Yes, the Springsteen and Swift ticket fiascos still sting. Yes, skyrocketing concert ticket prices are seemingly outpacing inflation. And sure, the act of buying your way into a big-ticket show, once as simple as a second thought, can now demand the better part of a day playing internet roulette.
But, seriously, big whoop. Beyoncé is coming!
Oversimplifications aside, this year promises to be a record-breaker for the concert business, even despite the often infuriating, dog-eat-doggedness of ticket-buying. Tours by aforementioned megastars Beyoncé and Taylor Swift (who forsook us for Tampa) are already threatening Elton John’s record for biggest tour ever. And the lifting of pandemic restrictions is sure to entice more of us to make up for lost time.
It’s a good thing then that South Florida’s summer pop music lineup is about as hot as a barefoot romp on the beach — particularly for legacy acts who can still put derrieres in seats. Here’s a watchlist of the must-see shows of the season.
JUNE
Halsey With String Ensemble, June 24, Hard Rock Live, Hollywood
The edgy alt powerhouse embraces an artistic choice that’s recently seen acts as disparate as the Who and Natalie Merchant taking the stage with accompaniment more at home in a classical concert hall. But striking artistic choices is nothing new for the genre-bending, boundary-busting, cause-conscious artist who has her own line of makeup and whose summer shows benefit the LGBTQ+ community. MYHRL.com
Alicia Kecoys, June 28, FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
The global superstar is certainly making up for lost time. The Alicia + Keys World Tour that began last June was her first in nine years. But it was still wending its way through Latin America this spring when she announced her Keys to the Summer Tour of North America — which she kicks off in SoFlo, less than 10 months since her last visit. Last year, she was touring in support of two exquisite albums, 2020’s Alicia and 2021’s Keys. This time, she promises an all new setlist and a completely reimagined, in-the-round concert experience, characterized in Keys superlatives as “a celebration of freedom and self-liberation!” flalivearena.com
Lady A, July 1, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale
This country-pop-rock trio touches all the bases, recently hitting it out of the park with the 2009 single, “Need You Now.” Attaining the recording industry’s Diamond status in April, it became the highest certified single by a country group and marked only the fifth time a country song has reached the benchmark. Their 21-stop Request Line Tour lives up to its name. The trio performs voicemail requests from the crowd, no matter if it’s a deep cut or a cover. browardcenter.org
Peter Frampton, July 3, Hard Rock Live, Hollywood
Frampton comes alive, indeed. The ’70s guitar god is today’s road warrior, literally. Despite the neuromuscular disorder that prompted his retirement announcement in 2019, he’s back this summer with his Never Say Never Tour. “I am feeling strong and my fingers are still roaming the fretboard,” he says. “This fighter wants to stay in the ring for as long as he can.” Also released this month is Frampton@50, a vinyl box set of his essential 1972-75 studio albums. MYHRL.com
Rolling Loud, July 21-23, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
This summer, Miami is again hip-hop heaven. For the eighth time, the city plays hometown host to the biggest hip-hop festival in the world. Headliners Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti top off a lineup of more than 100 acts. The event also dips its toes into electropop, punk and R&B with artists such as PinkPantheress, Turnstile and Bryson Tiller. Special guests are rappers Kodak Black, 21 Savage and Lil Uzi Vert. hardrockstadium.com
John Fogerty, July 30, Hard Rock Live, Hollywood
What rocker wannabe wouldn’t trade his vocal cords for that soulful, scorching bramble of a voice that made Creedence Clearwater Revival a rock radio staple? Five decades later, Fogerty bucked the trend of artists selling off their catalogs and finally regained the publishing rights to his songs. He’s celebrating with a U.S. tour that also sandwiches some European dates. The guitarist has endured as a solo artist, as well as with CCR hits like “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” MYHRL.com
Jackson Browne, Aug. 1, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale
