The Rolling Stones‘ No Filter Tour of the U.S. was by far the highest-grossing trek in the world this year, according to new data released by Pollstar, which tracks the live entertainment business.
The Stones, who hit the road just a month after the death of their founding drummer, Charlie Watts, brought in a total of $115.5 million in just 12 concerts that were eligible for consideration.
Pop star Harry Styles is second on the list, grossing $86.7 million over 39 events.
Other veteran artists whose tours landed in the top 10 of the list include Green Day, the Eagles, Dead & Company, Guns N’ Roses, Dave Matthews Band and Phish.
The Hella Mega Tour, featuring Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy, is #3 on the tally, grossing $67.3 million in 20 shows.
The Eagles’ Hotel California 2021 Tour is in fourth place, after bringing in $59.2 million over 23 concerts.
Dead & Company are at #5, grossing $50.2 million, GN’R are at #7 after bringing in $47.3 million, Dave Matthews Band are in eighth place after grossing $46 million, and Phish are #9, with $44.4 million in gross earnings.
Impressively, The Rolling Stones had six of the 10 highest-grossing concert engagements of 2021, with their October 14 and October 17 shows at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, topping the tally with $18.9 million.
Here’s the full list of Pollstar‘s Top 10 2019 North American Tours:
1. The Rolling Stones — $115.5 million, 516,624 tickets sold
2. Harry Styles — $86.7 million, 669,051 tickets sold
3. “The Hella Mega Tour” — $67.3 million, 659,062 tickets sold
4. Eagles — $59.2 million, 257,584 tickets sold
5. Dead & Company — $50.2 million, 588,658 tickets sold
6. Los Bukis — $49.7 million, 357,343 tickets sold
7. Guns N’ Roses — $47.3 million, 351,339 tickets sold
8. Dave Matthews Band — $46.0 million, 583,399 tickets sold
9. Phish — $44.4 million, 572,626 tickets sold
10. Jonas Brothers — $42.5 million, 528,630 tickets sold
(WASHINGTON) — The House on Tuesday is expected to hold Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for his testimony from the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Meadows, a former House member, would be the first former lawmaker to be held in criminal contempt by Congress — and the first lawmaker held in contempt — since 1832.
The vote would refer the matter to the Justice Department to decide whether to bring charges against the North Carolina Republican. Meadows could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted.
Meadows turned over some 9,000 documents from his personal cell phones to the committee, including urgent text messages from Republican lawmakers imploring him to get Trump to something to stop the violence.
But he then reversed course and refused to appear under subpoena to answer questions about the records he provided.
During Monday’s committee meeting, before members voted unanimously to recommend Meadows be held in contempt, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice chair of the panel, quoted extensively from text messages sent to Meadows during the riot from Fox News hosts, GOP lawmakers and Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son.
Cheney said the messages left “no doubt” the White House “knew exactly what was happening” at the Capitol during the riot.
“He’s got to condemn [the riot] ASAP,” Trump Jr. told Meadows in a text message, according to Cheney, saying that Trump’s tweet about Capitol Police “is not enough.”
“I’m pushing it hard,” Meadows replied. “I agree.”
“We need an Oval Office address,” Trump Jr. said in a follow up message. “He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
“Please get him on tv,” Fox News host Brian Kilmeade wrote to Meadows. “Destroying everything you have accomplished.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., read aloud from text messages Meadows received from unnamed GOP lawmakers before and after the riot.
“Yesterday was a terrible day,” one wrote. “We tried everything we could in our objection to the 6 states. I’m sorry nothing worked.”
She quoted again from text messages Tuesday morning.
“It is really bad up here on the Hill,” one message read.
In another, an unnamed lawmaker texted Meadows: “Fix this now.”
“We need to question him about emails and texts he has given us without any claims of privilege,” Cheney said.
Commitee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told the committee that “only three people” of “over 300” have not cooperated with the committee. He shared that Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is among those scheduled to cooperate and speak to investigators.
