Will These Incredibly Popular Artists Come to Iowa in 2024?

A new year prompts many to start planning for a new slate of concerts. Just two weeks ago, Dubuque's very own Q Casino announced that Upchurch would be a part of their 2024 Back Waters Stage Summer Concert Series. It's poised to be another busy year for concertgoers, especially judging by a new list that tabs the most in-demand artists of the year.

The sad part about living in Iowa is that many of the biggest names in the music world, particularly the pop and hip-hop stratospheres, are "too big for Iowa." There isn't a venue that can adequately accommodate the expected sold-out crowd for their shows. That doesn't stop Iowans from wishing and wanting. A new list from Planet 7 Casino shows some of the most in-demand artists in Iowa and the United States as a whole.

The Methodology:

Planet 7 Casino gathered the data for these results by using search analytics; in particular, Google Keyword Planner:

Data was gathered from Google Keyword Planner, which provides monthly and annual Google search volume for key phrases and terms across the US and for each state. 194 search terms were used to source data from the past 12 months, including ‘[artist] tickets’ and ‘[artist] tour’. - per Planet 7 Casino

 

The Swifties Want Taylor in Iowa:

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift is the most in-demand artist in Iowa and the United States as a whole, according to Planet 7 Casino. Experts found that her fans are in a constant battle for seats and reasonable ticket prices to her shows. Opening night tickets for Swift's Eras Tour were retailed at $11,000 by some resale websites!

No less, the 12-time Grammy award-winning artist received over 659,000 searches, which accounts for 33% of people searching for any/all concert tickets! Those are unfathomable numbers.

Sadly, it's been nearly nine years since Swift performer in Iowa (and that was Des Moines, IA). The odds of seeing her in the Hawkeye State any time soon are a pipe-dream, quite honestly. We'll have to touch base again in about 30 years at least.

Zach Bryan Has Vaulted Into the Top Five:

Few artists have enjoyed such a meteoric rise to the top as Zach Bryan. The country/Americana singer is third on the national list for most in-demand shows of 2024. Iowans have two chances to catch Bryan in April 2024; he's got one show at the Iowa Events Center on April 25th and another at the Wells Fargo Arena on April 26th (both shows in Des Moines).

Planet 7 Casino also gives a pretty intriguing breakdown for how popular Bryan has become in certain states:

In fact, music fans in the states of Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming searched for tickets to see Zach Bryan over any other concert. Those hoping to see the artist in Oklahoma may want to book their seats as soon as possible, as the state was found to have made the most searches for The Quittin’ Time Tour tickets, with an average of 6,137 searches per 100k residents. - per Planet 7 Casino

Drizzy Drake Remains in the Top Five:

Despite being one of the most memed and prodded artists on social media it seems, Drake continues to pack stadiums and sell-out shows like nobody's business. Average monthly searches for Drake and Drake concert tickets are north of 246,291, making up for just a tick over 13% of total interest.

The chances of Drake coming back to Iowa? Not very likely in the immediate future, I'm afraid. However, I was reminded of when Drake made a stop at Drake University in 2016 following a performance in Des Moines. It resulted in a phenomenal Instagram photo. One Drake University student was awake at 2:30am to meet the rap star himself too!

Here are the top five most in-demand concerts for 2024 on a national scale, per Planet 7 Casino:

Further Analysis:

A spokesperson for Planet 7 Casino spoke about the results of the findings:

This year is going to be huge for live performances, with some of the biggest names in the industry hitting the stage. Taylor Swift has continued to be a huge driving force behind interest in show tickets, thanks to her constant presence in the media and social media.

 

After making more than a billion dollars from her Eras Tour last year, it will be interesting to see how well tickets sell in 2024 and if we will continue to see increasing revenues. - per Planet 7 Casino