Mt. Smart Stadium on November 25 and 26 to open the leg and another two-night gig in Perth, Australia on December 18 and 19 to cap things off.  Three other cities are also included in the band’s Australian itinerary.

2011 U2 Concert Tour
November 2010
25, 26 – Auckland, New Zealand – Mt. Smart Stadium

December 2010
1, 3 – Melbourne, Australia – Etihad Stadium
8, 9 – Brisbane, Australia – Suncorp Stadium
13, 14 – Sydney, Australia – ANZ Stadium
18, 19 – Perth, Australia – Subiaco Oval

February 2011
13 – Johannesburg, South Africa – FNB Stadium
18 – Cape Town, South Africa – South Africa Stadium

May 2011
14, 15 – Mexico City, Mexico – Azteca Stadium
21 – Denver, CO – Invesco Field (formerly June 12, 2010)
24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice Eccles Stadium (formerly June 3, 2010)
29 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Canad Inns Stadium

June 2011
1 – Edmonton, Alberta – Commonwealth Stadium (formerly June 23, 2010)
4 – Seattle, WA – Qwest Field (formerly June 20, 2010)
7 – Oakland, CA – McAfee Coliseum (formerly June 16, 2010)
17, 18 – Anaheim, CA – Angels Stadium (formerly June 6-7, 2010)
26 – East Lansing, MI – Spartan Stadium at MSU (formerly June 30, 2010)
29 – Miami, FL – Sun Life Stadium (previously Dolphin Stadium) (formerly July 9, 2010)

July 2011
5 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (formerly July 6, 2010)
8, 9- Montreal, Quebec – Hippodrome (formerly July 16-17, 2010)
11 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Centre (formerly July 3, 2010)
14 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field (formerly July 12, 2010)
20 – East Rutherford, NJ – New Meadowlands Stadium (formerly July 19, 2010)
23 – Minneapolis, MN – TCF Bank Stadium (formerly June 27, 2010)
26 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz FieldNovember 2010
25, 26 – Auckland, New Zealand – Mt. Smart Stadium

December 2010
1, 3 – Melbourne, Australia – Etihad Stadium
8, 9 – Brisbane, Australia – Suncorp Stadium
13, 14 – Sydney, Australia – ANZ Stadium
18, 19 – Perth, Australia – Subiaco Oval

February 2010
13 – Johannesburg, South Africa – FNB Stadium
18 – Cape Town, South Africa – South Africa Stadium

May 2011
14, 15 – Mexico City, Mexico – Azteca Stadium
21 – Denver, CO – Invesco Field (formerly June 12, 2010)
24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice Eccles Stadium (formerly June 3, 2010)
29 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Canad Inns Stadium

June 2011
1 – Edmonton, Alberta – Commonwealth Stadium (formerly June 23, 2010)
4 – Seattle, WA – Qwest Field (formerly June 20, 2010)
7 – Oakland, CA – McAfee Coliseum (formerly June 16, 2010)
17, 18 – Anaheim, CA – Angels Stadium (formerly June 6-7, 2010)
22 – Baltimore, MD – M & T Bank Stadium
26 – East Lansing, MI – Spartan Stadium at MSU (formerly June 30, 2010)
29 – Miami, FL – Sun Life Stadium (previously Dolphin Stadium) (formerly July 9, 2010)

July 2011
2 – Nashville, TN – Vanderbilt Stadium
5 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (formerly July 6, 2010)
8, 9 – Montreal, Quebec – Hippodrome (formerly July 16-17, 2010)
11 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Centre (formerly July 3, 2010)
14 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field (formerly July 12, 2010)
17 – St. Louis MO – Busch Stadium
20 – East Rutherford, NJ – New Meadowlands Stadium (formerly July 19, 2010)
23 – Minneapolis, MN – TCF Bank Stadium (formerly June 27, 2010)
26 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field

Iconic Irish rockers U2 will be back in the touring scene after almost a year since front man Bono threw his back out severely and had to undergo an immediate intensive surgery last May at a hospital in Germany.

The U2 360° world tour was launched last year but had to be cancelled during its North American trek to give way for Bono’s surgery and recuperation. The said leg of the tour has been rescheduled for May 2011 with a show in Denver on May 21. Tickets are still available for the new tour schedule and tickets previously bought for the original show dates will still be honored for the rescheduled dates. Those who have changed their minds about the event can have their tickets refunded from where they purchased it.

