scheduling concert tours is tricky business. booking conflicts
(metallica doesn't need to enter a market flattened the same week
by ozzfest), business savvy ("springsteen always plays his tours
close to the vest," says an industry insider), and "personal
issues" can muddy the summer concert schedule. as of press time, a
number of acts weren't saying yes, but, off the record, they
weren't saying no to 2004 shows.
although a u2 insider says, "it doesn't look like [a north american
tour] is gonna happen," gary bongiovanni, editor in chief of
industry mag pollstar, says that while nothing is confirmed, "u2 is
going to start in europe, and the expectation is they'll end up
here."
toby keith plays the delaware state fair in harrington on july 28
and has two shows slated for september (champlain valley expo in
vermont and allegan county fair in michigan), all of which suggests
a larger shock 'n y'all presence in the offing. on the diva front,
last spring's beyonce, alicia keys, and missy elliott verizon
ladies first tour could be extended this summer. virtually everyone
in the biz claims a norah jones tour of north america is off the
table, although official word from her management group is that
"there are no 2004 dates scheduled … yet." r.e.m.'s website takes a
similar tack: "there are no tour dates scheduled at this time. stay
tuned!" after a busy year that included their infamous presidential
pr debacle followed by one of the most successful tours of 2003,
the dixie chicks are likely taking the summer off. producers who
put together 2002's down from the mountain tour (artists from the o
brother, where art thou? soundtrack) confirm that they're working
on a similar cold mountain tour, based on folk music and artists
from the soundtrack of the oscar-nominated movie.
paul mccartney is
spending the summer playing shows in europe. blondie is doing the
same, mostly in the u.k. busy and/or burned out from recording a
new album, the white stripes say they're "not looking to tour in
2004." american idol phenom william hung is either spending his
summer as an intern at microsoft, conquering singapore, or bagging
groceries in daly city. tenacious d's website promises that, "tour
dates will be posted as soon as they are announced!" since we can
practically feel
jack black's insistent sincerity in that
exclamation point, we'll keep checking.