A live performance from Kendrick Lamar, who, along with SZA, is now bringing the Grand National Tour to Europe. Photo Credit: Kenny Sun
Striking while the halftime show iron is hot, Kendrick Lamar and SZA have added over a dozen European stadium performances to their Grand National Tour.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA disclosed those additional stops this morning, after announcing the Grand National Tour’s initial North American dates in early December.
Despite the seemingly mixed fan response to their Apple Music-sponsored halftime show, the two are enjoying a post-game commercial surge. To name one example, that includes a material Spotify monthly listener upswing (from nearly 82 million at the top of February to north of 86 million currently) for Lamar.
And like the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show headliner Usher and others, the “All the Stars” collaborators are looking to capitalize on the momentum with a massive tour. Set to kick off in Minneapolis on April 19th, the relevant concert series will reach Europe in early July.
Beginning with a pair of performances in Germany (Cologne on the 2nd, Frankfurt on the 4th), the 13-date European leg is also expected to reach the U.K. (Glasgow on the 8th, Birmingham on the 10th, Cardiff on the 19th, and London on the 22nd), Amsterdam (13th), Paris (15th), Lisbon (27th), and Barcelona (30th) in July.
From there, Drake’s archrival will bring the tour to Rome (August 2nd), Warsaw (6th), and then Stockholm (9th), per the current schedule. Live Nation’s Ticketmaster has teed up various presales for February 12th and 13th, with the European stadium dates’ general onsale poised to initiate at 9 AM local time this Friday, February 14th.
Fan demand permitting, Lamar and SZA will presumably extend the Grand National Tour further yet.
The aforementioned Usher (whose Past, Present, Future Tour recorded 62 sold-out North American concerts) is preparing to bring his ongoing tour to Europe in March.
Of course, the halftime show’s promotional push extends beyond streaming and concert sales to areas like sponsorships.
But Lamar’s ugly Drake feud (and the intensifying lawsuit it’s produced) is worth keeping front of mind here. Brands could be hesitant to launch major partnerships with the halftime show headliner given that his latest hit allegedly accuses Drake of being a pedophile.
In any event, Apple wrapped January by debuting a Kendrick Lamar Synth Riders “experience” for the Vision Pro. And unlike with sponsorship tie-ups, the Drake feud may actually fuel positive results when it comes to a possible Kendrick Lamar concert film down the line.
Closer to the present, Lamar isn’t the only 67th Grammys winner who’s eyeing additional stadium shows. Beyoncé (whose husband, despite facing rape allegations, remains partnered with the NFL) today tacked on five more performances to her Cowboy Carter Tour: two dates in London, one apiece in Chicago, Atlanta, and Paris.