From Jennifer Lopez to Usher, 10 anticipated tours that we hope come to Milwaukee in 2024
Olivia Rodrigo, Luke Combs, Green Day and 30 other major acts announced Milwaukee stadium, arena and amphitheater shows in 2024 before the year even began.
Expect many, many more big stars to follow.
Fiserv Forum has already revealed an impressive 18 concerts for the new year — in 2023, there were 21. Summerfest has booked more than half of its American Family Insurance Amphitheater lineup. And American Family Field will at least tie its 2023 concert record with four shows lined up.
But with new and upgraded large venues in town and the concert business booming post-pandemic, Milwaukee has seen the number of huge concerts hover around 50 a year. And with records shattered in 2023, that number could be even higher in 2024.
So who else might we see hit the road, including Milwaukee, in 2024? These 10 A-listers top the list of likely suspects.
More: These are all of the arena, amphitheater and stadium concerts in Milwaukee in 2024
More: The 20 best Milwaukee concerts of 2023 — and the most disappointing show of the year
Jennifer Lopez
In the wake of her Super Bowl halftime show in early 2020 — and before the pandemic shut down live music — Jennifer Lopez announced a partnership with tour juggernaut Live Nation. With her newest album "This Is Me … Now," a sequel of sorts to one of her biggest albums, 2002's "This Is Me … Then," due in February, expect Lopez to cash in on that Live Nation deal.
Usher
The R&B veteran has been dancing and sweating through a popular Las Vegas residency, but considering he's the Super Bowl halftime show performer in 2024, and is releasing a new album, he'll undoubtedly go on tour — which could be announced during the big game, according to Billboard.
SZA
SZA has already done two North American treks in support of her 2022 album "SOS." But considering it was the second biggest album of 2023, and she's planning a deluxe edition with new songs, it's doubtful she'll pull off the road anytime soon. She has already booked some festival headlining appearances — and considering her hit "Kill Bill" was the second-most popular song on Spotify in Milwaukee this year, maybe she'll finally come to town.
Justin Timberlake
*NSYNC reunited and made their first song in 21 years with "Better Place," but don't expect the one thing fans are really clamoring for, a reunion tour, to happen anytime soon, Billboard reports. But the music business publication reported that Justin Timberlake's team has some arena holds for a 2024 solo run. A flashy one-off Las Vegas concert suggests he's gearing up to return to touring — although fans wonder if the criticism Timberlake has been getting following allegations from Britney Spears in her memoir could affect those plans.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Yes, the Chili Peppers have already announced a North American tour — and Milwaukee is not on the itinerary. However, there is a gap between an Indiana show July 25 and a St. Louis show July 30, which lines up with the dates for the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival (July 25 to 28). No word yet if Harley will be doing another music festival for the celebration, but if it is, the Chili Peppers would be a perfect headliner for July 27, the night before the likely closing parade.
AC/DC
The legendary Australian rockers played their first concert in seven years at the Power Trip festival in California last fall — and it likely won't be that long for more shows, with rumors that the band has plans to play Munich and Brazil next year. A tour would line up nicely with the 50th anniversary of the group's first single ("Can I Sit Next to You, Girl").
Phish
Trey Anastasio and company will be the second band to play the flashy new venue Sphere in Las Vegas in April, but a summer tour still seems inevitable. And considering it's been a few years since they've done a weekend at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, a return seems probable.
Pearl Jam
In 2020, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament told Rolling Stone that the band handpicked cities in battleground states to play ahead of the election for a voter registration campaign — which would have included shows in Milwaukee and Madison that were never announced. Well, it's another big election year, so don't be surprised if Pearl Jam makes similar plans in 2024.
Neil Young
Neil Young's last performance before the pandemic was at Farm Aid at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy in 2019, and right before the pandemic shut down the touring industry, he teased the idea of touring old arenas. Naturally, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena would have been perfect for that, and since Young returned to touring last year, perhaps he'll finally fulfill those plans.
The Killers
The Killers was the first band to headline Fiserv Forum. It's about time they come back. And since they're playing arena dates in the U.K. and Ireland next summer behind greatest-hits album "Rebel Diamonds" — and with frontman Brandon Flowers teasing a possible tour around the 20th anniversary of breakout album "Hot Fuss," that time for a Milwaukee arena show could come in 2024.
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 10 big concert tours expected in 2024 that we hope come to Milwaukee