“I have no great desire to be here seeking consideration of this contempt referral. Mr. Meadows was a colleague for more than seven years. But that doesn’t excuse his behavior. If anything, his time as a member of the House should make him more aware of the potential consequences of defying a congressional subpoena,” Thompson said.
Republicans for the most part defended Meadows and suggested the committee’s push to hold Meadows in contempt would squander any chance they had to secure his cooperation.
“Today they are destroying executive privilege,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said on the House floor. “It is a vote to put a good man in prison.”
In a statement Tuesday, Meadows attorney George Terwilliger said his client “never stopped cooperating” with the panel. “What message does that duplicity send to him as well as to others who might be inclined to consider cooperating in good faith to the extent possible?”
Democrats and Republicans aligned with the committee blasted Meadows’ argument, pointing to the fact that he published a memoir detailing conversations with Trump around Jan. 6.
“This is a witness who is refusing to comply with the law,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said. “But look at his book and you get more information than our committee did.”
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla.) — Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, the one-time associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz who in May pled guilty to multiple charges including sex trafficking a minor, has reached a verbal agreement to pay back the county over $1.8 million in restitution, according to the Seminole County attorney.
County Attorney Bryant Applegate told Seminole County commissioners on Tuesday that he had reached a “verbal” deal for Greenberg — Gaetz’s self-described one-time wingman — to pay back nearly $1.9 million in restitution related to his time in office, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to ABC News.
If Greenberg fails to pay the restitution, the county will move to go after other entities, the source said.
Greenberg’s lawyer, Fritz Schiller, confirmed the verbal agreement to ABC News.
Greenberg, who reached a plea deal earlier this year and has been cooperating in the ongoing federal investigation into potential sex trafficking allegations against Gaetz and others, was initially charged with over 30 counts last year, including defrauding the Seminole County Tax Office out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through schemes ranging from buying sports memorabilia and cryptocurrency to paying women he met on a self-described “sugar daddy” website using the office credit card.
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.
“When I became aware of some of Greenberg’s misdeeds, I deeply regretted my friendship with him,” Gaetz told Pensacola ABC affiliate WEAR in October. “I do believe that it’s fair for the people of Northwest Florida to judge me based on the associations that I’ve had, and I deeply regret my association with Joel Greenberg, politically, socially and otherwise.”
Greenberg is scheduled to be sentenced in March after his sentencing was delayed twice over the summer.
(LAS VEGAS) — O. J. Simpson was granted an early discharge from his parole by Nevada state officials.
Simpson, 74, has been on parole since October 2017 following a nine-year prison stint on various charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. He was scheduled to be discharged from his parole on Feb. 9, 2022, but the Nevada State Police’s Division of Parole and Probation sent an early discharge request to the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners.
Such a request is part of state law.
On Nov. 30, the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners conducted an early discharge hearing, and on Dec. 6 the board approved the request, according to the Nevada State Police.
“The board awarded credits in an amount equal to the time remaining on the sentence to reduce the sentence to time served,” the Nevada State Police said in a news release.
The former Buffalo Bills player and NFL commentator was convicted in 2008 for a confrontation that took place in a Las Vegas hotel room the prior year.
Bruce Fromong, a sports memorabilia dealer, claimed Simpson and a group of men broke into his room and stole sports memorabilia at gunpoint. Simpson contended the items were stolen from him and he was taking the goods back.
Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison but was eligible for parole after nine years. In 2017, the board granted Simpson parole.
He hasn’t commented publicly about it, but O.J. Simpson‘s parole has ended early.
The former football great and actor, who was famously acquitted in 1995 of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, was convicted in 2008 of armed robbery and kidnapping, following a 2007 confrontation with two sports-collectibles dealers in a Las Vegas hotel.
Simpson, 74, had been on parole since October 2017 following a nine-year prison stint stemming from the incident, but the Nevada State Police’s Division of Parole and Probation recently sent an early discharge request to the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners.