However, fans of the quartet in Europe won’t have to wait that long since Bono and the rest of U2 will be going back on the road this summer consistent with their original tour schedule. They will be hitting back the European trail on August 6 with a show in Turin, Italy with Kasabian as support act. They will be in the continent till October.

Bono’s recuperation has come off as a blessing in disguise of some sorts. In a video clip posted over the band’s website, the singer said that being bedridden for a few months after the surgery has helped him brainstorm ideas for new songs that they might sample during the world tour. At present, the singer is no longer immobile and is gradually regaining back his strength.

The world tour will feature the band performing their greatest hits – both classics and current hits – including some material from their 12th and most recent studio effort, “No Line on the Horizon”, which hit the shelves in February last year. The album landed atop not only on the Billboard 200 but also on several album charts worldwide. It also moved close to half a million copies during its first week in the market.

2011 U2 Concert Tour
August 2010
6 – Turin, Italy – Stadio Olimpico (w/ Kasabian)
10 – Frankfurt, Germany – Commerzbank Arena (w/ Kasabian)
12 – Hannover, Germany – AWD Stadium (w/ Kasabian)
15, 16 – Horsens, Germany – Casa Arena (w/ Snow Patrol)
20, 21 – Helsinki, Finland – Olympic Stadium (w/ Razorlight)
25 – Moscow, Russia – Luzhniki (w/ Snow Patrol)
30 – Vienna, Austria – Stadium (w/ One Republic)

September 2010
3 – Athens, Greece -Olympic Stadium (w/ Snow Patrol)
6 – Istanbul, Turkey – Ataturk Olympic Stadium (w/ Snow Patrol)
11, 12 – Zurich, Switzerland (w/ One Republic)
15 – Munich, Germany – Olympic Stadium (w/ One Republic)
18 – Paris, France – Stade De France (w/ Interpol)
22, 23 – Brussels, Belgium – Stade Roi Boudoin (w/ Interpol)
26 – San Sebastian, Spain – Anoeta Stadium (w/ Interpol)
29 – Seville, Spain – Olympic Stadium (w/ Interpol)

October 2010
2, 3 – Coimbra, Portugul – Estadio Cidade (w/ Interpol)
8 – Rome, Italy – Olympic Stadium (w/ Interpol)

May 2011
21 – Denver, CO – Invesco Field (formerly June 12, 2010)
24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice Eccles Stadium (formerly June 3, 2010)

June 2011
1 – Edmonton, Alberta – Commonwealth Stadium (formerly June 23, 2010)
4 – Seattle, WA – Qwest Field (formerly June 20, 2010)
7 – Oakland, CA – McAfee Coliseum (formerly June 16, 2010)
17 – Anaheim, CA – Angels Stadium (formerly June 6, 2010)
18 – Anaheim, CA – Angels Stadium (formerly June 7, 2010)
26 – East Lansing, MI – Spartan Stadium at MSU (formerly June 30, 2010)
29 – Miami, FL – Sun Life Stadium (previously Dolphin Stadium) (formerly July 9, 2010)

July 2011
5 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (formerly July 6, 2010)
8 – Montreal, Quebec – Hippodrome (formerly July 16, 2010)
9 – Montreal, Quebec – Hippodrome (formerly July 17, 2010)
11 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Centre (formerly July 3, 2010)
14 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field (formerly July 12, 2010)
20 – East Rutherford, NJ – New Meadowlands Stadium (formerly July 19, 2010)
23 – Minneapolis, MN – TCF Bank Stadium (formerly June 27, 2010)

With U2 front man Bono still in recovery after an intensive back surgery, they are left with no choice but to push back the dates for the upcoming North American leg of their U2360° tour which was originally planned to kick off in Salt Lake City, UT on July 3 and will supposedly conclude with a show in New Jersey on July 19.

In a statement sent by the band’s manager Paul McGuinness, he says that this is a major “blow” for Bono, and that Bono “feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels like he has badly let down the band and their audience”. McGuinness emphasizes though that Bono’s recovery is of utmost importance more than anything.

Efforts to reschedule the tour are now underway as the band works with event promoter Live Nation. More dates are also reported to be added to the itinerary. Live Nation advises fans to “hold on to their tickets” as the final dates and venues for the upcoming tour are being worked out.

