World Tour 2023/2024 Explained

Concert Tour Name:	World Tour 2023/2024
Border:	yes
Artist:	Blink-182
Number Of Legs:	4
Last Tour:	Blink-182 and Lil Wayne Tour (2019)
This Tour:	World Tour 2023/2024 (2023–24)
Next Tour:	One More Time Tour (2024)

The World Tour 2023/2024, also known as the Rock Hard Tour,^{[1] [2]} is an ongoing concert tour by American rock band Blink-182. The tour began on May 4, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The tour was announced on October 11, 2022, alongside the news of Blink-182 reuniting with vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge for the first time since 2014.^{[3] [4] [5]} Initially launched and billed as a "reunion tour", the band's ninth studio album One More Time... was released shortly before the end of the first North American and European legs.

Background

The tour marks the band's thirtieth anniversary,^[6] and their first tour with original singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge since 2014.^[7] It also marks their first-ever shows in Latin America.^[8] The band has not played Mexico in any capacity since 2004.^[9] Previous efforts to tour worldwide were complicated by drummer Travis Barker's flight anxiety following his 2008 plane crash. Barker flew for the first time since that incident in 2021,^[10] enabling the band to set dates across the globe.^[11] On March 1, 2023, DeLonge announced on his Instagram that the Latin American dates would be postponed until 2024 due to Barker sustaining a finger injury that required surgery and rest.^[12]

Prior to the start of their tour, the band made a surprise appearance at Coachella on April 14, 2023, marking DeLonge's first appearance with the band in nine years.^[13] The band then served as a replacement headliner of the festival's second weekend on April 23 after singer Frank Ocean was forced to back out at the last minute.^[14] The tour is variously referred to as the Rock Hard Tour in some promotional materials.^{[1] [2]}

As part of the setlist, DeLonge performed two songs recorded during vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba's time in the band: "Bored to Death" and "Cynical" from California (2016).^[15]

Reception

Boxscore

Preceding the tour, Billboard estimated that the tour will earn around $150 million across its four legs.^[16] At the conclusion of its inaugural North American leg, the publication estimated that it had thus far generated $85.3 million and sold 564,000 tickets, making it the band's biggest outing yet.^[17] It surpassed the trio's previous highest-grossing trek, the 2009 In Concert Tour ($22.5 million), by four and a half times. The tour also set slight highs in terms of attendance, with an average of 15,664 per show. Analysts for Billboard determined that higher ticket prices due to the cost of touring and inflation, as well as controversial policies like dynamic pricing, led to the dramatic increase in gross.^[18] The highest-grossing individual show was two nights at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, where the trio grossed $8.8 million and sold 43,600 tickets. Later, the magazine ranked it among the Top 10 Highest-Grossing Rock Tours of 2023, reporting that each show from its first two legs were fully sold-out.^[19]

Analysts suggested that the momentum generated by the tour was due to its primary demographic being older and having more disposable income, as well general nostalgia, particularly during a early 2020's mall-punk revival. "Not only is its target demo older (and hopefully wiser and richer), but the band is returning in a more welcoming environment," wrote Eric Frankenberg from Billboard.^[18] Bloomberg Ashley Carman suggested that "the mantle of rock arena stardom is finally being passed on to them from the prior generation of aging rockers."^[20]

Critical reviews

The tour has received positive responses from music and entertainment critics. Selena Fragassi at the Chicago Sun-Times praised the band's "innate chemistry" and the fury of Barker's antics,^[21] and William Earl at Variety concurred: "The best fireworks were the interplay between the band members. They bounded around the stage, feeling — and acting — like kids again."^[22] Chris Riemenschneider of the Star Tribune acclaimed the musicianship: "Blink really [has] its act together, nostalgia act or not."^[23] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reviewer Scott Mervis called their performance "triumphant" and praised their set design: "Throwing a middle finger to the typical arena rock setup, Blink arrived on a diamond-shaped stage that was about half the width of the floor. Of course, there's only three of them, and the togetherness, under the circumstances, is a good move."^[24] The Seattle Times Michael Rietmulder observed the band "powering through one pop-punk burner after another, a virtually sold-out Climate Pledge Arena crowd hanging on every cymbal crash and speedball harmony."^[25]

