Billboard revealed its year-end Boxscore charts, ranking the top tours, venues and promoters of 2025 over the last few days. We’re breaking it down further, looking at the biggest live acts, genre by genre. Here, we kick things off with rock.
Much has already been made of rock’s decline in popularity over the last several decades. It’s still the biggest revenue generator in live music, but hits an all-time low on the 2025 Top Tours chart. At 30.2% of the year’s top 100 tour grosses, the genre represents less than half of its share from the 1990s after consistent dips throughout the 2000s and 2010s.
Rock’s leading acts tell part of the story. Coldplay and Imagine Dragons line up at Nos. 1-2, notably taking over as 21st century bands. Both acts became arena and stadium headliners well into the 2000s, marking a sharp turn from the genre’s most common leaders — classic rock bands from the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s such as The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and U2, all of whom ranked among last year’s top 10 touring acts. This year, due to a combination of quirks of scheduling and the genre’s continued aging, no classic rock acts appear in the all-genre top 10 for the first time ever.
Keep reading to check out the 10 highest grossing tours by rock acts, with such acts qualifying due to recent performance on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and/or Hot Rock Songs charts. Rankings are determined according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. All reported shows worldwide between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, are eligible.
