Frank Turner has officially broken the world record for the most shows live shows played in 24 hours.
The English artist played 15 independent shows across 15 different cities in a 24 hour period on Saturday, May 4th. He had previously accomplished a similar feat back in 2009, where he played 24 shows in 24 hours — but all in the greater London area, and in an “unofficial” fashion. He also toured all 50 states in the US in the span of 50 dates in 2022. Now, in honor of the Music Venue Trust (MVT), Turner played 15 independent shows each in a different town, with tickets sold by independent record shops.
The MVT’s rules for the world record attempt stipulated that Turner was to perform for a minimum of 15 minutes with at least 25 audience members present, and he couldn’t repeat any previously-played venues during the trek. He began the feat on Saturday with a show in Liverpool and worked his way down the English countryside, concluding in Southampton the following day.
Before embarking on his record-breaking quest, Turner shared a “Before” image on Instagram, writing, “Here we go friends. 15 shows, 15 town, 24 hours. This is a terrible idea. Thanks to the venues, my crew, the record shops and @musicvenuetrust – let’s do this.” After completing the run of shows, he promptly posted an “After” pic: “In the last 24 hours, accompanied by my crew (Doug and Tre and Mark), we played 15 shows in 15 different towns around the UK,” Turner wrote.
“According to the @musicvenuetrust rules, that’s the world record by 5 shows. Every show was at an independent venue, ticketed by an independent record shop. We did it. Proud. Tired. Grateful. Long live independent music.” Before Turner accomplished the feat last weekend, the world record for most shows in 24 hours was previously held by Hunter Hayes with 10 shows — and before him, it was the Flaming Lips with eight.
The jaunt wasn’t just in support of the Music Venue Trust — Frank Turner released his 10th studio album, Undefeated, on Friday, May 3rd, and treated fans across the UK with renditions of his new songs throughout the 15-show run. Despite being a newly-crowned world record holder, Frank Turner isn’t slowing down — the musician has a slew of 2024 tour dates to come, including a US tour alongside Amigo the Devil kicking off at the end of May. Get tickets for all of Frank Turner’s upcoming tour dates here.