2015 saw a lot of great concert tours, from J. Cole’s Forest Hills Drive Tour with Big Sean, YG and Jeremih to Taylor Swift’s huge 1989 World Tour. Some tours sold out stadiums and arenas, selling out the entire tour before it even begun, and some tours were in small intimate venues, either strategically or because simple supply and demand. Some had stacked lineups top to bottom and some introduced us to a lot of great new artists. Festivals like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Coachella were bigger than ever this year, but that didn’t stop your favorite artists from building up some great shows of their own.
Hit the jump and check out our list of our 20 Favorite Concert Tours of 2015!
Being so close to home and so close to Hollywood, you would only imagine that Taylor Swift’s surprise guests for her Los Angeles leg of her 1989 World Tour (aka her sold out residency at the Staples Center) would really turn up. And with appearances from Justin Timberlake and Selena Gomez, Taylor’s fans definitely got their money’s worth and then some (and then some more). But no one could ever have imagined that her best guest would be a fictional one (kind of)!
Last night, during another sold out night at the Staples Center, Taylor brought out actress Lisa Kudrow to perform an awesome duet of ‘Smelly Cat’, the fictional hit from Kudrow’s character Phoebe Buffay, from the huge sitcom Friends. Watch the two perform ‘Smelly Cat’ below and check out our photos from Taylor’s Chicago performance here!
Even Taylor Swift isn’t too big to show a little humility and apologize when she thinks she’s wrong. For a couple days, Taylor and Nicki Minaj had a little bit of bad blood when Taylor Swift was under the impression that Nicki’s anger over a MTV Video Music Award snub (for her ‘Anaconda’ video) was aimed at Swift’s way (who was nominated). Although the two both shared how big of a fan they were of the other, there was some clear tension. The Twitter war should be officially over now, as Swift took to Twitter to send an apology to Minaj. “I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I’m sorry, Nicki,” tweeted Swift. You can’t blame a girl for defending herself, right (especially when its Swift and the VMAs)?
This past weekend, Taylor Swift brought her epic 1989 World Tour to Chicago’s Soldier Field. Selling over 100,000 seats in two nights, Taylor’s Chi-town fans saw performances from Shawn Mendes, Vance Joy, Haim, and of course Swift herself. Last night we checked out the tour for ourselves and it was more than memorable! From the light show and fireworks, to the costume changes, and even a surprise appearance from country music’s Sam Hunt, the concert left us speechless. And while two nights at Soldier Field wasn’t quite enough, as both performances sold out, we took some photos while we enjoyed the music, to help share the night to those who were at Pitchfork, another concert, or perhaps just sitting at home.
Check out our photos from Taylor Swift’s “1989 World Tour” stop at Chicago’s Soldier Field below (and check out our review here)!
Taylor Swift’s marquee and household name is the reason she sold-out back-to-back nights at Chicago’s Soldier Field, the biggest venue in Chicago. Talented opening acts, amazing costumes, beautiful light shows, pyrotechnics, and surprise guests aside, the 1989 World Tour is successful (from a numbers standpoint) because of who T-Swift is as a pop star. But all that extra stuff, the things that make her concerts memorable and well after the tickets are long gone, those are the things that make her live performance special, which ensure that those same fans that went through the gates tonight are the ones that will sit on their computer while they await for the next tour’s tickets to go on-sale. The only problem? As word-of-mouth spreads and fans who are ready to see Taylor for their second, third, or fourth time are joined by those who heard of Swift’s epic performances from a friend and want to see first hand, there won’t be enough room and Soldier Field may need to prepare to book a third night for the next time Swift comes to the Windy City. Having just experienced my first Taylor Swift concert, I am certain that it won’t be my last, as the ‘Bad Blood’ singer puts on a tour that matches her massive record sales, wide influence, and her elite status as a modern pop icon.
Last night Taylor Swift and her 1989 World Tour delivered for the Windy City, as T-Swift performed for Chicago well into the night, and with surprise guests Andy Grammer and Serayah. This just adds to the long catalog of surprise guests in the past couple weeks. So far, Taylor invited Nick Jonas, the U.S. Women’s Soccer team, The Weeknd, Jason Derulo and Lorde to join her on stage for the sold-out crowds and to perform some of their biggest hits. Tonight marked Taylor Swift’s second and final night at Chicago’s Soldier Field, and because of the great cast of surprise guests in the last week, fans could only wonder what Day 2 would hold?
Taylor Swift has been killing it during her current U.S. leg of her 1989 World Tour. Last weekend Taylor brought the tour back to the States and she invited Nick Jonas, the U.S. Women’s Soccer team and The Weeknd (who performed his hit single ‘I Can’t Feel My Face’) to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. Next up were surprise appearances from Jason Derulo and Swift’s bestie, singer Lorde, who flew in to say hi to fans in our nation’s capital. Tonight marked Taylor Swift’s first night (of two) at Chicago’s Soldier Field. With a great cast of surprise guests in the last week, fans could only speculate what Taylor had up her sleeve for Chicago, one of the country’s best music hubs.
You may anticipate a lot of different people to bring out The Weeknd during their concerts, but Taylor Swift may not be the first you’d expect. Tonight, during the first of her two East Rutherford, New Jersey stops on her “1989 World Tour”, Taylor brought out the ‘I Can’t Feel My Face’ singer out for a guest performance. The two shared the stage while The Weeknd, whose new album The Beauty Behind The Madness is coming in less than a couple months (August 28), performed his new hit single. Don’t miss Taylor when she comes to your city, you never know who she may bring out.
Check out photos and a clip of The Weeknd’s ‘I Can’t Feel My Face’ performance below.
These are the highlights of this past week in music! Hopefully you can bump these tracks on your way to work to brighten up your Monday mornings, and to stay up-to-date on today’s music.
This week we have a new IAMSU! collab by Kyle, a A$AP Rocky leak, a track from Chicago’s rap collective SAVEMONEY, and a unlikely track from Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar.
Ever since Taylor Swift shared a video of herself rapping some Kendrick Lamar in her car, the two have had an unlikely friendship. And now the two artists have finally combined forces, for T-Swift’s record ‘Bad Blood’, which fans can buy now on iTunes. And if the song itself wasn’t enough, the two also recorded an awesome action-filled music video mini action film for the track. The two aren’t the only ones who star in the video either. King Kendrick and Taylor are also joined by Cindy Crawford, Jessica Alba, Lena Dunham, Selena Gomez, Mariska Hargitay, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Ellie Goulding, Gigi Hadid, Ellen Pompeo, Zendaya, and many more.
The Early Registration 