And the award for top-grossing concert of 2008 goes to…
When The Police re-formed last year, it wasn’t a big surprise that they were the top grossers in the North American business for 2007. After all, the trio hadn’t played in over twenty years, and the fan base has only grown astronomical since then. This year’s a different story, however, and as the numbers start rolling out, there are some shockers bleeding through. It seems that a music festival is the top money 
maker of 2008, and the winning cake should be sent to Austin, Texas.
Yes, you’ve heard it right. Austin City Limits, with its heat, dust and… well, Texas… managed to scourge up all the concertgoers money with a whopping payload of $11, 767, 838! That’s quite the check, and something that Charles Attal, Charlie Jones, and Charlie Walker of C3 Presents will be happy to deposit. And not only is it a lot of cash to earn, but it’s way past the other contenders, who drop down to the low digits.
Just take a look at the other top winners:
01. $11,767,838. Austin City Limits Music Festival. Zilker Park. Austin, Texas. Sept. 26-28.
02. $3,450,775. Elton John. MTS Centre. Winnipeg, Manitoba. Sept. 19-20.
03. $3,335,362. Ozzfest. Pizza Hut Park. Frisco, Texas. Aug. 9.
04. $3,204,635. Elton John. Halifax Metro Centre. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sept. 26-27.
05. $2,854,920. Neil Diamond. Hollywood Bowl. Hollywood, Calif. Oct. 1-2.
06. $2,150,517. Elton John. Mile One Centre. St. John’s, Newfoundland. Oct. 2-3.
07. $1,783,505. New Kids On The Block, Natasha Bedingfield. TD Banknorth Garden. Boston. Sept. 26-28.
08. $1,774,014. Elton John. Brandt Centre. Regina, Saskatchewan. Sept. 16-17.
09. $1,148,125. Farm Aid. Comcast Center. Mansfield, Mass. Sept. 20.
10. $1,129,991. Elton John. Moncton Coliseum. Moncton, New Brunswick. Sept. 28.
Talk about bragging rights for C3. Speaking of which, where is Lollapalooza? There were whispers and hints that the Chicago festival sold out all three days, and trust me… it felt like it. It’s kind of odd to see the three day behemoth overshadowed by not only New Kids On The Block, but by… Elton John?
Ouch. Major ouch.
Then again, it’s also surprising the ol’ piano man managed to squeeze past Ozzfest, as well. Who would have thought more would rather see the “Rocket Man” as opposed to the “Master[s] of Puppets”? Okay, that was corny, I apologize.
Your figure is so misleading the top 5 concert money maker for 2008 is not even listed according to you.I will not mention the names I’ll let you do some research. This review is so outdated its not even funny..lol
are you sure that this if for the entire year of 2008? I highly doubt it. There is no way that Bonnaroo made less than 1.1 million dollars. It made 15 million in 2006. Add Lollapalooza to that as well. I find it interesting that all the dates are just between August 9th-October 3rd and not at any other time of the year. It has to be the highest grossing dates in a certain time frame as Billboard has 4 grosses on their current boxscore that would have made it on this list.