http://sandhillsexpress.com/abc_clas...abcid36190301/
Printable View
Diana Ross launches latest Las Vegas residency tonight, adds new engagement in August
BY ABC News Radio | June 5, 2019
Home › News › ABC News › Music News
ABC/Image Group LA
Diana Ross kicks off her latest series of Las Vegas residency dates tonight at the Wynn resort and casino’s Encore Theater. The six-show stand runs through June 15, and the Motown legend also recently lined up another engagement at the venue that scheduled from August 14 to August 24.
As previously reported, the performances which is tied in with Ross’ yearlong “Diamond Diana” celebration marking her 75th birthday. The former Supremes singer actually turned 75 on May 26.
Ross’ Vegas residencies bookend more than 20 North American concerts she has on her tour itinerary. The shows are mapped out from a June 21 performance in Mashantucket, Connecticut, through a July 26 concert in Anderson, Indiana.
Here are all of Ross’ upcoming shows, according to StubHub:
6/5, 7-8, 12, 14-15 — Las Vegas, NV, Wynn Las Vegas
6/21 — Mashantucket, CT, Foxwoods Resort Casino
6/22 — New York, NY, Radio City Music Hall
6/24 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
6/26 — Lancaster, PA, American Music Theatre
6/27 — Vienna, VA, Wolf Trap
6/29 — Atlantic City, NJ, The Borgata
6/30 — Baltimore, MD, The Modell Lyric
7/2 — Selbyville, DE, The Freeman Stage
7/3 — Bethlehem, PA, Sands Bethlehem Event Center
7/5 — Chautauqua, NY, Chautauqua Institution
7/6 — Kettering, OH, Fraze Pavilion
7/7 — Northfield, OH, MGM Northfield Park
7/10 — Chicago, IL, The Chicago Theatre
7/11 — Champaign, IL, State Farm Center
7/12 — Toledo, OH, Promenade Park
7/14 — Milwaukee, WI, Riverside Theater
7/16 — Grand Rapids, MI, DeVos Performance Hall
7/17 — Interlochen, MI, Kresge Auditorium
7/20 — Council Bluffs, IA, Stir Cove at Harrah’s
7/22 — Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheatre
7/26 — Anderson, IN, Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing and Casino
8/14, 16-17, 21, 23-24 — Las Vegas, NV, Wynn Las Vegas
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Great that Diana Ross is still touring the USA but sad that she is not coming to the UK.
A great slate of venues as is usual for Our Miss Ross. The Modell Lyric in Baltimore is also featuring 'Pride and Joy - The Marvin Gaye Musical'.
Come to the UK please Diana!!!!!!!
We're better fans!! :p:p:p
Better taste in records, at least, Tom! I hope Diana makes it to the UK! The explosive joy Diana brings to an audience is indeed something to experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by TomatoTom123
C'mon, Diana - even just one UK date please for your special year.
Just think of the audience reaction you always get here to I'm Still Waiting, When You Tell Me That You Love Me and Chain Reaction.
Diana was very popular here even when, for whatever reason, appreciation of her waned in the USA. What is also very apparent in the UK is that her concerts are attended by ALL age groups which is really a wonderful sight to see. Young and old really enjoying themselves together.
Some loyalty in return for the UK and perhaps mainland Europe would be most fitting for this special year.
Yes me too PNH!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony
Yes indeed!! "Chain Reaction" must set the place on fire. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by florence
See us Brits really are better fans!! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by rovereab
When was the last time Diana came to the UK?
Talk to our dear Bluebrock. Maybe he can get a message to Miss Ross and tell her the UK need her to tour.Quote:
Originally Posted by rovereab
Fondly,
Roberta;)
I wonder why she hasn't been touring Europe?
How many years has it been since she toured in the continent?!
