New York, (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The 2006 Billboard Touring Awards' winners will be announced at a reception on November 9 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York. Madonna’s "Confessions Tour" leads the pack this year as a finalist in four categories while The Rolling Stones’ "A Bigger Bang" tour and Bon Jovi’s "Have a Nice Day" tour received three nominations.
"There have been some incredible touring successes in 2006, and these tours are definitely three of the biggest," says Ray Waddell, Billboard’s senior touring editor. "There were also a lot of agents, promoters, managers and venues that helped make this a very good year overall for the touring industry."
The Billboard Touring Awards honor the concert industry’s top artists and professionals for the year based on the Billboard Boxscore chart. The awards are based on actual box office performance from December 1, 2005-September 30, 2006.
2006 Billboard Touring Awards finalists:
Top Tour (top grossing tour): Bon Jovi (Have A Nice Day), Madonna (Confessions) and The Rolling Stones (A Bigger Bang).
Top Draw (top ticket selling tour): Bon Jovi, Madonna and The Rolling Stones.
Top Package:
Kenny Chesney with Dierks Bentley, Sugarland/Carrie Underwood/Jake Owen.
Def Leppard/Journey with Stoll Vaughn and
Rascal Flatts with Gary Allan and Jason Aldean.
Top Boxscore (top grossing single engagement):
Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, New York City
Madonna at Wembley Arena, London
Luis Miguel at Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City.
Breakthrough Act ( top-grossing artist or band among the top 25 tours still in its first decade of national touring):
Nickelback,
Brad Paisley and
Shakira.
Top Arena:
Madison Square Garden, N.Y.,
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston and
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia.
Top Comedy Tour:
Larry the Cable Guy,
Jerry Seinfeld and
Ron White.
Top Small Venue (Resident):
Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
Top Small Venue (Under 10,000 seats, Non-Resident):
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City,
Fox Theatre, Atlanta and
Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, CA.
Top Club:
House Of Blues, Anaheim, CA,
House Of Blues, Atlantic City and
House Of Blues, Chicago.
Top Amphitheater:
Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh, Ny,
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ and
Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden, NJ.
Top Festival:
Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX,
Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN and
Lollapalooza, Chicago.
Top Manager:
Angela Becker and Guy Oseary (Madonna),
Front Line Management,
RPM Management/Borman Entertainment and
Paul Korzilius of BJM (Bon Jovi),
Top Agency:
Creative Artists Agency,
Monterey Peninsula Artists/Paradigm and
William Morris Agency.
Top Promoter:
AEG Live,
HOB Concerts and
Live Nation.
Top Independent Promoter:
Gillett Entertainment Group,
Jam Productions and
Outback Concerts.
