The live music ‘discovery’ service Bandsintown has published its ‘High Notes’ report for 2025, which rounds up the prevailing trends it has logged over the course of these past 12 months.
The report is based on data from no fewer than 8 billion live events, 100 million fans and over 700,000 artists that are registered on its platform.
It is, as you’d expect, fascinating reading. For instance, the fastest growing genre, according to High Notes, is trap, which you might had assumed had peaked a decade ago. That enjoyed a 65% surge, compared to 37% for the runner-up, shoegaze, which was originally a derogatory term for a clutch of guitar effects-indebted bands over 30 years ago.
The report’s Top Five most followed artists contain few surprises – they are (in reverse order) Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. Meanwhile, Bandsintown’s Top Five rising artists - the ones with the fastest growth in interest - are Ella Langley, Doechii, Jennie, Lola Young and Sombr.
What’s been the most in-demand gig of 2025? Oasis? Wrong. Their Manchester gigs only came in fifth in that particular list, behind YoungBoy Never Broke Again in Dallas and Chris Brown in Detroit. Ex-One Directioner Zayn’s gig in Mexico City is (perhaps surprisingly) at Number Two with System Of A Down in Sao Paulo top of the pile.
And who has played the most gigs in 2025? That accolade goes to jazz/R&B pianist and producer Robert Glasper. Major props though, go to AOR band Air Supply who are number seven in the Road Warriors list – the band’s core duo Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell are both in their mid-'70s.
In terms of genres, rock and metal come out on top again – a testament to the stubborn survival of the form. The cities that led ticket uptake were New York and Washington DC, with London, Madrid and Sao Paulo making up the Top Five. Also fast movers were Lagos, Accra in Ghana, and Brisbane.
One significant stat to come out of the survey is a 32.6% increase in fans travelling for live music, a reflection perhaps of a number of converging trends – the increasing financial pressures on small provincial venues and the tendency for A and B list artists to play at fewer locations on tour, with many opting for a residency-style approach (see Beyonce and Radiohead for examples).
Anyway, the whole report can be accessed here at company.bandsintown.com.
