The Greatest Tours of 2017
Tom Petty, 40th Anniversary Tour
Petty billed this run of dates with the Heartbreakers as his last “big one.” They ended up serving as his grand farewell before his October 2nd death – a two-hour show mixing beloved hits with lesser-known gems like “Crawling Back to You” and “Forgotten Man,” wrapping on September 25th with a joyous “American Girl” at the Hollywood Bowl.
Brian Wilson, Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour
Wilson swore that Pet Sounds’ third outing would be his final one, and he made it count. Across more than 180 dates, he sang better than he has in years, helped along by original Beach Boy Al Jardine and his golden-voiced son, Matt. Wilson also dug deep into the Beach Boys catalog for rarely heard jewels like “Feel Flows” and “Salt Lake City.”
U2, The Joshua Tree Tour 2017
U2 have never been a band to fall back on past glories. So it was no surprise that they turned a complete performance of their 1987 classic, The Joshua Tree, into an urgent, contemporary experience, using the show’s powerful visuals to update the LP’s Americana themes for the age of Trump.
Travis Scott, Birds Eye View Tour
The Houston MC‘s shows were so off the hook this year, fans dropped from a balcony in New York. In Arkansas, Scott was arrested for inciting a riot. But dude was arguably guilty of that every night. The highlight: a giant glow-eyed model bird “backing” him onstage (he rode a bird above audiences at later shows). Your move, Kanye.
Eric Church, Holdin’ My Own Tour
Over the years, Church concerts have always been parties. But in 2017, they went from merely ass-kicking to epic. For his amusingly named Holdin’ My Own Tour, the guy who wrote “Springsteen” took a tip from the man himself, forgoing opening acts to play shows that ran upwards of three hours a night – complete with covers of Billy Joel and Bruce.