The Blue Smoke World Tour is the eleventh concert tour by American recording artist Dolly Parton. The tour promotes Parton's 42nd studio album, Blue Smoke. Beginning in January 2014, the tour played forty-seven shows in North America, Oceania, and Europe. On Pollstar's Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours list, released in July 2014 and ranking tours up until that date, the Blue Smoke World Tour ranked at number 23 with $23.3 million in grosses and 210,288 tickets sold for 38 shows.[1]

Blue Smoke World Tour
Tour by Dolly Parton
Promotional poster for 2014 tour
Associated albumBlue Smoke
Start dateJanuary 24, 2014 (2014-01-24)
End dateJuly 14, 2014 (2014-07-14)
Legs4
No. of shows11 in North America
13 in Australia
23 in Europe
47 total
Dolly Parton concert chronology

Background

edit

Parton mentioned working on a new album in July 2013. A month later, news of a tour hit multiple media outlets, as the singer was promoting the expansion of her theme park, Dollywood.[2] The tour was officially announced on The Queen Latifah Show in October 21, 2013.[3] She also performed a new song, "Miss You, Miss Me" along with performing a "rap" that went viral. Parton initially revealed dates only in Australia. Along with the announcement, the singer posted a message to her Australian fans on her official website. It stated:

"Australia, here I come again. We have a lot of new and exciting things for the show and can’t wait to share it with you. I love my fans in that part of the world. You've been so very good to me for so many years and I know that we're gonna have a wonderful time. It's a long way from home in your part of the world, but I always feel like I'm right at home. So Australia, I'm coming home. Wait up!"[4]

The tour will serve as the main promotional vehicle behind her forthcoming album, Blue Smoke.[5] Shortly after the announcement, additional shows were revealed in Europe, specifically the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia and Germany. With the release of European shows, Parton remarked:

"Every time I come to Europe, I'm just as excited as I was my very first time, which was many, many years ago. I love that part of the [W]orld and I especially love the fans. We always have such a good time and I've put together a lot of things for this show that I think the fans will love. We had not planned to come back so soon, but we got so much fan mail and such a great reaction that I thought, 'Well, why not. If they’re having a good time and we always do, let's just do it'".[6]

The scheduling of the shows also sparked rumors the singer would perform at the Glastonbury Festival.[7] Parton's participation in the festival was confirmed on June 1, 2014.[8] She expressed her excitement, stating she's wanted to perform at the festival for many years. Before she hit the stage, she was honored by the RIAA with a plaque commemorating 100 million albums sold worldwide.[9] The performance was a success, with BBC News reporting Parton drew the biggest crowd of the festival.[10] Despite bad weather and mud, she performed at the Pyramid Stage in an all white catsuit. She performed an abbreviated setlist from the current runs; which featured a guest appearance by famed guitarist Richie Sambora on "Lay Your Hands On Me".[11]

Despite the high praise, the festival appearance was shadowed by allegations of lip-synching. Sky News reporter, Kay Burley, tweeted her in disappointment with Parton for miming a huge event.[12] This created an uproar on the Internet. Dolly responded to the chaos stating she was not miming. She continued to say "My boobs are fake, my hair's fake but what is real is my voice and my heart".[13]

The news came alongside media reports of Parton in a car accident.[14] Parton described the incident as a fender-bender and that she sustained no injuries. While touring in Australia, the singer will also launch her program Imagination Library in that region.[5] In November 2013, show in California, Nevada and Arizona were revealed. Initially believed to be one-off shows, Parton stated the shows will kick off the 2014 tour. She further stated:

"It's always great to perform at home in the good ol' U.S.A. We’re kicking off our Blue Smoke World Tour right here at home. I love traveling all over the world; but it's true, there's nothing like home".[15]

It was also reported additional shows in the U.S. (and possibly Canada) will take place in May 2014.[5]

Set list

edit

The following songs were performed during the January 28, 2014 concert at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. It does not represent all concerts during the tour.[16]

Tour dates

edit
Date City Country Venue
North America[17][18]
January 24, 2014 Rancho Mirage United States The Show
January 25, 2014 Primm Star of the Desert Arena
January 26, 2014 Reno Reno Events Center
January 28, 2014 Phoenix Comerica Theatre
Oceania[17][18][19][20]
February 7, 2014 Auckland New Zealand Vector Arena
February 8, 2014
February 11, 2014 Melbourne Australia Rod Laver Arena
February 12, 2014
February 13, 2014[a] Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre
February 15, 2014 Pokolbin Hope Estate Winery Amphitheatre
February 16, 2014 Tamworth Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre
February 18, 2014 Sydney Qantas Credit Union Arena
February 19, 2014
February 21, 2014 Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre
February 22, 2014
February 24, 2014 Cairns Cairns Convention Centre
February 27, 2014 Perth Perth Arena
North America[17][18][21]
May 22, 2014 Catoosa United States The Joint
May 23, 2014
May 25, 2014 Cherokee Harrah's Cherokee Event Center
May 27, 2014[b] Richmond EKU Center for the Arts
May 28, 2014[c] Knoxville Thompson–Boling Arena
May 30, 2014 Thackerville Global Event Center
May 31, 2014
Europe[17][23]
June 8, 2014 Liverpool United Kingdom Echo Arena Liverpool
June 10, 2014 Belfast Odyssey Arena
June 11, 2014 Dublin Ireland The O2
June 12, 2014[d] Cork The Docklands
June 14, 2014 Newcastle United Kingdom Metro Radio Arena
June 15, 2014 Aberdeen GE Oil and Gas Arena
June 17, 2014 Glasgow SSE Hydro
June 18, 2014
June 20, 2014 Leeds First Direct Arena
June 21, 2014 Manchester Phones 4u Arena
June 22, 2014 Birmingham LG Arena
June 24, 2014 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
June 25, 2014
June 27, 2014 London The O2 Arena
June 28, 2014
June 29, 2014[e] Pilton Worthy Farm
July 2, 2014 Nottingham Capital FM Arena Nottingham
July 5, 2014 Cologne Germany Lanxess Arena
July 6, 2014 Berlin O2 World
July 8, 2014 Copenhagen Denmark Forum Copenhagen
July 9, 2014 Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum
July 11, 2014 Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe
July 14, 2014[E][f] Locarno Switzerland Piazza Grande