Across the globe, reviews remained positive, though some took issue with the band's humor. After their shows in the U.K., the Guardian Matt Mills opined: "the stage was set for this show to acknowledge the burdens the band have beaten and celebrate the men they've become – that they instead focus far more on trying to be the kids they once were robs the evening of so much emotional potential."^[26] In Sydney, reviewer James Jennings of the Sydney Morning Herald complimented the jokes, and called Barker "surely one of the best rock drummers on the planet."^[27]

Set list

This set list is from the concert on May 4, 2023 in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is not intended to represent all shows from the tour.^[28]

1. "Anthem Part Two"
2. "The Rock Show"
3. "Family Reunion"
4. "Man Overboard"
5. "Feeling This"
6. "Reckless Abandon"
7. "Dysentery Gary"
8. "Up All Night"
9. "Dumpweed"
10. "Edging"
11. "Aliens Exist"
12. "Cynical"
13. "Don't Leave Me" / "Not Now" / "Violence"
14. "Happy Holidays, You Bastard"
15. "Stay Together for the Kids"
16. "Always"
17. "Down"
18. "Bored to Death"
19. "I Miss You"
20. "Adam's Song"
21. "Ghost on the Dance Floor"
22. "What's My Age Again?"
23. "First Date"
24. "All the Small Things"
25. "Dammit"

Tour dates

List of 2023 concerts

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening acts
April 14, 2023	Indio	United States	Empire Polo Club	rowspan="2"
April 23, 2023
May 4, 2023	Saint Paul		Xcel Energy Center	Turnstile Beauty School Dropout
May 6, 2023	Chicago		United Center
May 7, 2023
May 9, 2023	Detroit		Little Caesars Arena
May 11, 2023	Toronto	Canada	Scotiabank Arena
May 12, 2023	Montreal		Bell Centre
May 15, 2023	Toronto		Scotiabank Arena	Beauty School Dropout NOBRO
May 16, 2023	Cleveland	United States	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse	Turnstile Beauty School Dropout
May 17, 2023	Pittsburgh		PPG Paints Arena
May 19, 2023	New York City		Madison Square Garden
May 20, 2023	Elmont		UBS Arena
May 21, 2023	Boston		TD Garden	Turnstile White Reaper
May 23, 2023	Washington, D.C.		Capital One Arena
May 24, 2023	Brooklyn		Barclays Center
May 26, 2023	Baltimore		CFG Bank Arena
May 27, 2023	Hershey		Hersheypark Stadium
May 28, 2023	Atlantic City		Atlantic City Beach
June 14, 2023	Phoenix		Footprint Center	Turnstile Landon Barker
June 16, 2023	Los Angeles		BMO Stadium	Turnstile Destroy Boys
June 17, 2023			Turnstile Landon Barker
June 19, 2023	San Diego		Pechanga Arena	Turnstile Destroy Boys
June 20, 2023				Turnstile Landon Barker
June 22, 2023	San Jose		SAP Center	Turnstile Destroy Boys
June 23, 2023	Sacramento		Golden 1 Center
June 25, 2023	Seattle		Climate Pledge Arena
June 27, 2023	Vancouver	Canada	Rogers Arena
June 29, 2023	Edmonton		Rogers Place
June 30, 2023	Calgary		Scotiabank Saddledome
July 3, 2023	Denver	United States	Ball Arena
July 5, 2023	Dallas		American Airlines Center
July 7, 2023	Austin		Moody Center
July 8, 2023	Houston		Toyota Center	Turnstile KennyHoopla
July 10, 2023	Tampa		Amalie Arena
July 11, 2023	Sunrise		FLA Live Arena
July 13, 2023	Atlanta		State Farm Arena
July 14, 2023	Charlotte		Spectrum Center	Turnstile Landon Barker
July 16, 2023	Nashville		Bridgestone Arena	Turnstile KennyHoopla
September 8, 2023	Antwerp	Belgium	Sportpaleis	The Story So Far
September 9, 2023	Cologne	Germany	Lanxess Arena
September 12, 2023	Copenhagen	Denmark	Royal Arena
September 13, 2023	Stockholm	Sweden	Avicii Arena
September 14, 2023	Oslo	Norway	Oslo Spektrum
September 16, 2023	Berlin	Germany	Mercedes-Benz Arena
September 17, 2023	Hamburg		Barclays Arena
September 19, 2023	Prague	Czech Republic	O2 Arena
September 20, 2023	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
October 2, 2023	Lisbon	Portugal	Altice Arena
October 3, 2023	Madrid	Spain	WiZink Center
October 4, 2023	Barcelona		Palau Sant Jordi
October 6, 2023	Bologna	Italy	Unipol Arena
October 8, 2023	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Ziggo Dome
October 9, 2023	Paris	France	Accor Arena
October 11, 2023	London	England	The O2 Arena
October 12, 2023
October 14, 2023	Birmingham		Utilita Arena
October 15, 2023	Manchester		AO Arena
October 16, 2023
October 21, 2023	Winchester	United States	Las Vegas Fairgrounds	rowspan="2"
October 22, 2023

