Pollstar (12/13/21) Gensler, Andy
The Rolling Stones' restart of their "No Filter Tour" was a high watermark for the band, the highest grossing tour of Pollstar's 2021 chart year, and a guiding light for the live music industry and fans' recovery from the grueling pandemic. "You have to give every single person out there credit for a ton of buckling down and saying, 'Let's go out and get this thing done,' because we all wanted to get it done," said Concerts West co-CEO John Meglen. "We didn't want to lose a show. And we're watching all the others out there and going, 'Man, they're not taking it serious enough.'" The tour upheld strict compliance to COVID protocols, including total crew vaccination and regular testing, plus N95 masks, doctors and polymerase chain reaction machines traveling with them. Moreover, no outsiders were permitted backstage, dressing rooms were sanitized and zones were established to only allow certain people access. Despite the death of drummer Charlie Watts, the tour was a triumph, with 14 stadium shows performed in just under two months, selling 577,303 tickets going for an $226.75 on average, realizing a total gross of $130,906,734. Ticket pricing, which by current inflationary standards is relatively reasonable given the Stones' legendary status, was critical to the tour's success.
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