Eric Clapton, performing over the summer in London, played two nights at Madison Square Garden in October. (Getty Images)
Eric Clapton heads up the Hot Tickets tally in the large arena category (venues with capacities 15,001-30,000) following one of his rare concert appearances since backing away from major multiple-date touring. These days the 73-year-old rock legend hits the stage for only an occasional performance, and most recently it was New York audiences with a chance to see the three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Clapton played for sellout crowds at Madison Square Garden Arena on Oct. 6-7, logging more than $6.7 million in sales from 30,496 sold tickets over both days. Among his two-night stands at the Manhattan arena, that is his highest attendance ever recorded, according to Pollstar box office data, although there were three years (2001, 2006, 2008) where he played three-show engagements with a higher single-show average. Looking further back in the archives, one has to go back 31 years to find his record attendance for one night at The Garden. He established a single-show standard of 19,958 sold seats for a concert on April 27, 1987, a Clapton record that still holds today.
Joining Clapton for the New York performances were special guests Gary Clark Jr. and Jimmie Vaughan, both support acts for him last fall at Madison Square Garden and also the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. He made a festival appearance back in the summer at London’s Hyde Park, headlining the main stage at the Barclaycard British Summer Time event July 8. He headed up a slate of artists including Santana and Steve Winwood as well as his New York opener, fellow guitarist Clark.
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Beacon Theatre in New York City has the highest number of shows among all the venues ranked on Top Stops this month. The theater sits at No. 1 among venues with 2,001-5,000 seats, based on 44,139 total tickets at 18 performances. The top box office results came from Tedeschi Trucks Band with 16,691 tickets moved at six concerts Oct. 5-13. The gross from all six sold-out shows hit $1.2 million.
Cher lands on Hot Tickets with a gross of $816,695 from her live appearance at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Broadmeadow, Australia. The Sept. 26 performance launched a seven-city run through Australian markets in September and October dubbed the Here We Go Again tour. The award-winning performer last toured Down Under 13 years ago, when she played eight markets in Australia and New Zealand during the final days of her Living Proof tour. Promoted as her farewell outing at the time, the tour stretched from June 2002 through April 2005.