In perhaps the year’s least surprising awards development, Taylor Swift was awarded the honor for major tour of the year at the Pollstar Awards, in a ceremony held Wednesday night at L.A.’s Wiltern Theatre amid the annual Pollstar Live! conference.
Swift was not on hand to pick up her trophy, but among those who were were Dave Chappelle, who won for comedy tour of the year, and Lars Uhlrich of metallica, the winner in the rock tour category.
“I used to take this shit for granted, but this last tour was hard as fuck,” said Chappelle (per a report in Pollstar). “I want to thank everyone at Live Nation, everybody on that team (and) everybody at Netflix. This was a real special tour. It was a hard one, but man, this shit is great.”
Said Ulrich (also via Pollstar), “Forty-two years ago, we started not too far from here. A little rock band started in Downey. … I was 17, James [Hetfield] was 18, and the idea that we could win awards like this 42 years later would at that time seem so fucking preposterous and just like a total mind fuck to be in the same category as artists like Bruce Springsteen and [Dead and Company].”
Other musicians coming up for reward as the biggest or best tourers in their respective leagues were Beyoncé, for R&B tour of the year; Post Malone, for hip-hop tour of the year; Pink, in the pop tour division; Morgan Wallen, for top country tourer; and Karol G, in the Latin tour of the year category.
Brandi Carlile, obviously a headliner in her own right, got an award for best support act, thanks to her showing up for a good number of Pink’s stadium shows. U2’s Sphere stint was the recipient of residency of the year honors. Jelly Roll was named the top new touring artist.
Among the venues and festivals honored in categories selected by their respective sizes were the Ryman Auditorium, the Hollywood Bowl, So-Fi Stadium, Sphere, D.C.’s 9:30 Club, the Ohaha Festival, Austin City Limits Festival and Glastonbury.
Talent buyer of the year honors went to Amy Corbin of C3 Presents and, in the under-10,000 division, Goldenvoice’s Donna Busch.
The complete list of winners:
Major Tour of the Year
Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour
Rock Tour of the Year
metallica, M72 World Tour
Hip-Hop Tour of the Year
Post Malone, If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying Tour
R&B Tour of the Year
Beyoncé, Renaissance World Tour
Pop Tour of the Year
P!nk, Summer Carnival Tour
Country Tour of the Year
Morgan Wallen, One Night At A Time Tour
Latin Tour of the Year
Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito Tour
Comedy Tour of the Year
Dave Chappelle, It’s a Celebration Tour
Support/Special Guest of the Year
Brandi Carlile, P!nk
Residency of the Year
U2, Sphere
Family, Event or Non-Music Tour of the Year
Cirque du Soleil – Corteo
New Headliner of the Year
Jelly Roll
Music Festival of The Year (Global; over 30K attendance)
Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Music Festival of The Year (Global; under 30K attendance)
The Ohana Festival, Dana Point, CA
International Music Festival of The Year
Glastonbury Music Festival, Somerset, UK
Nightclub of the Year
9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Theatre of the Year
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Arena of the Year
Moody Center, Austin, TX
Red Rocks Award – Outdoor Concert Venue of the Year
Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA
Stadium of the Year
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Casino/Resort Venue of the Year
Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
New Concert Venue of the Year (Over 5,000 Capacity)
Sphere, Las Vegas, NV
New Concert Venue of the Year (Under 5,000 Capacity)
The Salt Shed, Chicago, IL
International Venue of the Year
The O2 Arena, London, UK
Venue Executive of the Year
Jeff Nickler, Moody Center, Austin, TX
Talent Buyer of the Year
Amy Corbin, C3 Presents
Small Venue Talent Buyer of the Year (Under 10,000 Capacity)
Donna Busch, Goldenvoice
Bill Graham Award / Promoter of the Year
Louis Messina, Messina Touring Group
International Promoter of the Year
Arthur Fogel, Live Nation Global Touring
Bobby Brooks Award – Agent of the Year
Adam Kornfeld, Independent Artist Group
International Booking Agent of the Year
Emma Banks, Creative Artists Agency
Booking Agency of the Year
Wasserman Music
Independent Booking Agency of the Year (Global)
High Road Touring
Rising Star Award
Molly Warren, Live Nation
Personal Manager of the Year
John Silva, Silva Artist Management
Road Warrior of the Year
Jerome Crooks, Tool, Duran Duran, Billie Eilish
Transportation Company of the Year
Rock-It Cargo
Concert Visuals Company of the Year
Bandit Lites
Concert Sound Company of the Year
Clair Global
Tour Services Company of the Year
Dega Catering
Brand Partnership/Live Campaign of the Year
AMC, Taylor Swift Eras Tour Theatrical Exhibition
Marketing/PR Executive of the Year
Allison McGregor, Creative Artists Agency
