Andrea Bocelli will start 21-city North American tour in October
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When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, one of the first musical artists people turned to for hope was Andrea Bocelli.
The opera great's online concert on Easter last year from the Duomo cathedral in Milan was watched live by 2.8 million people, and has since been seen more than 42 million times on YouTube.
Bocelli has offered other online and television appearances during the pandemic. But now he's getting ready to perform for live audiences.
And the first stop of his first North American tour since the pandemic began will be at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on Oct. 13. The 21-city trek will wrap up Dec. 19 in Orlando, Florida.
"It will be like going home, in each of the 21 cities,” Bocelli said in a statement Thursday. “It will be exciting to meet again with the public of my beloved and great homeland who adopted me over 20 years ago. I await that moment with the joy and trepidation I felt at the beginning of my career. Because those arenas we meet in have a glimpse of the sun after such a storm. Because I will sing for the life that wins, and thanks to music, we will celebrate beauty and faith in the future together.”
Tickets for the Milwaukee show will go on sale at 10 a.m. May 3.
Thursday has been a remarkable day for concert announcements for the Milwaukee Bucks arena, which, like every major venue in Milwaukee, and most venues around the country, hasn't hosted a concert since March 2020.
Kane Brown Thursday morning announced a Jan. 20 stop at Fiserv Forum as part of a 35-city tour that kicks off in October. An hour later, Roger Waters announced his postponed 2020 tour will take place in 2022, with a stop at the Bucks arena July 28.
With vaccinations underway, the devastated live music industry is expecting a major concert comeback starting in late summer or fall. Experts believe the first major shows might be outdoor amphitheater concerts and festivals.
Summerfest, for instance, is scheduled for three weekends in September, while their largest venue the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, which completed a $51 million renovation last year, has five shows set for July through September that were originally booked for 2020.
The Bucks are so bullish about concerts that they created a new position, vice president of booking, last month, hiring Starr Butler, the booking leader at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, for the job.
Experts believe touchless interactions will be emphasized for new events, while stressing full or near-full capacity would be necessary to make concerts financially viable. Mask requirements, vaccine passports and rapid testing have also been discussed as new protocol, but industry leaders like Live Nation and AEG have yet to finalize criteria.
Andrea Bocelli U.S. Tour Dates
Oct. 13: Milwaukee — Fiserv Forum
Oct. 14: Rosemont, Ill — Allstate Arena
Oct. 16: Kansas City — T-Mobile Center
Oct. 17: St. Louis — Enterprise Center
Oct. 20: Dallas — American Airlines Center
Oct. 21: Houston — Toyota Center
Oct. 23: Sacramento — Golden 1 Center
Oct. 24: Los Angeles — Hollywood Bowl
Oct. 30: Salt Lake City — Vivint Arena
Oct. 31: Denver — Ball Arena
Nov. 3: Seattle — Climate Pledge Arena
Nov. 4: Portland, Oregon — Moda Center
Dec. 2: Cleveland — Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Dec. 4: Pittsburgh — PPG Paints Arena
Dec. 5: Detroit — Little Caesars Arena
Dec. 8: Philadelphia — Wells Fargo Center
Dec. 11: Boston — TD Garden
Dec. 12: Washington, D.C. — Capitol One Arena
Dec. 15: New York City — Madison Square Garden
Dec. 18: Miami — American Airlines Arena
Dec. 19: Orlando — Amway Center
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Andrea Bocelli announces 21-city tour starting this fall