The December 2024 Boxscore report is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and (likely) Future: Trans-Siberian Orchestra closes out 2024 at No. 1 on Top Tours, just as it did in December of 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2019 (there was no chart in 2020 due to venue closures during COVID-19).
According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Trans-Siberian Orchestra earned $48.2 million and sold 581,000 tickets from 70 shows between Dec. 1-30. How does one touring act perform 70 shows in 30 days? As has been the case since its 1999 touring debut, TSO employs two ensembles, pushing one to the eastern half of the United States and another to the west. Further, as Christmas approaches, each ensemble ramps up the pace with a matinee and evening performance in each city; for 12 days out of the month, TSO played four shows.
At 70 shows, TSO was four times busier than any of the other 29 artists on December’s Top Tours chart. Pentatonix is the only other act on the ranking that played more than 10 shows in December, with 16 dates on a holiday tour of its own. Even if TSO didn’t have the advantage of being in two places at once, it’d still tower over Pentatonix and everyone else on the survey.
TSO’s annual tour began on Nov. 13 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and Green Bay, Wisc. In all, it played 110 shows in 2024, marking its fullest routing since 2009 (112). It paid off, combining to $69 million, up 1% from last year’s $68.2 million to finish as its biggest year ever. Altogether, TSO has earned $871.4 million and sold 15.8 million tickets since 1999. The ensemble has reported 2,003 concerts, more than any other act in Boxscore history.
Out of 41 cities on the December calendar, TSO grossed more than $1 million in 21. Two shows at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 22 earned $2.1 million. That’s just the third engagement in the group’s history to eclipse the $2 million threshold, joining stops in Tampa ($2.1 million) and Cleveland ($2 million) from 2023.
Both Cleveland and Tampa were among this year’s biggest markets, with $1.9 million and $1.8 million, respectively. St. Paul, Minn. and Pittsburgh, Penn. joined with $1.8 million each. Five markets sold more than 20,000 tickets, including Rosemont, Ill. and Dallas.
Zach Bryan and George Strait follow on Top Tours, crystalizing a banner year for country acts. Bryan grossed $28.5 million over nine shows in just four markets. Just 31 miles from his hometown of Oologah, Okla., three shows at Tulsa’s BOK Center did the heaviest lifting with $9.4 million on Dec. 12-14.
It’s impressive enough that Bryan is No. 2 from shows in just four cities. But George Strait is No. 3 from the power of just one show. His Dec. 7 concert at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium grossed $23.3 million from 47,600 tickets sold, handily crowning Top Boxscores. The next highest one-night engagement on Top Boxscores is Luis Miguel at No. 18 with less than a quarter of Strait’s massive Vegas pull.
Las Vegas dominates Top Boxscores, clogging the top three positions with variety in terms of genre and size. Following Strait’s country stadium juggernaut, Bruno Mars is No. 2 with six shows from his MGM residency at Dolby Live. Those grossed $16 million and sold 31,900 tickets, pushing the residency’s total earnings to $154.8 million, dating back to its 2016 launch.
Rounding out the Vegas trio, Anyma is No. 3 with the first five of eight shows at Sphere. In between Strait’s stadium and Mars’ theater, Sphere’s arena configuration translated to 84,900 tickets sold from Dec. 27-31, combining to $13.6 million. The Italian American DJ is the first electronic act to headline the famed hall, following rock turns from Dead & Company, the Eagles, Phish, and U2.
Sphere takes two more spots in the top 10, with two weekends with the Eagles at Nos. 9-10. Altogether, those shows earned $18.5 million, making them the fifth-highest grossing act of the month. Sphere ends December at No. 2 on Top Venues (15,001+ capacity), just 2% off from its older sister venue, New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is not the only holiday act impacting the December Boxscore recap. Perennial favorites Pentatonix and Mariah Carey both hit Top Tours, with $14.2 million and $8.3 million, respectively.
As far as individual events go, Denver’s Decadence New Year’s Eve and New York’s Z100 Jingle Ball both appear on Top Boxscores. In addition to NYE performances from Anyma and Bruno Mars, Phish closed out the year with four shows at Madison Square Garden ($9.6 million) and Billy Joel performed a one-night engagement in Long Island at the UBS Arena ($3.8 million).
And as reliable as TSO, the Rockettes returned to Radio City Music Hall for the annual Christmas Spectacular. No. 1 on Top Venues (5,001-10k capacity), the RCMH earned nearly $100 million from 736,000 tickets sold over 129 December shows.
