Deadheads famously followed The Grateful Dead around the world for decades as the hippy tripsters helped define the trend of concert tourism. Indeed, music fans are known to time trips to coincide with tour dates by their favourites, or to visit cities with well-established residencies, like Las Vegas.

And while the Dead are, well, sadly mostly dead now, today it’s somebody (sorry, young folk) called Bad Bunny who leads the way with global concert earnings in 2022, topping over US$3 million. At least, Elton is a familiar face.

Following are the Top 20 global concert tours ranked artists by average box office gross per city and the average ticket price for shows worldwide (through April 11). The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers (all figures in US dollars):

TOP 20 GLOBAL CONCERT TOURS

1. Bad Bunny; $3,159,225; $197.45.
2. Elton John; $2,431,562; $177.02.
3. Eric Church; $1,700,971; $117.89.
4. Billie Eilish; $1,519,718; $119.87.
5. Dua Lipa; $1,382,736; $101.82.
6. Tool; $1,342,187; $116.59.
7. Marc Anthony; $1,221,772; $112.88.
8. New Edition; $1,128,007; $111.92.
9. Reba McEntire; $1,071,220; $106.98.
10. Katy Perry; $872,537; $218.59.
11. Kane Brown; $729,018; $64.49.
12. Luke Bryan; $682,927; $180.18.
13. Ana Gabriel; $678,747; $99.20.
14. Trans-Siberian Orchestra; $663,309; $72.49.
15. Alejandro Fernández; $571,178; $75.93.
16. Nicky Jam; $416,948; $89.09.
17. Ghost / Volbeat; $384,650; $70.11.
18. Jo Koy; $360,638; $68.15.
19. Sebastian Maniscalco; $336,075; $101.44.
20. Ricardo Montaner; $324,884; $101.75.

Incidentally, Canadian dates on Elton’s farewell tour include Toronto on Sept. 8 and Vancouver on Oct. 22.