Just my opinion... I imagine touring internationally must be a huge undertaking without the support of a label. And considering Diana’s age, timing would be important as it may be looked upon as a final European tour. I assumed Diana’s return to Europe would be promotional, to coincide with the release of a new LP after I Love You. When a new project did not happen, international touring may have been back burnered...Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman
I don't think it will happen this year rovereab. A European tour is a big commitment without the backing of a record company who would usually arrange things with the promoter. If and when it does happen it will probably coincide with her much promised appearance at Glastonbury which has been in discussion for a few years.Quote:
Originally Posted by rovereab
Also she does not like being away from her family for too long at her time of life. Family is and always has been far more important to her than her career. Any tour is likely to be just a handful of dates. She remains very popular in France and would probably be obliged to do a couple of dates over there too. It is all about timing. It MAY happen next year, but i really cannot add more than that at the moment. That is all i know, but i shall continue to try to glean more information. Sorry.
I've wondered about this. Is the U.S. the most lucrative market for her? She had significant hits in the U.K. well into the late 90s -- 15 years or so after her last significant hit in the U.S. I know she is just as big of a superstar abroad, if not moreso.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
Moreover, I would imagine she could make MORE money in a market she tours less frequently. Given this is her Diamond Diana 75th year it seems some European dates would be in order. I am assuming she is touring to stockpile her $$$$ and provide for her immediate and extended family for generations to come.
I've seen it written that she can make $500000 from one private appearance and she does fly overseas to make those.
I think she would consider a one off in Britain or France but I suspect the family considerations override any money thoughts.
Wouldn't a tour require an accompanying road crew, musicians , wardrobe etc. to house and transport? $$$$
Less she sang over prerecorded tracks ....:p
My thoughts exactly. From the few video clips I’ve seen from the private events, she appears to be performing with prerecorded instrumentals. She wouldn’t be able to do this on a full tour...Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogiedown
I bought a couple tickets to see her in Grand Rapids today....I can't wait, it will be the first time I've seen her in person or in concert! :)
Darin
I hope it's a good experience for you, Darin. A Diana concert is usually a sing-along, dance-along joy.Quote:
Originally Posted by DWSheffer
Thank you Peace....it will be quite a moment, I'm sure. I was a bit emotional already after buying the tickets, just thinking I'm actually going to see her in person. I'm 43 years old, and know that I got my first Motown cassette tape when I was around 11 years old. While I liked Motown music most all my life, it wasn't until my first trip to Hitsville in 2012 that I really got into the music and history of Motown, to where it now consumes quite a bit of my life, but certainly in a good way! I'm really looking forward to the concert!
OmG, ENJOY DARIN!!! :)
Yes, she does do private events quite regularly in which she sings over a pre-recorded backing.Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyB
The U.S. is probably her most lucrative market for touring. The only way to make overseas touring as lucrative is to do an extended International tour, and there is no way she would ever do that these days. A small scale tour is certainly possible in the next couple of years. Watch this space.Quote:
Originally Posted by Guy
A major city opera house tour of Europe would be cool, but I know opera houses are notoriously difficult to book.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
It would be an almost impossible task to co-ordinate. Venues such as those are booked up years in advance. It is a lovely idea but totally impractical. If and when she tours she would play venues like the London Palladium rather than the 02 arena.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony
I ws sort of thinking that about the venues Diana would play if any UK dates came to fruition.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
Diana has been out of the public eye for so long now in the UK that much as I hate to say it I think she would struggle to sell out the big arenas she normally performed at.
Maybe a one-off concert at the O2 would bring people from all over though.
I was amazed to hear she was very popular in France - obviously you would know but looking at how few times she charted there I would never have thought it.
My guess would have been that after the UK she would have been most popualr in The Netherlands and then the Scandinavian countries.
She had a lot of chart entries in the 80s in Scandinavia but none at all in the 70s - I wonder if Motown didn't release anything there in that decade.
Obviously Chain Reaction gets a massive reception in the UK but the biggest reaction I have ever seen and not just for Diana was that for I'm Still Waiting when Diana did her first UK concerts after it had gone big here.Quote:
Originally Posted by TomatoTom123
From the moment the first strains filtered through the audience went bananas - everyone had their arms in the air swaying from side to side and singing along with her.
There was pandemonium when the song finished - I'm sure Diana must have been totally stunned.
There was something about ISW which really appealed to UK audiences in the 70s.
Radio One the major music station in the UK at that time with millions of listeners, every few years asked their audience to vote for their favourite song of all time and during that decade Waiting always finished near the top of the list.
