Bruce Springsteen to reach Irish ticket milestone
Bruce Springsteen will have played to one million fans in Ireland over the course of his career by the end of his latest tour, according to promoter Peter Aiken.
The Boss brings his world tour to Belfast’s Boucher Road in Northern Ireland on 9 May, followed by shows in Ireland at Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park (12 May), Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork (16 May) and Dublin’s Croke Park (19 May).
“One million people in Ireland will have been to see him. It’s phenomenal,” the Aiken Promotions chief tells PA, as per Yahoo! News.
Aiken says that very few artists have sold one million tickets in Ireland, north and south of the border, and suggests that younger generations discovering Springsteen’s music are helping fuel demand for the 74-year-old’s live shows in the region.
“There’s people my age at the concerts but there’s a lot of young people who go too, it’s great”
“His youngest fanbase in the world is in Ireland. If you went to other countries it would all be people like me,” he says. “I think young people listen to him with their parents. They are in the car and then eventually they do like it. I said that to my kids when they were listening to Bob Dylan, that one day you will like it, and they do now. There’s people my age at the concerts but there’s a lot of young people who go too, it’s great. It’s just the way we are here. It will be amazing.”
The Irish Times reports that Springsteen has played 28 concerts in Ireland to date, adding that it was Aiken’s father, Jim, who invited him to perform his first Irish concert at Slane Castle in 1985.
Springsteen’s 20-plus date European stadium run with The E Street Band kicks off in the UK at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on 5 May, finishing back at London’s Wembley Stadium on 25 & 27 July. It will also take in France, Czechia, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The global outing ranked in third place on Pollstar’s list of 2023’s highest-grossing worldwide tours, generating $379.5 million from 3.5 million ticket sales for 66 concerts. More than 1.6m tickets were sold for last year’s European leg, which included three nights in Ireland at Dublin’s RDS Arena.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Promoter warns fans over fake tickets scam
Promoter Peter Aiken issued a warning to fans about only buying tickets through official channels, after over 90 people bought fake tickets to two concerts in the last week.
He says more than 60 people who bought tickets for ZZ Top at Dublin’s 3Arena were denied entry because of fake tickets, while 30 had counterfeits for a Brian Wilson gig at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in the city.
The Irish Times reports one man spent €1,000 on two tickets to see Brian Wilson, but had to be turned away when it was discovered they were false because the show was sold out.
In a statement, the promoter warned: “Following the ZZ Top and Brian Wilson Concerts in Dublin last week, Aiken Promotions would like to warn fans once again against purchasing tickets from secondary websites.
“At ZZ Top on Friday, at least 60 people turned up at the venue who had bought tickets through secondary websites. These tickets were not valid which caused distress and disappointment to these fans. Unfortunately it is not likely these people will get the money they paid refunded.
“As a promoter, it is extremely frustrating to see people being exploited like this and I would like to emphasise once again that fans should not purchase tickets from ANY secondary sellers.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.