Coldplay, Bon Jovi and U2 among 25 most popular touring acts of 21st Century
According to Pollstar
Last updated 9th Dec 2025
Coldplay, Bon Jovi and U2 have been named among the Top 25 most popular touring acts of the 21st century so far.
Pollstar, a Los Angeles-based trade publication for the concert and live music industry, has published a definitive list of the 25 Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium, based on global ticket sales from 2001 to the end of 2025.
Taking the coveted top spot is Coldplay, who have shifted an astonishing 24.8 million tickets for 731 concerts since 2001. Pollstar estimates that Coldplay’s shows have grossed a massive $2,486,330,250 (around £1.9 billion).
U2 are in second place having sold 20.2 million tickets thanks to blockbuster tours like the 360° Tour (the highest grossing tour of all time for eight years), the Vertigo Tour and The Joshua Tree Tour.
Flame-haired acoustic pop troubadour Ed Sheeran completes the UK & Ireland-centric Top 3 with 19.6 million tickets sold.
Dave Matthews Band are the highest place American artist at No.4 (19.5 million tickets) with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at No.6 (18.6 million tickets).
Metallica are unsurprisingly the biggest heavy metal touring act of the millennium (No.8) having sold 15.6 million tickets, and they’re one place ahead of New Jersey rock royalty Bon Jovi with 13.9 million ticket sales.
Other rock acts in the Top 25 include The Rolling Stones (No.12), Guns N’ Roses (No.16), Eagles (No.18), Iron Maiden (No.19), Roger Waters (No. 21) and Paul McCartney (No. 22).
Pollstar says that the Top 25 headlining acts collectively sold more than 340 million tickets over the past 25 years, generating grosses exceeding $35.7 billion (£26.8 billion).
Despite being in fifth spot, Taylor Swift is the highest grossing artist on the list with the huge $3.1 billion (£2.3 billion) tally largely coming from The Eras Tour, which is the top grossing tour of all time.
The average ticket price among all 25 acts is $104.83, but Taylor Swift has the highest average at $165.54 followed by The Rolling Stones at $162.96.
"Congratulations to Coldplay, U2, Ed Sheeran, Dave Matthews Band and all the top 25 acts of the last 25 years as well as their teams, their fans, and this entire industry who work tirelessly to make these shows happen," said Andy Gensler, Pollstar editor-in-chief.
"It is staggering to consider the exponential growth this industry has undergone over the last quarter century with more superstar acts playing more shows in more territories than ever.
“This list is the perfect prelude to our 2025 Year End Special Issue in which touring continues to reach new creative and commercial heights across every genre."
The 25 Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium based on number of tickets sold:
1 – Coldplay: 24,805,126
2 - U2: 20,216,314
3 - Ed Sheeran: 19,615,334
4 - Dave Matthews Band:19,552,586
5 - Taylor Swift: 18,885,185
6 - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: 18,622,566
7 - Kenny Chesney: 18,198,369
8 – Metallica: 15,567,194
9 - Bon Jovi: 13,904,391
10 - Elton John: 13,840,415
11 – PINK: 12,951,081
12 - The Rolling Stones: 12,569,802
13 – Beyoncé: 11,829,971
14 - André Rieu: 11,557,706
15 – Madonna: 10,951,899
16 - Guns N' Roses: 10,733,957
17 – Eagles: 10,223,831
18 - Phish: 10,221,068
19 - Iron Maiden: 10,070,915
20 - Luke Bryan: 10,021,410
21 - Roger Waters: 9,775,290
22 - Paul McCartney: 9,395,158
23 - Toby Keith: 9,392,691
24 - Billy Joel: 8,954,114
25 - Depeche Mode: 8,747,699
Childhood photos of famous rock stars:
Mick Jagger
A school photo of a 9-year-old Mick Jagger in 1951 at Wentworth Junior County Primary School in his home town Dartford
Rod Stewart
Roderick David Stewart aged 8 in 1953.
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts – Rolling Stones legend Charlie Watts - aged 2 with his mother Lillian and father Charles in Trafalgar Square in 1943.
Sting
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner – aka Sting – aged 10 at his home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1961.
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (Ronnie Wood) aged 4 in 1951, taken at his home in Whitehorn Avenue, Yiewsley, West London.
Bob Dylan
A childhood photo of Robert Allen Zimmerman – Bob Dylan – aged 2 in 1943.
Iggy Pop
Punk legend James Newell Osterberg Jr. – Iggy Pop – aged 18 months in 1948.
Paul McCartney
Future Beatles icon James Paul McCartney, nowadays known as Paul, aged 8 in Liverpool in 1950.
Janis Joplin
Late-great rock icon Janis Joplin aged 9 in 1952. She died just 18 years later.
David Bowie
A seven-year-old David Jones, soon to be known as David Bowie, in Bromley, London in 1954.
Neil Young
Feted rocker Neil Young as a young boy, aged 11 in 1956.
Jim Morrison
The Doors' Jim Morrison, aged 15, in his high school yearbook photo in 1958.
Bono
A one-year-old Paul David Hewson – future U2 frontman Bono – at his home in Dublin in 1961.
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad – aka Billy Idol – aged 10 in 1965.
Bruce Springsteen
16-year-old Bruce Springsteen in his high school yearbook photo in 1965.
Chrissie Hynde
The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde aged 17 in her high school yearbook in 1968.
Larry Mullen Jr
U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr aged 13 in 1974.
Freddie Mercury
An eight-month-old Farrokh Bulsara – future Queen frontman Freddie Mercury – at his home in Zanzibar.
Debbie Harry
Blondie's Debbie Harry aged 17 in her high school yearbook photo in 1962.
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich, the son of Danish tennis player Torben Ulrich, accompanies his father to Wimbledon in June 1966. Lars was two-and-a-half at the time.
Tina Turner
17-year-old Anna Mae Bullock, rock icon Tina Turner, in her high school yearbook photo in 1956.
Jack Black
Tenacious D rocker and acting legend, Jack Black, aged 16 in 1985.
Tom Petty
17-year-old Tom Petty as seen in his 1967 Gainesville High School yearbook photo. © Alamy
Elvis Presley
The King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, aged 5 in 1940.
Jimi Hendrix
A three-year-old Johnny Allen Hendrix with his dad Al in late 1945. When he was four in 1946 – a year after the above photo was taken – Johnny was renamed James 'Jimmy' Marshall Hendrix after his dad and Al's late brother Leon Marshall Hendrix.
John Lydon
The Sex Pistols' John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – aged 7 in 1964.
Sid Vicious
Simon John Ritchie - aka future Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious - aged 12 in 1969.
Ian Curtis
A five-year-old Ian Curtis in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1961.