Highest paid tribute band?

[Wood and Wire]

Dark Star Orchestra has been touring pretty much non-stop since 1997 and play anywhere to 500 - 5000 people at a time.

Dark Star is one of my favourite movies, so the idea of "When twilight falls on NGC891" and "Benson Arizona" being performed to 5000 paying customers per night brings me joy.

Joe Russo's Almost Dead (JRAD) is another fan-favourite and attract similar numbers.

Didn't he co-write the movie "Night of The Living Dead", and wrote the sequel novel "Return of The Living Dead" ?

Didn't know he was taking this whole "Dead" in a musical direction.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Dead and Co...... certainly not the Grateful Dead and certainly a tribute.

I hope this is a geriatric tribute to Legs and Co.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I would imagine Brit Floyd and The Australian Pink Floyd Show are making a pretty good living, and rightly so. I would recommend either of these highly should you get the chance.

Home - Brit Floyd | Official Website

We are excited to announce the first of our 2026 North American Tour Dates: Brit Floyd – The Moon, The Wall and Beyond!

www.britfloyd.com

The Australian Pink Floyd Show, Celebrating Pink Floyd Since 1988 | Aussie Floyd | TAPFS | The World's Biggest Pink Floyd Tribute Act

Having sold over four million tickets to concerts that have taken place in 35 countries, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is rightfully hailed as one of the most in demand touring entities currently operating, The Times Newspaper in London described them as “The Gold Standard”. This act is so...

www.aussiefloyd.com

These are the two I was thinking about. They are playing the same arenas that large original acts are playing (at least here they are), so they must be doing okay.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I would imagine Brit Floyd and The Australian Pink Floyd Show are making a pretty good living, and rightly so. I would recommend either of these highly should you get the chance.

Home - Brit Floyd | Official Website

We are excited to announce the first of our 2026 North American Tour Dates: Brit Floyd – The Moon, The Wall and Beyond!

www.britfloyd.com

The Australian Pink Floyd Show, Celebrating Pink Floyd Since 1988 | Aussie Floyd | TAPFS | The World's Biggest Pink Floyd Tribute Act

Having sold over four million tickets to concerts that have taken place in 35 countries, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is rightfully hailed as one of the most in demand touring entities currently operating, The Times Newspaper in London described them as “The Gold Standard”. This act is so...

www.aussiefloyd.com

The Australian Pink Floyd is amazing. Seeing them again later this year.

 

[EricOnTheBass]

I've seen some great tribute acts, and have had the opportunity to open for a couple of them at the tribal casino in my town where they often play. They bring in 1000+ crowds, so I'd expect they are making at least a few thousand per show on average. I've talked to some of the band members and they are making a living at it.

I don't know if they'd be considered tribute bands since there are family members involved, but Zappa Plays Zappa and Jason Bonham's Zeppelin Experience are fantastic, I'd pay to see them every time.

 

[Passinwind]

Dark Star is one of my favourite movies, so the idea of "When twilight falls on NGC891" and "Benson Arizona" being performed to 5000 paying customers per night brings me joy.

No soup for you, they are more like an Owsley Stanley tribute.

 

[J Wilson]

The Who.

 

[Michedelic]

I heard the title of the Who's New album is going to be "Who's Left?"

Hmm, I thought it was going to be "Old Men Yelling At Drummers", or maybe "It's Hard(To Hear)".

 

[jholling]

My teenage daughter loves Queen so we took her to see a tribute band called Killer Queen. They filled a local theater of about 1500 people. They had the look and the sound. They had costume changes built into the show, including all of the iconic Freddie Mercury outfits. This group was absolute pros on a national tour. It was great.

 

[Major Seven]

If you're gonna go there, I'd say it would be the Stones or the Who in that regard. Sad decrepit nostalgia machines.

Allman Brothers

 

[Major Seven]

Very, very well, going back to the mid-70s. Most don't worry about playing it like the record, the Dead certainly never did! Quite a few do replications of one specific show date though, which is easy given how many recordings are out there. So theoretically If I wanted to revisit my first show experience in NYC in 1971 I could...not that this has the slightest appeal to me personally.

Was that Gaelic Park? My first and only dead show. $2.50. I literally fell asleep in the bleachers.
I find it amusing and scary that a 20 yr old guy I spoke with recently could tell me what the set list for that show was. And the song keys used.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Isn't Lynyrd Skynyrd basically a cover band of themselves at this point?

 

[jeff62]

Y'all might be wrong… seen Foreigner lately? They are a tribute band given there are no original members, and haven't been for a few years now. But I bet they get paid like Foreigner .

 

[Danny C]

There's still Artimus, he's playin the LS tunes with some great musicians. I've opened for him a few times. His stories are crazy funny.

 

[BassicJazzy]

To be fair, I think you have to divide tribute bands which still include original members from those that do not. For example, I saw McCartney play original Beatles stuff that they never played live, and do so perfectly, back after he got rights to the songs he co-wrote. He sold out Universal Amphitheater in L.A. and I'm sure every other venue he played. Second example would be Steve Hackett's "Genesis Revisited," which plays original Genesis better than the OGs did. He plays slightly smaller venues but sells out all his shows. I still drool while listening to their live recordings on YouTube. Steve has gotten so much better over the years.

And then of course there are the bands still going on name recognition only, whose singers can no longer sing, etc. They do well, but make me sad, especially if I saw them in their prime. "Who" could I be referring to? Don't ask me....I don't like to say bad things about folks who are still better players than me.

For second category, it's hard to beat "Dead & Company." All the really good Dead tribute bands do very well.

 

[Enrique M]

Doubt they got payed much, but 30 years ago I saw "the stinkin Lincoln's" an AC/DC cover band, with an Abe Lincoln impersonator as a front man. They were awesome!

 

[Major Seven]

Hmm, I thought it was going to be "Old Men Yelling At Drummers", or maybe "It's Hard(To Hear)".

"Senior wasteland"

 

[Billyears IV]

If this is about numbers/$$$, which it seems to be.. . (god knows why else anyone would want to self flagellate and further flog to death other people's already over familiar music)..... One thing which still confuses me is how such 'performers' are permitted to draw income from other's creative works?

Where are the copyright laws here?

 

[Michedelic]

Isn't Lynyrd Skynyrd basically a cover band of themselves at this point?

That was already pointed out.

 

[Major Seven]

Mini Kiss?

This thread is giving me all sorts of stupid ideas. A Kiss tribute; "Fart" (Gene Simmons on the cover)