Metallica, KISS And twenty one pilots Among 2019's Highest-Grossing Tours So Far

2019 has already been an absolutely stellar year for shows – from Metallica's WorldWired stadium epic, to twenty one pilots' stunning Bandito Tour.

Now, the highest-grossing touring bands have been unveiled via Pollstar, and unsurprisingly ’Tallica are the fourth biggest earners on the planet, behind Elton John, Pink and Justin Timberlake. The metal kings have reportedly sold a total of 635,272 tickets and grossed $69.7 million from November 22, 2018 and May 22, 2019. Yowzah.

KISS also make the Top 10 at number seven grossing $58.1 million and selling 525,882 tickets, while further down the list, twenty one pilots ($23.1 million) and Panic! At The Disco ($15.1 million) feature at places 30 and 43 respectively.

Elsewhere, outside of the Top 50, Disturbed, Muse, Aerosmith and Weezer (who toured extensively on a co-headline run with Pixies) are all included in the 100 highest-grossing tours of the year so far.

Check out the Top 10:

1. Elton John – $82.6 million
2. Pink – $81.8 million
3. Justin Timberlake – $75.5 million
4. Metallica – $69.7 million
5. Fleetwood Mac – $67.7 million
6. Ed Sheeran – $63.6 million
7. KISS – $58.1 million
8. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – $57.3 million
9. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – $52.8 million
10. Travis Scott – $51.7 million

Of course, Metallica just recently hit the UK for two absolutely brilliant dates in Manchester and London, with the Kerrang! Awards 2019 sandwiched nicely in-between.

“It’s been a magical night and a magical week,” drummer Lars Ulrich told us backstage. “Coming to the UK is always special to me, not only because of our own history here, but also the musical pedigree that helped make Metallica Metallica. Plus, Kerrang! and all the stories that have been published about us over the years are certainly embedded here in my thick Danish skull. It’s so cool that 240 years later we’re still being acknowledged and appreciated, but the best years are still in front of us because we’re just getting started. Just in case you were wondering.”

Meanwhile, twenty one pilots will return to the UK next month to headline Reading & Leeds.

We recently asked frontman Tyler Joseph what fans can expect from their debut headline slot at one of the UK’s biggest festivals, and he enthused: “The culture of music in the UK is something we’ve always looked up to. Some of our favourite performances of festivals and stuff has been over here. In a sense, when you live over in the States, you kind of look over at the UK as a very credible, cool, authentic music scene.

• Visit the official Kerrang! Ticket Store

“It’s tough to get everything in our live show to translate over into a festival set, but there’s something special about festivals, and something special about being outside, too. And that set is going to be like no other set we’ve ever played. There’s definitely an air of unpredictability, and you don’t really know exactly what to expect. You’d be a fool to assume that everybody is there to watch you – or even know who you are. So there’s a bit of a competitive edge to it, because there’s so many awesome bands on the bill, and so being motivated to rise above that giant pool of talent, and to make your mark, is something that we’re really excited to step up to that challenge.

“The last time we played Reading was one of my favourite sets ever. I did a stage-dive and climbed over the top of 10,000 people, and had a few people pulling on me in the process, but I rather enjoyed it! I thought it was a lot of fun, and the energy was amazing. I can’t wait to do it all over again – we’ll see what happens this time…”

Read this next:

• 10 things we learned from Metallica's WorldWired European stadium tour
• Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl on the shows that made him
• Tyler and Josh from twenty one pilots: The songs that changed our lives