List of 2024 concerts

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening acts
February 8, 2024	Perth	Australia	RAC Arena	Rise Against
February 9, 2024
February 11, 2024	Adelaide		Adelaide Entertainment Centre
February 13, 2024	Melbourne		Rod Laver Arena
February 14, 2024
February 16, 2024	Sydney		Qudos Bank Arena
February 17, 2024
February 19, 2024	Brisbane		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
February 20, 2024
February 21, 2024
February 23, 2024	Sydney		Qudos Bank Arena
February 24, 2024
February 26, 2024	Melbourne		Rod Laver Arena
February 27, 2024
February 29, 2024
March 2, 2024	Auckland	New Zealand	Spark Arena
March 12, 2024	Lima	Peru	Estadio Universidad San Marcos	The Offspring 6 Voltios
March 15, 2024	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Hipódromo de San Isidro	rowspan="6"
March 16, 2024	Santiago	Chile	Parque Cerrillos
March 19, 2024	Luque	Paraguay	Parque Olímpico
March 22, 2024	São Paulo	Brazil	Interlagos Circuit
March 24, 2024	Bogotá	Colombia	Simón Bolívar Park
March 30, 2024	Monterrey	Mexico	Fundidora Park
April 2, 2024	Mexico City		Palacio de los Deportes	Petey
August 23, 2024	Reading	England	Little John's Farm	rowspan="2"
August 24, 2024	Leeds		Bramham Park
August 26, 2024	Belfast	Northern Ireland	SSE Arena	The Story So Far
August 27, 2024	Dublin	Ireland	Royal Hospital Kilmainham
August 29, 2024	Glasgow	Scotland	OVO Hydro
August 30, 2024
November 9, 2024	Mexico City	Mexico	Estadio GNP Seguros	Pierce The Veil Petey

Cancelled dates

List of cancelled concerts

Date	City	Country	Venue	Reason
March 11, 2023	Tijuana	Mexico	Morelos Park	Originally postponed;^[29] festival was later canceled^[30]
March 4, 2024	Christchurch	New Zealand	Christchurch Arena	Unexpected logistical issues^[31]
April 3, 2024	Mexico City	Mexico	Palacio de los Deportes	Mark Hoppus illness^[32]
April 5, 2024
April 6, 2024

