Ticket Club Year in Review: 2026 Concerts Anchored by The Eagles, AC/DC, Nate Bargatze & Red Rocks

Residencies, stadium nights, and the late-summer “wait… how is it already September?” surge

This year, Ticket Club fans didn’t just go out—they chased residencies, massive tours, and “this is the one” nights that become core memories.
Using Ticket Club order data pulled through December 29, 2025, we looked back at what led the way across Concerts, Sports, and Theatre.

Want the full year-in-review package? Start here with Concerts, then read on about: Sports | Theatre.

And if you’re already planning your next night out: Ticket Club members get no added fees on tickets—so you can focus on the fun part. While you may not be able to score tickets to these shows anymore, plenty of these artists (and others) are already well scheduled for 2026. Shop for cheap concert tickets all year round at Ticket Club.

The big mood of 2025: late summer hit the turbo button

If 2025 had a “main character season,” it was late summer—when the calendar flips from “we should do something soon” to “wait, how do we have plans every weekend?”

In Ticket Club’s concert data (pulled through December 29, 2025), August ranked #1 for both overall sales volume and demand, with September and October right on its heels.

That pattern makes a ton of sense when you zoom out: summer tours are in full swing, outdoor venues are operating at peak capacity, and the “end-of-summer bucket list” energy hits hard.

A lot of the season’s momentum comes from the touring machine doing what it does best—stacking great routing with great weather. Amphitheaters and iconic outdoor rooms turn into repeat destinations, and multi-date runs amplify attention in a way single-night stops can’t.

When fans know a tour is coming through during prime patio season, ticket decisions get faster, group texts get louder, and “maybe” becomes “I already bought four.” That’s part of why big late-summer names and big late-summer venues show up again and again, whether you’re chasing stadium-scale nights or the kind of set you’ll talk about until 2026.

You can see the late-summer pull reflected in demand-heavy highlights like Outlaw Music Festival (which landed among the year’s top demand drivers), plus August/September fan favorites like Teddy Swims, The Offspring, Blink-182, Creed, and Metallica.

Different genres, same outcome: late summer is when touring schedules and fan urgency line up perfectly.

And if you’re wondering what day of the week “wins” concerts: the data is extremely on brand. Saturday ranked #1 (with Friday #2 and Sunday #3). Translation: people love a show night that doesn’t come with a next-morning email avalanche. If you’re planning ahead for next year, think of August–October as the season where demand naturally spikes – and treat Saturdays like the main event.

Where it all happened: Red Rocks = undefeated

Some venues host shows. Others host pilgrimages—the kind of place where you don’t just “catch a concert,” you build a whole day around it, take the scenic route, and somehow end up talking about the sunset more than the opener.

In 2025, Red Rocks Amphitheatre wasn’t merely strong in Ticket Club’s data—it was dominant, ranking #1 by sales volume and #1 by demand. When a venue wins both categories, it’s not a fluke. It’s the rare combination of iconic setting, consistently great lineups, and a fan culture that treats the room like a bucket-list item.

The “why” is simple: Red Rocks creates its own momentum. People plan ahead, people travel, and people justify the trip with the very logical argument of “I mean… it’s Red Rocks.” Once a tour announces a Red Rocks date, that stop becomes a headline all by itself, and that kind of built-in hype concentrates demand in a way most venues can’t replicate. It’s also why artists with big late-summer energy like Teddy Swims can turn a single night there into one of the year’s most notable moments.

The city leaderboard tells a complementary story. Denver ranked #1 by demand, which lines up with the “high-activity market” effect: lots of shows, lots of repeat buyers, and plenty of reasons to say yes to “one more.”

Meanwhile, Las Vegas ranked #1 by sales volume—a different kind of win, driven by destination behavior and premium experiences. Vegas doesn’t just sell tickets; it sells weekends.

That’s where the residency effect comes in. When a venue is part of the pitch, buying behavior changes—fans treat it like an event you either catch during the run or miss entirely. You can see it in top-tier venue performance and in residency-style demand around acts like The Eagles. Fewer “random stops,” more “this is the one.”

And here’s the bigger takeaway: Red Rocks didn’t lead the year because it had one gigantic night. It led because it stacked consistent high-interest nights across the season. Big venues can spike; iconic venues can sustain. In 2025, Red Rocks did both.

