Who gigs the hardest?

The ‘hardest touring’ bands and artists of 2018 have been revealed – based on the amount of gigs they played and miles they travelled according to research.

The data was gathered by Norman Records, who collated data from the top 1,000 artists on Songkick and then cross-referenced across over gig listing sites to see just how much artists had been gigging across the last year.

“It’s a golden age for live music, with artists hitting the road more often and for longer stretches,” said a spokesman from Norman Records. “Getting sweaty with a bunch of like-minded fans provides the tangible experience lacking in an age where algorithms dominate listening habits. Which got us thinking. Who are the hardest touring artists?”

They continued: “The answers surprised us. We crunched some numbers based on the 1,000 most popular artists on Songkick this November and December. From that data we’ve cobbled together a bunch of Top 10s from across six loosely-defined genres – rock, metal, dance, electronic, hip-hop, and good old singer-songwriters – to reveal the hardest-gigging artists of 2018.

“Whether you love them, loathe them, have never heard of them, or are just plain indifferent towards their existence, you’ve got to respect the work ethic.”

Overall, metal band Shinedown came out on top – having played 136 gigs and travelled 47470 miles throughout the year. It was found that rock, metal and hip-hop artists had travelled the furthest of acts from other genres.

The research provided may not be entirely inclusive however, as Frank Turner has been in touch to reveal that he played 166 gigs in 2018.

Check out the hardest touring bands by each genre below.

Rock/Indie

Artist
Escape the Fate
Sleeping With Sirens
Portugal. The Man
Foreigner
Milky Chance
The Wombats
Dashboard Confessional
alt-J
Editors
Franz Ferdinand

Hip-hop

Artist
Tech N9ne
Migos
G-Eazy
Playboi Carti
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Tory Lanez
Travis Scott
Kyle
Chief Keef
Talib Kweli

Metal

Artist
Shinedown
P.O.D.
Bullet For My Valentine
Asking Alexandria
Stone Sour
Seether
Puddle of Mudd
Def Leppard
Judas Priest
Marilyn Manson

Singer-songwriters

Artist
Vance Joy
First Aid Kit
Father John Misty
KT Tunstall
Jason Mraz
Willie Nelson
Keith Urban
Chris Young
Bob Dylan
Iron & Wine

Dance

Artist
Tiësto
The Chainsmokers
Diplo
Above & Beyond
DJ Snake
Kygo
Benny Benassi
Steve Aoki
Alesso
Afrojack

Electronic

Artist
R3hab
Marshmello
Chromeo
Dillon Francis
ODESZA
Galantis
Bonobo
Hardwell
Kaskade
ZHU