According to Larry Cancro, senior vice president of Fenway concerts and entertainment, Del Rey’s team had cobbled together a tentative US tour for 2024, but ultimately scrapped every date — except one.
“She just decided not to tour, but she wasn’t going to let this one go,” says Cancro, explaining why Del Rey’s Fenway performance is a “one-off” show. The decision paid off quickly; Boston fans who were eager to fasten their flower crowns snapped up every available seat within 25 minutes of tickets going on sale.
Thursday’s show will mark Del Rey’s first-ever headlining stadium performance in the United States, as well as the beginning of Fenway’s concert season. But beyond those benchmarks, the singer’s inclusion in this year’s concert lineup represents an effort to welcome new music fans to the historic ballpark. Del Rey isn’t the only first-time Fenway headliner; Hootie & The Blowfish lead the “Summer Camp with Trucks Tour” next Friday, while Watertown-based folk singer Noah Kahan and pop-punk pranksters blink-182 will both make their Fenway debut in July.
“We’re always encouraging our partners at Live Nation to get us all kinds of different artists, and at the end of the day, looking at it through our Fenway Park/Red Sox lens, we want to expand our fan base as wide as possible,” explains Ron Bumgarner, executive vice president of ticketing for Fenway events and concerts.
Branching beyond rock icons like Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen has served the ballpark well in recent years, ushering in devotees of Latin megastar Bad Bunny and pop sensations like Lady Gaga and P!nk. Most notably, the venue has boomed as a repeat locale for touring country artists like the Zac Brown Band, Morgan Wallen, and Kane Brown (who returns in July).
“Once you get them in the ballpark as a performer, then other people in that [genre] start hearing about it,” Cancro notes. “It’s an industry that’s built on habit.”
New and unexpected performers, however, can provoke skeptics who feel that only “legends” should perform at Fenway. Kahan, for instance, doubles as a hometown hero and an unknown figure to anyone who’s not a fan of folk music or Top 40 radio.
Yet the “Stick Season” singer has sold out both of his July shows, a feat that puts him on par with Pearl Jam, the only other act this year to perform — and sell out — a doubleheader. Fenway’s capacity for concerts varies with each show, but on average seats 35,000 fans per night — meaning that both Kahan and Pearl Jam have moved approximately 70,000 tickets (more tickets to all sold-out Fenway performances will be released closer to each show date).
“Once you play Fenway Park, you’re clearly a legend,” Cancro concludes.
No wonder Del Rey didn’t want to bow out of Boston.
GIG GUIDE
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue lead a jazzy swirl of New Orleans rhythms on Friday at Leader Bank Pavilion; The Who frontman Roger Daltrey will unearth classic rock rarities at the Seaport venue the following Thursday for his brief (and rare) solo tour of North America.
Oregon-based country artist Kassi Valazza touts her twang at Club Passim on Friday, while Boston folk act Grace Givertz joins Nashville singer-songwriter Kyshona at the club on Saturday for a stirring celebration of Kyshona’s April record “Legacy.”
Juneteenth celebrations start early this Saturday, as Boston acts like rapper Brandie Blaze, R&B crooner Najee Janey, and DJ WhySham head to Bellforge Arts Center for Unspoken, a free Juneteenth festival. Later that evening, Starlight Square in Cambridge hosts a Juneteenth block party featuring a trio of area DJs: DJ Gilly, DJ Niic, and DJ Imperial.
After former One Direction member Niall Horan enchants fans at the Xfinity Center on Saturday, Pixies and Modest Mouse take their co-headlining tour to the Mansfield amphitheater on Sunday. Modest Mouse are currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of their record “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” while Boston’s beloved alt-rock group will potentially showcase their new single “You’re So Impatient.”
While Lana Del Rey hosts a historic headlining show at Fenway Park on Thursday, across town A Boogie Wit da Hoodie will tackle Boston’s other major stage: TD Garden. The New York rapper’s “Better Off Alone” tour supports his fifth studio album of the same name, which arrived in May.
Musical theater fans have much to look forward to this week, as Tony Award-winning actor and singer Ben Platt brings his new record “Honeymind” to the Boch Center on Tuesday. The showmanship continues on Thursday at The Somerville Theatre, where “The Magic of Motown” revue reinvigorates tunes by “Hitsville U.S.A.” icons like The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and The Jackson 5.
NOW SPINNING
Victor Ray, “i tried.” Despite the shrugging title of Victor Ray’s new EP, the Ugandan-born, England-based artist prevails with a successful followup to his similarly-named fall project “i felt.”
On the yearning Debbie duet “Falling Into Place,” he flirts with the possibility of lasting romance. What’s certain, though, is that Ray’s new release allows him to settle into a satisfying groove between pop and R&B without running himself into a rut.
Twisted Pine, “Lonestar.” Boston outfit Twisted Pine braid a strings-centric waltz on their first new single of the year. The band’s ode to the rambling life whirs through elegant folk balladry, eventually evolving into an Americana epic over the course of 6½ minutes.
BONUS TRACK
Boston band Speedfossil have returned from Abbey Road Studios with the best possible souvenir: a new single. The group celebrates a just-recorded tune called “Silver Lining” — along with their April EP “Room With A VU, Vol.1″ — with a Friday show at Faces Brewing Co. Fellow Boston groups Cold Expectations and Bikini Whale (a B-52s tribute act) will join the festivities.
