Let’s not beat around the bush: 2024 has been tough for live music. After record-breaking ticket sales in 2023, post-lockdown spending has sobered up, with audiences splurging more selectively. That is, if they can buy a ticket at all — inflated prices and exorbitant fees, omnipresent scalpers, and harrowing presale queues have made it increasingly difficult to snag even the worst nosebleed seat. As some high-profile artists can attest, if personal issues don’t ruin the tour, poor sales definitely will.
One reason to brave the Ticketmaster website? The exceptional talent hitting the road this fall. There’s something for party girls, artsy goths, and tailgaters alike. So brush up on your concert etiquette and see what the season has in store.
Kacey Musgraves (Sep. 4–Dec. 7)
Reformed wake-and-baker Kacey Musgraves is bringing the folksy self-reflections of her sixth album, Deeper Well, on the road alongside Father John Misty, Lord Huron, and Nickel Creek. Charge your crystals, light your Slow Burn candle, and head down to one of the farmers’ markets where Musgraves will be hosting pop-ups along the route.
Kehlani (Sep. 4–Nov. 2)
While touring 2022’s tenderhearted Blue Water Road, Kehlani realized that they missed dancing. They kept this in mind while recording the joyously sensual Crash, which hopes to get live audiences’ “hearts exploding and the ground’s shaking.” The British girl group Flo and Atlanta rapper Anycia will be on hand to warm the crowd up.
Clairo (Sept. 6–Nov. 8)
Wanna be “Sexy to Someone”? Buy them tickets to catch Clairo perform her lovely new record, Charm. Coastal audiences get first dibs with five nights apiece in Los Angeles and New York, and the entire run features support from singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou. A word to trumpeters: Your services may be needed on “Juna.”
Post Malone (Sep. 8–Oct. 19)
Post Malone had some help this year: No. 1 hits with Morgan Wallen and Taylor Swift, collaborations with country megawatts Blake Shelton and Luke Combs, and a feature on Cowboy Carter to boot. Next, he’ll be hitting the road behind his debut country album, F-1 Trillion. The North American dates include a headlining set at New York’s Global Citizen Festival on September 28.
PJ Harvey (Sep. 11–Oct. 14)
PJ Harvey hasn’t toured since an exhausting 2017 run left her reevaluating music entirely. She will embark on her first North American trek in seven years behind 2023’s beguiling I Inside the Old Year Dying, an otherworldly musical translation of her 2022 folkloric poetry collection Orlam.
Charli XCX & Troye Sivan Present: Sweat Tour (Sep. 14–Oct. 23)
Brat summer may be cooling down, but Charli XCX is just getting started. Charli and her friend and collaborator Troye Sivan — who is finally serving 2023’s Something to Give Each Other Stateside — will gyrate across North American arenas with special guest Shygirl. Prepare your poppers accordingly.
MJ Lenderman (Sep. 18–Nov. 1)
Wednesday guitarist and Waxahatchee collaborator MJ Lenderman is gearing up for a breakout year with his fourth solo LP, Manning Fireworks. For a preview of the 25-year-old shredder’s set, which will inevitably feature insta-classics like “She’s Leaving You” and “Rudolph,” crack a beer and check out 2023’s And the Wind (Live and Loose!).
Billie Eilish (Sep. 29–Dec. 17)
Billie Eilish’s promotional strategy for her third album, May’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, has largely consisted of eating vegan dishes on various YouTube shows. That changes in September when she begins a world tour. The alternative meats, however, endure: The eco-conscious singer will promote plant-based food and other sustainability initiatives.
Vince Staples (Oct. 14–Nov. 7)
In between securing a second season of his satirical Netflix series, The Vince Staples Show, the Long Beach rapper has been in Europe performing tracks off his latest record, May’s Dark Times. Now, Staples brings the Black in America tour, to, well, America. The shows feature guest Baby Rose.
Cyndi Lauper (Oct. 18–Dec. 5)
Cyndi Lauper’s first major tour in over a decade is also a sayonara. “No more trains, planes, and automobiles for this one here,” she told Kelly Clarkson. Lauper wants the 23-show Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour to feel like a celebration, not a funeral, so start planning your best power-clashing fit now.