The headliner energy: the year’s biggest names

The best part of any year-in-review is realizing the “concert story” is never just one genre. 2025 was a full buffet: legacy rock, pop megatours, holiday staples, and comedy that behaved like arena-level demand. In Ticket Club’s data, the top of the leaderboard wasn’t a monoculture—it was proof that live entertainment is one of the last places where everybody still agrees to leave the house.

Start with the residency-and-premium-run effect. The Eagles finishing the year as the #1 performer by sales volume is exactly what happens when a show becomes more than a tour stop. Limited runs and destination venues create a “this is the window” feeling, and that urgency tends to push interest into the top tier. It’s also one reason Las Vegas shows up so prominently in the broader venue/city story—premium destinations don’t just attract fans, they concentrate them.

Then there’s the headline that best captures 2025’s “everyone’s invited” energy: Nate Bargatze. When a comedian ranks at the very top of demand, it’s a reminder that comedy isn’t a side quest anymore—it’s a full-on touring machine. The audience is broad, the “bring a friend” factor is high, and the buying behavior looks a lot like major music tours. That same dynamic helps explain why other comedy giants like Matt Rife and Jeff Dunham landed among the year’s leaders.

Of course, 2025 still had the stadium-and-arena heavy hitters you’d expect. Tour footprints and routing matter: acts that hit multiple major markets, stack big venues, and generate nonstop buzz tend to rise quickly. That shows up in top-tier names like Post Malone, Metallica, AC/DC, and global tour giants like Coldplay.

Add in demand magnets and breakouts like Teddy Swims, and the pattern becomes clear: the biggest performers weren’t just popular—they were the ones with tours designed to feel unmissable.

Finally, don’t underestimate the calendar anchors: seasonal, tradition-driven acts that reliably spike as the year turns.Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the clearest example—holiday touring behaves like its own ecosystem, and it has a way of climbing the ranks when the season hits. In other words: 2025’s biggest names weren’t all doing the same thing.

They were winning for different reasons—and that’s what made the year so fun.

Top 10 lists (ranked)

Top 10 performers by sales volume (ranked)

Top 10 performers by demand (ranked)

(Translation: 2025 was huge for stadium-scale nights and “tell your friends you’re going, then buy tickets for five more friends” shows.)

The “big nights” list: single-show standouts

Some dates were just built different.

Top 10 single concert events by sales volume (ranked)

AC/DC — Apr 26 — Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, NV)
AC/DC — May 16 — Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
Teddy Swims — Aug 26 — Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Morrison, CO)
Outlaw Music Festival — May 24 — Cascades Amphitheater (Ridgefield, WA)
Post Malone — May 31 — Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA)
The Eagles — Jan 17 — Sphere (Las Vegas, NV)
Chris Brown — Jun 7 — State Farm Arena (Atlanta, GA)
Metallica — Aug 29 — BC Place Stadium (Vancouver, BC)
Andrea Bocelli — Dec 14 — Kia Forum (Inglewood, CA)
Coldplay — Jul 19 — Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI)

Top 10 single concert events by demand (ranked)

Outlaw Music Festival — May 24 — Cascades Amphitheater (Ridgefield, WA)
Outlaw Music Festival — Sep 19 — Alpine Valley (East Troy, WI)
Toto — Aug 30 — Cascades Amphitheater (Ridgefield, WA)
The Offspring — Sep 4 — Cascades Amphitheater (Ridgefield, WA)
Blink-182 — Sep 4 — Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Virginia Beach, VA)
Creed — Aug 9 — Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View, CA)
Weird Al Yankovic — Jul 12 — KettleHouse Amphitheater (Bonner, MT)
Tom Segura — Apr 19 — Amway Center (Orlando, FL)
Melissa Etheridge — May 18 — Stifel Theatre (St. Louis, MO)
MercyMe — Oct 10 — Blue Arena (Loveland, CO)

Three fun takeaways (for planning next year like a professional)

If you’re picking one season: late summer/early fall is where the calendar goes from “maybe” to “absolutely.”
If you’re picking one venue: Red Rocks didn’t just lead the year—it basically planted a flag.
If you’re picking one strategy: watch for residencies and repeat-stop tours. When the same performer or event series stacks dates, demand tends to stack too.