On November 30, the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners conducted an early discharge hearing, and on December 6, the board approved the request, according to the Nevada State Police.
Cordae has announced plans to promote his new music with the From a Bird’s Eye View Tour, a 2022 trek that’s named after his upcoming second album.
The two-time Grammy nominee will perform in 28 cities, beginning February 3, 2022, in Dallas. Tour stops will include New Orleans, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Cordae’s hometown, Raleigh, North Carolina. The trek wraps up on March 19 in Sacramento, California. Additional dates and special guests will be announced soon.
From a Bird’s Eye View will be released on January 14, 2022, and is the follow-up to the “Gifted” rapper’s 2019 debut album, The Lost Boy. Cordae has released two singles from the upcoming album, “Super” and “Sinister” featuring Lil Wayne.
Tickets will be available via a Spotify pre-sale that begins Wednesday, December 15, at 10 a.m. local time and runs through Thursday, December 16, at 11:59 p.m. local time on Cordae’s website. Tickets for the general public go on sale this Friday, December 17, at 10 a.m. local time.
2021 was the year that many artists returned to the road, and Pollstar has crunched the numbers and come up with a list of the most successful tours of the past year. Purely based on the number of tickets sold, Harry Styles is the king.
Harry’s Love on Tour trek sold 669,051 tickets this year, which means he’s number one on Pollstar’s Worldwide Ticket Sales ranking. The rest of the top 10 includes legends like The Rolling Stones and Dead & Company, country stars like Luke Bryan, plus Jonas Brothers and Alanis Morissette. Maroon 5 came in at #11.
However, Harry didn’t have the highest-grossing tour of the year, because of course, artists charge different prices for tickets and play different numbers of shows. His Love on Trek tour grossed $86.7 million over 39 shows, which was good enough for second place.
The Rolling Stones‘ No Filter Tour of the U.S. was by far the highest-grossing trek in the world this year, raking in $115.5 million over just 12 concerts that were eligible for consideration.
Besides Harry, the only other current pop act in the top 10 on that list is Jonas Brothers, whose Remember This tour earned $42.5 million. The rest of the list is made up of veteran artists like The Eagles, Dave Matthews Band, Guns N’ Roses and Weezer, Green Day and Fall Out Boy, who all teamed up for the joint Hella Mega Tour.
Here’s the full list of Pollstar‘s Top 10 2019 North American Tours, ranked by gross receipts:
1. The Rolling Stones — $115.5 million, 516,624 tickets sold
2. Harry Styles — $86.7 million, 669,051 tickets sold
3. “The Hella Mega Tour” — $67.3 million, 659,062 tickets sold
4. Eagles — $59.2 million, 257,584 tickets sold
5. Dead & Company — $50.2 million, 588,658 tickets sold
6. Los Bukis — $49.7 million, 357,343 tickets sold
7. Guns N’ Roses — $47.3 million, 351,339 tickets sold
8. Dave Matthews Band — $46.0 million, 583,399 tickets sold
9. Phish — $44.4 million, 572,626 tickets sold
10. Jonas Brothers — $42.5 million, 528,630 tickets sold
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate narrowly averted financial calamity Tuesday by passing legislation to raise the federal borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion dollars.
All Democrats voted to raise the debt limit. No Republicans joined them.
The legislation heads to the House next, where it is expected to pass. Once signed by President Joe Biden, the congressional action will have prevented a U.S. default that could have halted Social Security and veterans’ payments, hiked interest on mortgages and loans and disrupted the global economy.
The Treasury Department predicted that the U.S. would be unable to pay its bills come Wednesday.
Congressional action was the last step in a months-long process aimed at raising the federal borrowing limit.