One of the most articulate architects of the post-Dylan singer-songwriter genre, Browne wraps up a U.S. summer tour with a second-to-last stop in Fort Lauderdale. The Grammy-nominated album, “Downhill From Everywhere,” was released a half-century after his eponymous 1972 debut — confirming that the decades haven’t dulled his prowess at turning a phrase or his environmental conscience. Or his instinct to rock on. browardcenter.org
Beyoncé, Aug. 18, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
The Queen of the BeyHive is supersizing her Renaissance album from the club to the stadium with a world tour that’s sure to put more jewels in her crown. The dance-centric album’s four Grammys this year made Beyoncé the most Grammy-awarded artist in history. The Renaissance World Tour is her first solo outing in seven years. At the tour’s opener in Stockholm last month, the singer performed for three hours backed by a phalanx of dancers, a band and a mega screen of constantly mutating images and animations. Costume and decor changes embellished a show that had a foot in both the digital and physical worlds. However, it was Beyoncé’s foot that almost stole the show. For one of the pop multiverse’s most dynamic dancing queens, her performance seemed to lack her customary physicality. Often, the 41-year-old’s torso shook but her feet remained static, seemingly favoring one leg. Social media gushed with rumors that she was recovering from foot surgery. One Tweet said it best: “Beyoncé can take my foot. I don’t need it.” hardrockstadium.com
Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire, Aug. 25, FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
What do you do after the year you’re inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and are honored with the Icon Award at the American Music Awards? If you’re Lionel Richie, you share the love with your fans. Kicking off right after a solo European tour, the R&B Renaissance man teams up with elemental funk-meisters EW&F and heads home for the Sing a Song All Night Long Tour. flalivearena.com
Madonna, Sept. 9-10, Kaseya Center, Miami
Foto por Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Madonna
When she arrives in Miami, Madonna will have just reached retirement age. And like just about every other convention, she’s flouting that one, too. Sure, she’s scaled down her appearance here to two nights compared with her weeklong Fillmore residency on her last, pre-pandemic visit, but she’s going big with more than 80 arena dates through North America and Europe. The Celebration Tour’ hits highlights of a four-decade career and a catalog that’s the best-selling of any female artist ever. And ever the LGBTQ+ warrior, Madonna has invited Bob the Drag Queen to open all shows. kaseyacenter.com
Sting, Sept. 12-13, Hard Rock Live, Hollywood
Closing out a summer overseas swing, Sting comes to town just as his U.S. tour gets going. The greatest hits show will be a family affair, as the artist originally known as Gordon Sumner will be joined by son Joe Sumner, who like-father-like-son is a British singer-songwriter and bassist. Backed by a complete rock ensemble, the show will highlight Sting’s work with The Police and as a solo artist, signifying his return to form as a pop-rock luminary. MYHRL.com
Drake, Sept. 28-29, Kaseya Center, Miami
Not the fake A.I. Drake, but the real hip-hop heavyweight brings his It’s All a Blur Tour to Miami on his first outing in a half-decade. It’s not technically a summer show, but having been rescheduled from June, it’s being grandfathered in. Along for the ride is Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage, a collaborator on the chart-topping Her Loss. The 2022 album was the latest of four the Canadian rapper released in the past five years. Hence, the name of the tour. kaseyacenter.com
Summer lineup, iThink Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach
With nearly 20 concerts booked from June to September, this open-air venue continues to be South Florida’s hot and heavy headquarters for summer shows. Among those worth the drive are Foreigner’s feels-like-the-last-time farewell tour (July 8); the gravel-to-gold country of Dierks Bentley (July 15); Fall Out Boy (July 24); Dave Matthews Band’s annual summer residency (July 28-29); and the redolent rap stylings of Snoop Dogg, homie Wiz Khalifa and others (Aug. 13). westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com
Tribute shows, Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton
Unlike recent summers, tribute shows appear to be somewhat squeezed out by the abundance of established acts on area stages. Boca Raton is the outlier with Free Music Fridays, a series of tribute shows evoking stars such as Van Halen (July 7), Prince (July 14) and Neil Diamond (July 28). There’s also a ticketed Pink Floyd tribute on June 23. mizneramp.com