Who has played live for the most people?

[frankmcr]

Biggest crowd for a band - Bijelo Dugme, 220,000 people at Belgrade in 2005

" for an individual performer - Vasco Rossi, 225,173 at Modena in 2017

" for someone you've actually heard of - Rod Stewart, at least 350,000 at Rio de Janeiro, New Year's Eve 1994. But that was a free show, so not quite in the same category as the previous two.

Three of the top 6 paid crowds were in Rio - Macca 184k, Tina Turner 180k, Sinatra 175k.

[KevWind]

I saw a documentary about soul music that claimed that the largest concert crowd ever,, was for a free festival type multi artists performance in Central Park NYC . That was estimated to be 800,000 to 1,000,000 in attendance.

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I saw a documentary about soul music that claimed that the largest concert crowd ever,, was for a free festival type multi artists performance in Central Park NYC . That was estimated to be 800,000 to 1,000,000 in attendance.

Maybe, but if you count everybody that claimed to be at Woodstock you double that number.

[endpin]

That one-man band by the quick-lunch stand...

[tinnitus]

Ohhhhhhhh...
I thought you meant who here has played for a big crowd. LOL
Several bars over the decades with 80-120, probably 500 at D Street Corral in Portland Oregon and same number at an outdoor thing in St. Helens, both in 1975-ish. What a rush!

[fumei]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

Maybe, but if you count everybody that claimed to be at Woodstock you double that number.

++ on that!

It is amazing how things grow in the landscape of story-telling. I had an.......incident (yah, that's what it was) with a very large pig (700 lb +) in Goa, India circa 1974. Dramatic. Very unusual. We (my girlfriend and I) related it to lots of people on our travels. Months later I was told the story as if it happened to the person telling it to me.

Years later I often get asked to "tell the pig story". It depends on the company before I tell it.

I found it amusing when I heard "their" story, which oddly enough was pretty close to the truth of it. Actually, it was toned down from the real incident.

Ooops, sorry, don't want to hijack.

[Tahitijack]

Local news ran a story last night about the cost of Springsteen tickets. Starting price was $1,000 per seat. I won't be seeing him.

[KenL]

Originally Posted by Tahitijack

Local news ran a story last night about the cost of Springsteen tickets. Starting price was $1,000 per seat. I won't be seeing him.

Me neither. But the crowd he runs with these days can afford it.

[warfrat73]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Hang onto your seats, boys and girls :

1. New York Philharmonic (founded 1842)
2. The Beach Boys
3. B.B. King
4. Ray Charles
5. Blue Öyster Cult
6. Johnny Cash
7. Jerry Lee Lewis
8. Elton John
9. Frank Sinatra
10. Santana

(Courtesy of setlist.fm)

So, if you add up the Grateful Dead shows on setlist.fm with the Ratdog, Wolf Bros, The Other Ones, Further, Dead and Co., solo Bob Weir shows you get to about 4145, which would put him between Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.

For some reason, that site doesn't seem to include the shows they played in the early 2000s as "The Dead" (I looked, and these don't seem to be included under either The Grateful Dead or The Other Ones), that adds a couple dozen more at least, it doesn't include the gigs he played with The Warlocks or Kingfish. And there are, certainly, as with every other artist on there, early sets and shows not included.

My guess would be that the average attendance of his shows is somewhat higher than most, if not all the others on the list. And, dude did play at Woodstock, so that's a pretty good bump to the average, and also the largest ticked concert crowd in U.S. history in 1977, 107k at Raceway Park in NJ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...s%20to%20date.) there goes the theory that they only sold tickets to the same 50k people). And supposedly to 600k at Watkins Glen in 1973 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer...t_Watkins_Glen)...

[EZYPIKINS]

When I first read this thread title, I thought the OP was asking who of us has played for the most people.

Like size of a gig.

Did concert openers for 5 or 6 years. Biggest was around 10,000 at a State Fair.

[Murphy Slaw]

I think the Original Post is quite clear on what he meant.

I'm also thinking he's probably right.

However, I've also had this thought.

I gigged local bars all over the country for over 45 years, sometimes 3/4 nights a week. I realized decades ago that I had played more gigs than John Lennon, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix COMBINED. Not that it meant anything, but them dying young, plus the fact that big acts actually perform less often than "working" musicians.

Cool thread idea.

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

I think the Original Post is quite clear on what he meant.

I'm also thinking he's probably right.

However, I've also had this thought.

I gigged local bars all over the country for over 45 years, sometimes 3/4 nights a week. I realized decades ago that I had played more gigs than John Lennon, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix COMBINED. Not that it meant anything, but them dying young, plus the fact that big acts actually perform less often than "working" musicians.

Cool thread idea.

What was your biggest "house?"

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

What was your biggest "house?"

Not a lot.

Probably 1100 / 1200 at some outdoor festivals.

400 / 500 was a huge room for a small timer like me.

Mostly 200 or less.

Sometimes 20 or less...