References

Citations

Notes and References

1. Web site: blink-182: Rock Hard Tour . Rogers Arena . April 19, 2023 . June 18, 2023 .
2. Web site: blink-182 with Rise Against . Live Nation Australia . June 18, 2023 .
3. Web site: Blink-182 Reunite With Tom DeLonge, Announce 2023 Tour . . October 11, 2022 . October 12, 2022 . Minsker, Evan.
4. Web site: Blink-182 Is Reuniting for a New Album and Tour . . October 11, 2022 . October 12, 2022 . Pisani, Joseph.
5. First (New Tour) Dates: Here's Where You Can Find Blink-182's 2023 Reunion Concert Tickets Online . . October 11, 2022 . October 12, 2022 . Lonsdale, John.
6. Web site: Blink-182's 30th Anniversary Plans Convince Fans A Tom Reunion Is Near . iHeart . July 28, 2022 . October 14, 2022.
7. Kaufman . Gil . Blink-182 Reuniting Classic Lineup With Tom DeLonge For 2023 World Tour, New Single . Billboard . October 11, 2022 . October 14, 2022.
8. Web site: Evans . Greg . Blink-182 Announces Worldwide Reunion Tour, New Music; See Complete Tour Roster . Deadline . October 11, 2022 . October 14, 2022.
9. Web site: Hernandez . Jeanette . Wait, Did the Presale for Blink-182's Mexico City Date Sell Out in Minutes? . Remezcla . October 12, 2022 . October 14, 2022.
10. Web site: Gayomali . Chris . Mark Hoppus Is Growing Up . GQ . December 2, 2021 . October 14, 2022.
11. Web site: Brisco . Elise . Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge reunite for Blink-182 tour, new album . USA TODAY . October 11, 2022 . October 14, 2022.
12. Web site: Official Tom DeLonge on Instagram .
13. Kaufman . Gil . Reunited Classic Blink-182 Lineup Last-Minute Addition to 2023 Coachella . Billboard . April 13, 2023 . April 21, 2023.
14. Hudak . Joseph . Blink-182 and Paramore Will Be Next to Each Other at New 'Adjacent Music Festival' . Rolling Stone . October 25, 2022 . February 15, 2023.
15. Web site: Blink-182 Kick off Reunion Tour, Tom DeLonge Sings Matt Skiba Songs. May 5, 2023.
16. Brooks . Dave. Blink-182 Tour Will Cash In on Pop-Punk Nostalgia: Here's How Much It Could Earn . Billboard . October 12, 2022 . July 20, 2023.
17. Web site: blink-182's U.S. reunion tour with Tom DeLonge is their… . Kerrang! . July 20, 2023 . July 20, 2023.
18. Frankenberg . Eric . Blink-182's Reunion Tour Earned More Than $85 Million in North America . Billboard . July 19, 2023 . July 20, 2023.
19. Web site: Frankenberg . Eric . Top 10 Highest-Grossing Rock Tours of 2023 . Billboard . December 8, 2023 . July 2, 2024.
20. Web site: Carman . Ashley . Blink-182’s Global Tour Leads the Aughts-Rock Revival . Bloomberg.com . July 31, 2023 . July 2, 2024.
21. Web site: Blink-182 at United Center: Hitmaking lineup reunites, older but no more mature . Chicago Sun-Times . May 7, 2023 . May 7, 2023.
22. Web site: Earl . William . Blink-182's Reunion Tour Proves That Ageless Punk Rockers Can Make Fans Feel Like Kids Again: Concert Review . Variety . May 20, 2023 . June 2, 2023.
23. Web site: Riemenschneider . Chris . Review: Blink-182 returns to old shenanigans in St. Paul reunion tour kickoff . Star Tribune . May 5, 2023 . May 7, 2023.
24. Web site: Mervis . Scott . Review: Just like old times, Blink-182 thrills at PPG Paints Arena . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . May 17, 2023 . June 2, 2023.
25. Web site: Rietmulder . Michael . for better and worse . The Seattle Times . June 26, 2023 . February 17, 2024.
26. Web site: Mills . Matt . Blink-182 review – foul-mouthed arena antics are fitfully fun . the Guardian . October 12, 2023 . February 17, 2024.
27. Web site: Jennings . James . Blink-182 review at Qudos Arena . The Sydney Morning Herald . February 17, 2024 . February 17, 2024.
28. Web site: Williams . Aaron . May 5, 2023 . What Is Blink-182's Setlist Of Songs For Their 2023 World Tour? . May 7, 2023 . UPROXX.
29. Web site: Varga . George . Blink-182 postpones Tijuana gig and Latin American reunion tour due to drummer Travis Barker's finger surgery . San Diego Union-Tribune . March 1, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
30. Web site: Festival de música . IMPERIAL GNP . March 25, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240317131019/http://www.imperialgnp.com/. March 17, 2024.
31. Web site: Stuff . 2024-02-22 . www.stuff.co.nz.
32. Web site: González . Alexandra . ¡No se logró! Blink-182 CANCELA sus últimos conciertos en el Palacio de los Deportes . It didn't happen! Blink-182 CANCELLS their last concerts at the Palacio de los Deportes . es. . . 5 April 2024. 5 April 2024.