St. Louis is looking really nice when it comes to concerts this year. But, it could be nicer.
Usher, Jon Batiste, Aerosmith, Blink-182, Janet Jackson, Jelly Roll, Hozier, Pink, Lucky Daye, 21 Savage, Cody Jinks, Green Day and more are on the way. But there are still a number of anticipated tours skipping over the city.
One of the biggest tour announcements recently is pop singer Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Soft and Hard: The Tour,” supporting her album of the same name (it’s being released May 17). The tour’s itinerary doesn’t include a St. Louis show. In fact, she hasn’t had a show scheduled here since her “Where Do We Go World Tour” scheduled for March 2020 at Enterprise Center, which was canceled because of the pandemic.
Her fans can catch her new show Nov. 6 in Nashville, Tennessee; Nov. 13-14 in Chicago, Illinois; and Nov. 16 in Kansas City.
People are also reading…
Tours skip St. Louis for a number of reasons. Maybe it’s a large arena tour, and the arena is already booked for another show or game. Sometimes another nearby city just looks more attractive to bookers, or the act’s track record in town is uncertain.
Tour schedules, though, can change. So don’t be too shocked if Eilish or another act suddenly adds a St. Louis show.
But if you don’t want to take that chance (I didn’t when it came to catching Kendrick Lamar’s last two tours), here’s a rundown on some of the tours skipping the city, and where you can catch the acts nearby.
Producer Metro Boomin preforms during St. Louis City SC’s ‘CITY Block Party’ on Friday, March 3, 2023, at Lou Fusz Plaza outside of CityPark. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
Future and Metro Boomin
St. Louis reacted when rapper Future (whose 2023 concert at Enterprise Center was canceled) and producer Metro Boomin’s “We Trust You” tour didn’t have a St. Louis stop listed. The disappointment was over the fact Metro Boomin is from St. Louis and loves his hometown. The tour opens in Kansas City on July 30, and plays Chicago on Aug. 3 (Lollapalooza). There’s also a Nashville stop on Aug. 6. The tour supports the pair’s two new albums “We Don’t Trust You” and “We Still Don’t Trust You.”
The good news is Metro Boomin will perform at the Together Credit Union Plaza at Ballpark Village as part of St. Louis Cardinal’s Metro Boomin Theme Night May 20.
Missy Elliot performs at the 2019 Essence Festival in New Orleans on July 5, 2019.
Missy Elliott
Legendary rapper Missy Elliott hitting the road for a major tour is huge. She doesn’t tour often and has never headlined. But with the help of Busta Rhymes and Ciara, she’s headlining the “Out of This World Tour: The Missy Elliott Experience,” which will play Rosemont, Illinois, on Aug. 22, the closest it gets to St. Louis.
Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones opens the band’s “No Filter Tour 2021” at The Dome at America’s Center on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.
The Rolling Stones
Call us greedy. Yes, the Rolling Stones played St. Louis in 2021 at the Dome at America’s Center in a very significant show. That “No Filter Tour” stop (delayed from 2020) was the group’s first without the late drummer Charlie Watts. But we want more, and the new tour supporting the classic rock band’s “Hackney Diamonds” album is underway with a stop in Chicago on June 27.
Shakira performs with Bizarrap during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., April 12, 2024.
Shakira
St. Louis isn’t much of a stop for A-list Latin artists. Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin are all strangers to the city, though Pitbull has broken through huge in the St. Louis market the last couple of years, returning to Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in September. And then there’s Shakira’s “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour,” which isn’t playing St. Louis. That’s not much of a surprise. She plays Chicago Dec. 14.
Kacey Musgraves performs on NBC’s Today show at Rockefeller Plaza on Friday, March 15, 2024, in New York.
Kacey Musgraves
Country star Kacey Musgraves performed at the Stifel Theatre in 2019, and we think she would have made a great headliner at Evolution Festival later this year. But St. Louis didn’t make the cut as she hits the road in support of her “Deeper Well” album. She’s in Rosemont, Illinois, on Sept. 12; Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 12; and Nashville, Tennessee, Dec. 6-7.
Chris Brown performs at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.
Chris Brown
R&B superstar Chris Brown typically makes Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre a stop every summer he’s on the road, but he’s taking a break from St. Louis this go-round on his “The 11.11 Tour.” Fans can still catch him in Chicago June 7.
Justin Timberlake performs during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Monday, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake took us to the forest his last time in town with his “Man of the Woods Tour” that came to Enterprise Center in 2019. His new “Forget Tomorrow World Tour” is recently underway with shows in Chicago June 21-22 as well as Oct. 27. St. Louis deserves the opportunity to see that floating stage he’s taking around the country. The new album is “Everything I Thought I Was.”
Megan Thee Stallion performs during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Megan Thee Stallion
Hot rapper Megan Thee Stallion finally gets her “Hot Girl Summer Tour,” though it’s not coming to St. Louis. (A pre-stardom Megan Thee Stallion memorably twerked on the Pageant stage in 2019, and she hasn’t been back since.) The rapper is in Chicago May 17 and Memphis, Tennessee, May 30.
Bryson Tiller performs at the Wireless Music Festival in Finsbury Park, London, Saturday July 8, 2023.
Bryson Tiller
Trap-soul pioneering artist Bryson Tiller, who quickly sold out the Pageant in 2023, just released a new self-titled album and follows it with the requisite “The Bryson Tiller Tour.” The tour is in Chicago May 24; Nashville June 23; Indianapolis, Indiana, June 25; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 5, but there’s nothing for St. Louis.
Singer Tori Kelly performs on stage at the Recording Academy Honors Presented by The Black Music Collective in Los Angeles Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.
Tori Kelly
Songstress Tori Kelly, who recently released her album “TORI.”, is back with her “Purple Skies Tour.” The first leg of the tour brought her to Kansas City earlier this month. A second leg, beginning in September, includes Chicago Sept. 28, Nashville Oct. 6, and Indianapolis Oct. 25.
Jhené Aiko performs “America the Beautiful” before the NFL Super Bowl 56 football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif.
Jhené Aiko
Alt-soul singer Jhene Aiko’s tours typically doesn’t include St. Louis, forcing her fans to go elsewhere. For her “The Magic Hour” tour, she’s playing Chicago June 19 and Kansas City Aug. 19.
Black Thought of the Roots performs at the Factory in Chesterfield on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021.
The Roots
Famed hip-hop band the Roots, the first hip-hop act to play the Factory in 2021, is headlining a throwback bill that also includes Arrested Development and Digable Planets. The “Hip-Hop is a Love of My Life” tour looks as if it’s largely hitting festivals and other venues including Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, Aug. 24. It could have made a great fit at Music at the Intersection.
PartyNextDoor, Jahron Anthony Brathwaite, performs at the Allstate Arena on Sunday, Nov 19, 2017, in Rosemont, Ill.
PARTYNEXTDOOR
Vibey R&B artist PARTYNEXTDOOR, who typically doesn’t tour in St. Louis, unfortunately continues in that vein with his new “Sorry I’m Outside Tour,” supporting his new album “PARTYNEXTDOOR 4.” The closet show to St. Louis is Aug. 15 in Chicago.
Tom O’Keefe, booking and marketing manager at the Family Arena, breaks down some simple ways to make sure you’re paying the best price for concert tickets.