Of course that was over 40 years ago and I was barely a teenager then but it would be interesting to see how the audience would react if she ever does reach these shores again.
I think it may have to do with her wanting to be more at home with the grandchildren?Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyB
She seems to be a real homebody these days, probably making it up for the 35-plus years she spent on the road between 1971 and 2006 when she had to go on the road to feed her family. Now that she's finally able to enjoy her wealth [[not to mention what she's probably getting after the Modernization Act got signed into law from the Supremes material streamed and downloaded), maybe she feels doing extravagant, long overseas tours is too much of a hassle. Also at her age, it's not in her agenda anymore?
Honestly, I don't believe the Modernization Act has generated much money for any artists - sadly. What they are getting is a pittance compared to the 80's and 90's. The money they make is from concerts and touring.
Diana's money came from the RCA signing , investments like a parkade in NYC, and her concerts where she has raked in a fortune.
I recall during the 20/20 Mother's Day interview in 2002, at that time she said she did not want to tour, as she considers it "burn out time". In 2004, she gave an interview during her UK/European tour and said she was thinking it could possibly be her last tour and at that time, the tour was called "This Is It". She then came back once again to the UK in 2007 for the "I Love You" tour. I suspect that as others have pointed out, it is a lot more difficult and challenging for her to tour overseas, perhaps not even just strictly from a financial and logistical standpoint, but perhaps also physically challenging at her age. In North America, she does not really have to deal with extreme time zone changes, she can easily and cheaply book airfare for herself and her family, easily charter her own buses for her band and take care of whatever luggage she has [[ie gowns), on her own. I get the impression she does not tour with a team or entourage and can easily and almost directly set up her own contracts with the venues in her own country. I think all of these things I mentioned become much more challenging when she tours abroad. At the end of the day, perhaps the financial incentive for her to do a tour overseas is not as lucrative as it seems and possibly even comparable to the profit she banks with her shows in the US. Vegas is even easier for her, because she can stay in the same place for a week or two.
I don't mean to be a complete bitch, but if I were a fan residing in the UK or Europe, with Ms Ross being my #1 diva, I would have been putting aside $10 per month, at the very least, over the past 10 years, so I could travel to see her anywhere in the world. I think it's very possible there may be a time in the future where she won't even want to tour the country as extensively anymore and may limit herself to only occasional shows in Vegas. If that were the case, I would not hesitate to travel, in order to see her. If you're a fan and she's not coming to you, you may need to consider coming over to see her, while she's still at it. Although I really do hope for the sake of the fans overseas, that she will venture over there again. At this point, who really knows...
There really is no excuse for UK fans who have not the time or funds to jet off to see Diana perform in america. If not putting a little money aside over a ten year period, they could possibly remortgage or even think about getting a second job. Perhaps as a very last resort even consider taking one of their children out of full time education to free up some funds
This is Diana Ross after all and people need get their priorities right.
But what about those rumours the last couple of years that she would be doing Glastonbury in the UK? Kylie and Janet are doing it this year!
https://www.glastonburyfestivals.co....ine-up-so-far/
She gets asked every year and fails to agree terms every year. They have been trying to sign her up for well over 10 years. She came perilously close to agreeing to do it just a couple of years ago until somethinh happened and Barry Gibb stepped in. Negotiations for 2020 or 2021 have been going on since last year. I have not had a recent update except to say that it remains on the backburner. I do believe next years line up is almost complete so i would not be building up any hopes. If an agreement can be reached she may do a select handful of concerts too.Quote:
Originally Posted by jack020
Proms in the park is another event that continue to try to sign her. It is a battle to see which event, if any she signs up for. Knowing Diana it will be her decision, and her decision alone.
Interesting... she'll probably accept either or. She did perform at the New Orleans [[I think) Jazz Festival this year.
You guys are totally right. I don't know what I've been doing spending money on food, rent and other non essentials. In fact I'm going to the hospital right to now to get my kidney removed, so I can sell that. All profits towards the "seek out Diana across the world" fund. Honestly don't know what I've been doing with my life. Clearly didn't have my head on straight. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
I like it Tom. Thanks for giving me my first big chuckle of the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by TomatoTom123