Meanwhile, Bono is recuperating from an emergency spine surgery to treat complaints of severe back pains and lower leg numbness. It was found out that the singer has a compressed sciatic nerve which caused the paralysis of his left leg. Bono’s MRI scan also reveals a ligament tear in his spinal disc of about 8 mm wide, with disc fragments found by the surgeons in his spinal column during his surgery.

Bono is being attended by Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt and Professor Tonn from the LMU University Hospital in Munich. They released a statement saying that Bono’s surgery was successful and a thorough rehabilitation within the soonest possible time is their priority. Their target is to have Bono recover his motor skills in as fast as eight weeks which is the minimum time based on professional experience.

Another U2 appearance had to be cancelled due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Bono’s health – their appearance in the forthcoming Glastonbury Festival where they even penned a song especially for the musical event.

As posted on the band’s official website, Bono is “heartbroken” with the turn of events but promises to make a speedy and thorough recovery to do the thing that he loves most – performing live for all of the band’s fans worldwide.

Well it’s official. 2009 is days away from coming to a close so it’s time to pull out all of those best of the decade lists. They are exhaustive, tedious and largely subjective, but this one is interesting. Pollstar has released a list of the most successful touring artists over the past decade judged by box office receipts. The touring machine that is Dave Matthews Band took top honors pulling in $529.1 million on 11.6 million tickets sold. Celine Dion, Kenny Chesney, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones round out the top 5 with James Taylor sliding into the number 50 slot. $116.3 million still isn’t a bad haul for a man long past his prime. There aren’t too many surprises snuck in here. Most of your arena bands are represented. Who will be the topping the charts when we look back in 2019? Only time will tell.

1. Dave Matthews Band; $529.1 million; 11.6 million.
2. Celine Dion; $522.2; 4.
3. Kenny Chesney; $455.6; 8.6.
4. Bruce Springsteen; $444.3; 5.7.
5. The Rolling Stones; $426.9; 3.2.
6. U2; $391; 4.4.
7. Madonna; $325.3; 2.1.
8. Eagles; $313.4; 2.8.
9. Elton John; $286.4; 2.5.
10. Jimmy Buffett; $285.8; 4.5.
11. Toby Keith; $273.8; 6.4.
12. Cher; $263.5; 3.5.
13. Elton John/Billy Joel; $261.6; 2.3.
14. Bon Jovi; $241.4; 3.2.
15. Metallica; $225.5; 3.6.
16. Rascal Flatts; $222.4; 4.5.
17. Paul McCartney; $221.4; 1.4.
18. NSYNC; 196.4; 3.8.
19. Britney Spears; $195.7; 3.5.
20. Trans-Siberian Orchestra; $194.9; 4.7.
21. Aerosmith; $193.2; 3.2.
22. Tim McGraw/Faith Hill; $189.9; 2.7.
23. George Strait; $184.7; 3.1
24. The Police; $181.2; 1.7.
25. Neil Diamond; $179.4; 2.7.
26. Barry Manilow; $173.9; 1.7.
27. Bob Dylan; $161.1; 3.4.
28. “American Idols Live”; $156.8; 3.
29. “Ozzfest”; $154.9; 3.4.
30. Rod Stewart; $153.9; 2.1.
31. “Vans Warped Tour”; $152.9; 5.1.
32. Van Halen; $147.8; 1.6.
33. Fleetwood Mac; $146.2; 1.7.
34. Brooks & Dunn; $144.4; 3.8.
35. AC/DC; $144.3; 2.1.
36. Coldplay; $142.9; 2.6.
37. Eric Clapton; $139.3; 1.9.
38. Luis Miguel; $137; 2.1.
39. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; $136; 3.
40. Nickelback; $135.8; 3.3.
41. Dixie Chicks; $134.9; 2.6.
42. Tim McGraw; $133.7; 2.7.
43. Backstreet Boys; $132.4; 2.6.
44. Brad Paisley; $129.7; 3.3.
45. Tina Turner; $127.9; 1.7.
46. Bette Midler; $126; 1.1.
47. Billy Joel; $123.4; 1.4.
48. Barbra Streisand; $119.5; 0.4.
49. Phish; $116.7; 2.6.
50. James Taylor; $116.3; 2.6.