In the midst of your yearly wrapped and replay summaries, Songkick is back with our annual live music round-up! We are reflecting on 2019’s incredible performers; artists who’ve been out more than they’ve been in, performing more than they’ve been sleeping and entertaining the masses in one or more of the 829,030(!) shows we have listed in 2019.
Digging even further into our data, we can reveal that 6,473,954 shows have been played across the globe this decade!
Thanks to our exhaustive database, we’re able to crunch the number of live shows artists have played this year to bring you our pick of the hardest working bands of 2019 — check them out below!
It’s no surprise to us that Lewis Capaldi made his way to the top of our chart. With 126 shows played over twelve months, the self-proclaimed Scottish Beyoncé has definitely left a mark in 2019’s live scene. Despite voice troubles and a few cancelled shows, Lewis Capaldi has had an amazing year — with a #1 UK debut album and Grammy nomination for his hit single Someone You Loved, we’re positive he’ll be hovering around the top of our chart for time to come. We’ll be watching!
HARDEST WORKING BAND — The past decade and a half have been a wild ride for Buckcherry. Forming in 1995 then reforming in 2005, they showed no sign of slowing down touring in 2019, alongside an eighth studio album. With 151 shows under their belts this year, lead singer Josh Todd and the rest of his band have been entertaining devoted rock-fans across America, Europe, Australia and Japan.
HONOURABLE MENTION — Who else to make a home in our chart than this year’s queen of self-love? Lizzo, who is TIME magazine’s ‘Entertainer of the Year’, has been making and breaking records left and right. From reigning the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks with Truth Hurts to being the most-nominated (8!) artist at the 2020 Grammy’s with nominations in each of the big four categories, Lizzo shows us she’s truly unstoppable — and her 120 live shows prove it!
Staying closer to home has also been a theme for superstars and rising stars alike. Proud Northeasterner, Sam Fender has marked special 2019 moments with shows across the area, including an intimate album release show in North Sheilds and the coveted task of turning on Newcastle’s Christmas lights. Selling out a date at Newcastle Arena next year in under 8 minutes, and treating his Geordie fans to a may bank holiday treat in 2020, he has no plan to leave his homeland behind as we enter a new decade.
Ed Sheeran also stayed close to home, with 4 epic shows at Ipswich’s Chantry Park. The Perfect singer, who’s been crowned ‘UK’s Artist of the Decade’ by the Official Charts Company has had a ‘quiet’ year, only playing about 50 shows this year — 7 of which based were in the UK. Well, 8 to be more specific, as Ed did a surprise appearance last month at a Snow Patrol gig in — you guessed it, Ipswich!
Celebrating the artists that travelled the farthest, cumulatively lapping the globe, has been a long-standing tradition here at Songkick. However, this year artists are taking a stand.
The spotlight has now been placed on the environmental impact of touring, with bands including Coldplay and Massive Attack searching for carbon-neutral options in the face of our current climate and ecological crisis. Whilst bringing the magic of live music to fan everywhere is our mission, Coldplay’s recent live-streamed Sunrise and Sunset gigs show new and exciting ways artists can connect their live music with fans globally.
This year we give Chris Martin and his band an honourable mention. From 67 dates in 2016 and 58 dates in 2017 and travelling over 1,017,155 miles in their touring career, Coldplay’s only date of 2019 was a special performance at the Natural History Museum.
Some of the biggest trends we’ve seen this year have come from newer artists that have left a huge impact on music. Indie-pop sensation Billie Eilish — who is now the youngest person ever to be nominated in the big four categories of the Grammy’s — has seen her live shows change from primarily US shows in 2018 to a massive, sold-out tour across the globe.
Post Malone, whose amount of trackers on Songkick grew to nearly 1.5 million has had an equally exciting year. The Sunflower rapper has played 84 shows, ranging from North American, European and Australian shows to a summer filled with festivals.
Although Korean band BTS might not have made the top of our chart with the 31 shows they’ve played this year, the band is by all means working hard. As the first Korean act ever to headline two shows at Wembley Stadium, selling over 975,000 tickets across 20 shows, and grossing a little over 116 million dollars for their stadium tours, these stats show that the band is a force to be reckoned with. We can’t wait to see how far they’ll go in 2020!
The Hardest Working Bands of 2019 was originally published in Songkick on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
