The Main Event
Tour by New Kids on the Block
Promotional poster for the tour
LocationNorth America
Start dateMay 1, 2015 (2015-05-01)
End dateJuly 2, 2015 (2015-07-02)
Legs1
No. of shows47
Box office$26.1 million
New Kids on the Block tour chronology
The Package Tour
(2013) 		The Main Event
(2015) 		Total Package Tour
(2017)

The Main Event was a co-headlining concert tour from American boy band New Kids on the Block with special guests TLC, and Nelly. The tour began on May 1, 2015, in Las Vegas, and finished on July 2, 2015, in Buffalo, New York. It included close to fifty dates across North America. It was the thirty-eighth ranked North American tour of 2015, grossing $26.1 million.[1]

Background

In January 2015, New Kids on the Block appeared on Good Morning America to announce the tour.[2] It had been hinted that the band might collaborate with TLC and Nelly while on the road. For the show's production there would be "new and top notch production elements", and a 360 degree stage.[3] TLC was excited about the tour and said, "We are thrilled to be able to join pop icons NKOTB and Nelly on tour. We are equally excited to back on the road connecting with our fans in such huge arenas."[3]

Concert synopsis

The concert began with Nelly performing a few of his songs, followed by TLC's set, which was approximately 40 minutes long. Then there was a ten-minute break before New Kids on the Block took the stage. Going with the theme of the tour, the band dramatically entered the stage looking "like prizefighters entering a ring," "wearing modern leather ensembles" and opening their set with a new song. "1989" would appear in a wedding-invitation style font on the screen whenever a classic New Kids song was performed. Fans could see the band during the costume changes that were captured on the "Quick Change Cam."[4]

The show was filled with production and choreography for every song, including streamer cannons, confetti shooting high into the air, and heart-shaped balloons. The band started the show with two new songs. Other songs performed were "Block Party", "10", "Crash", "Step by Step" and "My Favorite Girl". There were solo sections during the show, such as Jordan Knight on his solo hit "Give It to You", Joey McIntyre on "Twisted", and Donnie Wahlberg on "I Need You".[5]

Setlists

[5]

Nelly
  1. "E.I."
  2. "Air Force Ones"
  3. "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)"
  4. "Just A Dream"
  5. "Ride wit Me"
  6. "Hot in Herre"
TLC
  1. "What About Your Friends"
  2. "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg"
  3. "Baby-Baby-Baby"
  4. "Creep"
  5. "Diggin' on You"
  6. "Unpretty"
  7. "Red Light Special"
  8. "No Scrubs"
  9. "Meant To Be"
  10. "Waterfalls"
New Kids on the Block
  1. "Block Party"
  2. "Crash"
  3. "My Favorite Girl"
  4. "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
  5. "The Whisper"/"Single"/"Shout"
  6. "Let's Try It Again"
  7. "We Own Tonight"
  8. "Didn't I Blow Your Mind"/"Valentine Girl"/"If You Go Away"/"Never Can Say Goodbye" /"Please Don't Go Girl"
  9. "Remix (I Like The)"
  10. "Summertime"
  11. "Dirty Dancing"
  12. "One Song"
  13. "Tonight"
  14. "Baby, I Believe in You"/"Give It to You" (Jordan Solo)
  15. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)/"Twisted" (Eurythmics cover)(Joey solo)
  16. "I Need You"/"Lean on Me" (Bill Withers cover) / "Cover Girl" (Donnie Solo)"`
  17. "Games"
  18. "Step by Step"
  19. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)"
  20. "Hangin' Tough" / "We Will Rock You" (Queen) cover
Source:[6][7]

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
North America[8]
May 1, 2015 Las Vegas United States Mandalay Bay Events Center
May 2, 2015 Anaheim Honda Center
May 3, 2015 San Jose SAP Center
May 5, 2015 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena
May 6, 2015 Tacoma United States Tacoma Dome
May 8, 2015 San Jose SAP Center
May 9, 2015 Inglewood The Forum
May 11, 2015 San Diego Viejas Arena
May 12, 2015 Glendale Gila River Arena
May 14, 2015 Dallas American Airlines Center
May 15, 2015 New Orleans Smoothie King Center
May 16, 2015 Houston Toyota Center
May 18, 2015 Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena
May 19, 2015 Kansas City Sprint Center
May 20, 2015 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center
May 22, 2015 St. Louis Scottrade Center
May 23, 2015 Rosemont Allstate Arena
May 24, 2015
May 26, 2015 Cincinnati U.S. Bank Arena
May 27, 2015 Nashville Bridgestone Arena
May 29, 2015 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
May 30, 2015 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
May 31, 2015 Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldhouse
June 2, 2015 Charlotte Time Warner Cable Arena
June 4, 2015 Sunrise BB&T Center
June 5, 2015 Orlando Amway Center
June 6, 2015 Atlanta Philips Arena
June 7, 2015 Louisville KFC Yum! Center
June 9, 2015 Norfolk Norfolk Scope
June 10, 2015 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center
June 11, 2015 Bethlehem Sands Bethlehem Events Center
June 12, 2015 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena
June 13, 2015 Bethlehem Sands Bethlehem Events Center
June 14, 2015 Pittsburgh Consol Energy Center
June 16, 2015 Columbus Nationwide Arena
June 17, 2015 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena
June 19, 2015 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
June 20, 2015 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 21, 2015 New York City Madison Square Garden
June 22, 2015
June 24, 2015 Boston TD Garden
June 25, 2015
June 27, 2015 Hershey Hershey Park Stadium
June 28, 2015 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
June 29, 2015
June 30, 2015 Montreal Bell Centre
July 2, 2015 Buffalo United States First Niagara Center

Critical reception

Kelli Skye of the Orange County Register said that the show "was a grand spectacle done in the round so guests could get a 360-degree view of all of the on state action... [they] made sure that every section of the venue got a little love."[5] Beth Spotswood from SF Gate stated that the New Kids "appeared older, more embarrassing in concert." Spotswood was ready to go home once McIntyre went out on stage wearing nothing but white jeans. On opening act Nelly, she said, "it was a bit sad to see the rapper hit the stage to perform for a bunch of moms at 7:20 p.m. on a Sunday evening." McIntyre would occasionally thank "the audience for sticking by NKOTB."[4]

References

  1. ^ "2015 Pollstar Year End Top 200 North American Tours" (PDF). Pollstarpro.com. POLLSTAR. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  2. ^ Nelson, Jeff (January 20, 2015). "Holy Flashback! New Kids on the Block to Tour with TLC and Nelly – See the Mashup!". people.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "New Kids on the Block Announce The Main Event Tou". nkotb.com. January 20, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Spotswood, Beth (May 4, 2015). "New Kids on the Block appear older, more embarrassing in concert". SF Gate. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Skye, Kelli (May 3, 2015). "New Kids on the Block bring the right stuff to Anaheim". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  6. ^ "New Kids on the Block Setlist at Gila River Arena, Glendale, AZ, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  7. ^ "New Kids on the Block Setlist at American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  8. ^ Herbert, Geoff (January 20, 2015). "New Kids on the Block announce 2015 tour dates, including Buffalo concert with Nelly, TLC". Syracuse.com. Adavance Local Media LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
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