Your 2018 holiday mantra? Say no to boring sweaters and socks, buy the gift of experience for the people you love. The music lovers in your life will most definitely appreciate tickets to see their favorite band live more than, say, another useless stocking stuffer.
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The best concerts to gift this holiday season
The no-fail gift to give? Concert tickets to their favorite band.
2018 is already looking to be a jam-packed year of concerts, as musical acts are coming back after years of hiatus and new acts are opening in places like Las Vegas. Here’s your gift guide of the best tours coming through your city in 2018, one for just about every music fan in your life.
U2
The highly anticipated followup to the Joshua Tree tour in 2017 and the Experience + Innocence Tour in 2015, the British band is hitting the North American tour circuit — and releasing their new EP, Songs of Experience, on December 1. U2 fans in your family won’t want to miss the talked-about tour, as it was called a “reinvention” of the arena show by Rolling Stone.
Lady Gaga
Heads up for the Little Monsters in your life: Lady Gaga is still on the road for her Joanne World Tour, and tickets to a show may be the easiest gift to give. Building upon her jaw-dropping Super Bowl halftime performance — to which 117.5 million viewers tuned in — Lady Gaga embarked on her world tour and still sells out arenas across the world.
Springsteen on Broadway
One of the buzziest debuts on Broadway, Bruce Springsteen brings his blue-collar aesthetic to the Great White Way. The show’s already been hailed as a “triumph” as Springsteen plays out a live version of his recent memoir, complete with the big hits like “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Born to Run.” Rolling Stone sums it up: “It’s not a concert; not a typical one-man-show; certainly not a Broadway musical. But it is one of the most compelling and profound shows by a rock musician in recent memory.” This is the golden ticket for every Springsteen mega-fan out there.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z’s 13th consecutive platinum album, 4:44, may have been the most talked-about album of the year — only because Beyonce’s Lemonade came out in 2016. So naturally those shopping for Bey and Jay will want to go see Jay-Z live on tour.
Pink
Pink is back with a new album, Beautiful Trauma, after a five-year hiatus. Now she’s opening a worldwide tour on her hit singles “What About Us” and “Beautiful Trauma,” so grab tickets for your girlfriends for a girl’s night out — pop rock anthems included.
The Killers
The Killers made their name on songs like “Somebody Told Me” and “Smile Like You Mean It,” but the band is back with a reinvigorated sound on their new album, Wonderful Wonderful. It’s a bit disco-meets-rock, which is sure to help the band sell out arenas in the coming year.
Foo Fighters
Rock n’ roll purists will not want to miss the chance to see Foo Fighters live. After two decades of making record-breaking albums, Dave Grohl and his band members are back with album #9. Says Pitchfork about their newest album, “Concrete and Gold feels more interested in the granular details of rock songwriting and craft of rock album-making than anything the Foos have made in years.” For the Foo Fighters fans in your life, this will be one hot ticket — and the gift of tickets will make you an instant hit this holiday.
Elton John in Las Vegas
Pay tribute to Elton John and the Million Dollar Piano while you still can. The iconic performer will end his Las Vegas run at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace after 13 years, more than 450 shows, and 1.3 million fans in attendance this coming year, so you better snap up tickets for the holiday season quickly.
Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden
Billy Joel’s residency at Madison Square Garden, going on its fourth year, has become a thing of legend in the music industry. The performer continues to sell out the “world’s greatest arena” and will hit two milestones in 2018: his 50th show in the residency, and, potentially, the 100th show Joel will sell out at MSG. Needless to say, if you give the gift of the Piano Man this year, you will score major points.
Maroon 5
Adam Levine and his band have done it again: Their latest release, Red Pill Blues, was No. 2 in the U.S. when it came out this month, the fifth album to hit the No. 2 spot on the billboards. Quartz has even called Maroon 5 “the most popular American band of the 21st century.” So it basically goes without saying that tickets to see them live is a crowd-pleaser kind of gift.
Ed Sheeran
Britain’s current reigning music star has had a non-stop year: He came out with his album ÷ in March, and has risen to the top of the pop charts. To hear Sheeran perform “Castle on the Hill” and “Shape Of You” live, buy up tickets for the tour now for yourself and your friends.
Lorde
The followup to her debut album, Melodrama, has been called “a masterful study of being a young woman, a sleek and humid pop record full of grief and hedonism, crafted with the utmost care and wisdom” by Pitchfork. All the more reason to get tickets for the Lorde fans in your life as she embarks on her 2018 tour.
Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas
Get excited, J.Lo fans: The singer is opening her own Vegas residency at The Axis at Planet Hollywood in February. If your friends and family love to shake it to “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” these are the must-gift tickets of the season.