In October, Republican and Democratic leadership locked horns over the spending cap. Though both parties acknowledged the necessity of raising the debt limit, Republicans argued that Democrats ought to raise the limit on their own — wrongly claiming they needed to offset the cost of Biden’s yet-to-be passed $1.75 trillion social spending bill.
Democrats, who helped raise the debt limit multiple times under the Trump administration, insisted it be a bipartisan effort since the debt limit had to be raised to cover past spending.
The October dispute ended in the GOP blinking, with Republicans giving Democrats the votes necessary for a short-term raise to the debt limit, but vowing they’d be less cooperative in the winter.
Last week, however, party leaders announced an agreement on a two-step process to raise the debt limit. Republicans ultimately provided 10 votes to permit a one-time rule change altering the number of votes necessary to pass the debt-limit hike, and clearing a path for Democrats to pass the legislation without a single GOP backer.
The reached agreement required Democrats to name a specific amount they want to raise the debt limit by. They settled on $2.5 trillion — enough to prevent the government from defaulting through early 2023, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.
(NEW YORK) — Muhammad Aziz, one of two men exonerated last month in the killing of Malcom X, filed a civil claim Tuesday against New York state, seeking $20 million in damages.
Aziz cited “more than 55 years living with the hardship and indignity attendant to being unjustly branded as a convicted murderer of one of the most important civil rights leaders in history” in a statement released by his attorneys at The David B. Shanies Law Office.
He also filed a notice of claim against New York City seeking legal redress for civil rights violations and other “government misconduct” that caused his wrongful conviction, according to the release.
“While I do not dwell on what my life might have been like had this travesty of justice never occurred, the deep and lasting trauma it caused cannot be overstated,” Aziz said in a statement. “Those responsible for depriving me of my liberty and for depriving my family of a husband, a father, and a grandfather should be held accountable.”
Aziz and Khalil Islam were convicted of being accomplices in the assassination of Malcom X in 1965, and Aziz spent more than 20 years in prison before he was paroled in 1985. Islam died in 2009.
Both men claimed that they were innocent, and confessed assassin Thomas Hagan, who served 45 years in prison, also maintained that neither man had participated in the killing.
Last month, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance moved to vacate the convictions of the two men due to “newly discovered evidence and the failure to disclose exculpatory evidence,” according to a joint motion Vance’s office filed with the defense.
Aziz, previously known as Norman Butler, appeared in front of a judge on Nov. 18 to officially clear his name.
“The events that led to my conviction and wrongful imprisonment should never have happened,” Aziz read in a statement on Nov. 18. “Those events were the result of a process that was corrupt to its core — one that is all too familiar — even in 2021.”
50 Cent is developing a new series for Starz, based on Snoop Dogg’s 1996 murder trial.
Named after Snoop’s 1993 hit song, “Murder Was the Case,” from his seven-times RIAA_certified Platinum Doggystyle album, the show will explore when the “Gin and Juice” rapper was charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of Philip Woldemariam, a member of a rival gang. Snoop, who was acquitted, was represented by the late JohnnieCochran, famous for also representing O.J. Simpson in his 1995 trial for the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.
“This was a pivotal moment in my life and career and I’ve deliberately waited until I found the right partner to bring this to the screen,” Snoop says in a statement
In other news, as the Insecure series finale approaches, Issa Rae has produced an emotional documentary about the five seasons of her hit HBO series.
A trailer for Insecure: The End opens with a tearful Rae saying to the cast and crew, “I am just incredibly humbled, blessed. You aspire and you dream. I never imagined I would get to work with so many amazing and talented people. You guys have elevated me.” Insecure: The End will air on December 26 on HBO Max, the same day the Insecure season five series finale airs on HBO.
Finally, Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, have contributed $5 million to Spelman College in Atlanta, the largest alumni donation in the school’s history. LaTanya graduated from Spelman, and their donation will help renovate the school’s John D. Rockefeller Fine Arts building, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreports. Following the renovation, the theater, lobby and dressing rooms at the building will be renamed the LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center.