Box office score data

edit
Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue
Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane 13,842 / 18,060 (77%) $1,765,110
Perth Arena Perth 10,833 / 12,642 (86%) $1,234,000
Rod Laver Arena Melbourne 15,281 / 16,000 (95%) $1,904,070
Qantas Credit Union Arena Sydney 12,368 / 13,390 (92%) $1,418,070
Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville 8,654 / 8,803 (98%) $452,443
O2 Arena London 27,627 / 31,180 (89%) $3,375,110
O2 World Berlin 6,370 / 6,986 (91%) $513,182
TOTAL 94,975 / 107,061 (89%) $10,661,985

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Originally set to take place on February 25, 2014.
  2. ^ Part of Evening Among Friends[22]
  3. ^ Part of a benefit concert for the Imagination Library & The Robert F. Thomas Foundation
  4. ^ Part of Live at the Marquee[24]
  5. ^ Part of Glastonbury Festival[25]
  6. ^ Part of Moon and Stars[26]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  2. ^ Watts, Cindy (23 August 2013). "Dolly Parton plans new album and tour". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. ^ Brandle, Lars (21 October 2013). "Dolly Parton's 'Blue Smoke World Tour' to Visit Australia". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. ^ Wyland, Sarah (21 October 2013). "Dolly Parton Okay After Fender Bender; Announces Australian Tour Dates". GAC News & Notes. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Randy (29 October 2013). "Dolly Parton talks 'Blue Smoke' album, tour, Imagination Library". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ^ Ragusa, Tammy (22 October 2013). "Dolly Parton Announces 2014 European Tour". Country Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  7. ^ Baggs, Michael (22 October 2013). "Dolly Parton for Glastonbury? Gap in 2014 UK tour suggests so". Gigwise. Giant Digital. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Dolly Parton says Glastonbury performance will be her biggest ever show". NME. June 2, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  9. ^ Papadatos, Markos (June 29, 2014). "Dolly Parton receives award for 100 million albums sold". Digital Journal. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  10. ^ "Dolly Parton draws huge crowd to Glastonbury Pyramid stage". BBC News Online. June 29, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  11. ^ Merrill, Jamie (June 30, 2014). "Glastonbury 2014: Dolly Parton's set 'biggest attraction since Rolling Stones'". The Independent. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  12. ^ "Was Dolly Parton miming at Glastonbury?". The Daily Telegraph. June 30, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  13. ^ Thompson, Gayle (July 2, 2014). "Dolly Parton Comments on Glastonbury Lip-Syncing Debate". The Boot. AOL. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  14. ^ Messer, Lesley (22 October 2013). "Dolly Parton 'Resting at Home' After Car Accident". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  15. ^ Masley, Ed (1 November 2013). "1/28: Dolly Parton brings Blue Smoke tour to Phoenix". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  16. ^ Cordova, Randy (January 29, 2014). "Review: Dolly Parton charms at Comerica Theatre". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d "Dolly Parton – Concert Schedule". Pollstar. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  18. ^ a b c "Dolly Begins #BlueSmokeWorldTour in America + MORE Dates in New Zealand & Australia!". Dolly Parton Music. November 21, 2013. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  19. ^ "Dolly Parton Announces Aussie Tour Dates" (Press release). RTTNews. 26 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  20. ^ "Dolly Parton to perform extra Sydney show". Seven News. Seven Network. January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  21. ^ Philpot, Robert (7 November 2013). "Dolly Parton talks about TV movie, world tour, upcoming CD". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  22. ^ Copley, Rich (December 15, 2013). "Dolly Parton is latest Friend in St. Mark's fundraiser series". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  23. ^ Hawksley, Rupert (25 October 2013). "Dolly Parton tickets on sale for UK tour 2014". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  24. ^ "Dolly Parton to return to Cork next summer". Red FM. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  25. ^ Halliday, Josh; Ellis-Peterson, Hannah (June 29, 2014). "Glastonbury 2014: Dolly Parton lifts rain-soaked festival to sunnier climax". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  26. ^ Speciyogic, Anthony (June 24, 2013). "Dolly Parton's Busy Life: Touring, Feminism, & Miley Cyrus". Inquisitr News. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
edit