FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Arlyn Davich
212-255-8455
arlyn@rosengrouppr.com
Billboard Announces Finalists for 2005 Billboard Touring Awards
-- U2 Takes Top Lead as Finalist in Four Categories -New York, NY (October 6, 2005) — Billboard, the world’s most trusted source of music, video and digital
entertainment news, charts, reviews and analysis, announced today the finalists for the Billboard Touring Awards.
Winners will be announced at an October 26 reception at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City that wraps the
second annual conference, Roadwork ‘05.
U2’s mammoth Vertigo tour is a finalist in four categories, the most of any outing this year. Vertigo is a finalist
in the Top Draw, Top Tour and Top Boxscore categories, and U2’s management company, Principle
Management, is a finalist for Top Manager. Neil Diamond and Kenny Chesney join U2 as finalists in the Top
Tour category, which reflects gross dollars. U2, Chesney and Dave Matthews Band are finalists in the Top
Draw category, which reflects total attendance. Chesney is also a finalist in a third category, Top Package, for
his “A Place in the Sun” tour.
Another multiple finalist is the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN, which is among the top performers
in the Top Boxscore and Top Festival categories. The Breakthrough Act award recognizes an artist or band in
its first decade that cracks the top 25 tours listings for the first time. Coldplay and Rascal Flatts fit that
description this year.
The Dave Matthews Band will be given Roadwork ’05’s Humanitarian Award for the band’s philanthropic
efforts. Pioneering promoter Jack Boyle, chairman emeritus for Clear Channel Entertainment and founder of
Cellar Door Concerts, will be given the Legend of Live Award.
“The huge success of U2’s Vertigo tour has in some ways overshadowed a lot of other really strong tours and
events this year,” said Ray Waddell, Billboard Senior Touring Editor. “While Vertigo is a remarkable
achievement, other artists and touring professionals have also done very well in a tough touring environment.”
The Billboard Touring Awards recognize the year’s top achievements in the concert industry. The awards are
based on box office data gathered from Billboard Boxscore reports from November 24, 2004 through
September 30, 2005.
The following is a list of finalists for the Billboard Touring Awards:
TOP TOUR
U2, Vertigo
Kenny Chesney, A Place in the Sun
Neil Diamond, Neil Diamond Live
TOP DRAW
U2
Kenny Chesney
Dave Matthews Band
(Billboard Touring Awards finalists cont.)
TOP PACKAGE
Kenny Chesney w/Gretchen Wilson, Uncle Kracker, Pat Green
Anger Management 3
Ozzfest
BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Rascal Flatts
Coldplay
TOP SMALL VENUE TOUR
Bruce Springsteen
Sarah McLachlan
Mark Knopfler
TOP AMPHITHEATER
Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts, Mansfield, MA
Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
TOP ARENA
Madison Square Garden, New York
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
TOP SMALL VENUE (Non-Resident)
Fox Theatre, Atlanta
Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Citywalk, Universal City, CA
Radio City Music Hall, New York
TOP SMALL VENUE (Resident booking)
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
TOP BOXSCORE
U2, Croke Park, Dublin, June 24-27
U2, Twickenham Stadium, London, June 18-19
Bonnaroo Music Festival, June 10-12
TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER
Jam Productions, Chicago
Outback Concerts, Nashville
Aiken Promotions, Dublin
TOP FESTIVAL
Lollapalooza, Grant Park, Chicago
Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
(Billboard Touring Awards finalists cont.)
TOP AGENCY
William Morris Agency
Creative Artists Agency
Howard Rose Agency
TOP MANAGER
Principle Management
Front Line Management
Dale Morris & Associates
TOP PROMOTER
Clear Channel Entertainment
AEG Live
House of Blues Concerts
For more information about Roadwork ‘05: The Billboard Touring Conference and Awards, visit
www.billboardevents.com or contact Michele Jacangelo at 646-654-4660. For information on registration and
group discounts, contact Kelly Peppers at 646-654-4643. For sponsorship information, contact Karl Vontz at
415-738-0745. For press credentials, please contact Arlyn Davich or Lila Gerson (The Rosen Group) at 212255-8455.
About Billboard:
Now in its 111th year, Billboard is the world’s premier music publication and a diverse digital, events and
brand-licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the
latest music, video and digital entertainment issues and trends. Billboard is the flagship property for the
Billboard Information Group, which also consists of Billboard.biz, Billboard.com, Entertainment Law Weekly,
Billboard Chart Alert, Billboard Information Network (BIN), Billboard Directories, Billboard Licensing &
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Billboard sister companies Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. These partnerships
leverage Billboard’s proprietary data, charts and information resources to develop broadcast entertainment,
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Billboard is headquartered in New York with bureaus in Boston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and
Washington DC. The Group is a unit of VNU Business Media, a worldwide media company that provides
specialized publications, electronically delivered data, expositions and marketing services and is owned by
VNU Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Netherlands-based VNU, an international publishing and information
company.
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