Straight to You Tour explained

The Straight to You Tour is the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Josh Groban. Visiting North America, Europe and Africa, the tour will support Groban's fifth studio album, Illuminations.^[1]

Background

The tour was announced by Reprise Records on Valentine's Day 2011.^[2] Initially with only three dates, many fans speculated Groban was expanding his intimate tour. Upon his 30th birthday, Groban posted a video on his Tumblr blog stating the tour's expansion in North America with additional dates in England.^[3] This is later followed by a posting on his official website with a detailed itinerary of the tour.^[4] During an interview with Gayle King, Groban mentions he still worries from time to time about his career. He further states given the current atmosphere in the entertainment industry, Groban is always worried about how the media and fans will approach an experimental sound and production.^[5] To prepare for the tour, the singer embarked on a mini tour of the United States playing theaters and concert halls. The nine city tour, entailed "Before We Begin", gave the opportunity for Groban to perform in an intimate setting and connect with the audience in new ways.^[6] Groban wants to continue the intimate theme even though he will play arenas.

To introduce the tour, Live Nation stated:^[7]

"The "Straight To You" Tour will bring the feel of a theater experience to an arena setting though stage design, lighting, and projection, as well as through spontaneity and interactivity. Groban delighted his fans during last year's 'Before We Begin' shows, in which he solicited feedback from the audience on which songs should be included in the set-list. As a result, for the 'Straight To You' shows, Groban will continue to interact with audiences and perform favorites from his best-selling albums, including his self-titled debut, Closer, and Awake, as well as songs from Illuminations."

Opening act

• ELEW (North America) (select dates)^[8]

Setlist

The following songs were performed at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It does not represent all songs performed on tour.^[9]

1. "Straight to You" (Instrumental Introduction)
2. "Changing Colors"
3. "February Song"
4. "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)"
5. "Oceano"
6. "Aléjate"
7. "Bells of New York City"
8. "Higher Window"
9. "Alla Luce del Sole"
10. "War at Home"
11. "Instrumental Sequence"
12. "Você Existe em Mim"
13. "Caruso"
14. "Galileo (Someone Like You)"
15. "Awake"
16. "Weeping"
17. "Machine"
18. "Broken Vow"
19. "Per Te"

Encore:

20. "Play Me"
21. "You Raise Me Up"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
North America[10] [11] [12]
May 12, 2011		United States	UNO Lakefront Arena
May 14, 2011	Houston
May 16, 2011	Dallas		American Airlines Center
May 18, 2011	San Antonio		AT&T Center
May 20, 2011	Tulsa		BOK Center
May 21, 2011	Wichita		Intrust Bank Arena
May 24, 2011	Omaha		Qwest Center Arena
May 25, 2011	Kansas City		Sprint Center
May 27, 2011	St. Louis		Scottrade Center
May 28, 2011	Moline		iWireless Center
June 3, 2011	Buffalo		HSBC Arena
June 4, 2011	Cleveland		Quicken Loans Arena
June 8, 2011	Duluth		Arena at Gwinnett Center
June 10, 2011	Charlotte		Time Warner Cable Arena
June 11, 2011	Raleigh		RBC Center
June 14, 2011	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum
June 15, 2011	Hershey		Giant Center
July 8, 2011	Minneapolis		Target Center
July 9, 2011	Green Bay		Resch Center
July 12, 2011	Indianapolis		Conseco Fieldhouse
July 13, 2011	Chicago		United Center
July 15, 2011	Cincinnati		U.S. Bank Arena
July 16, 2011	Auburn Hills		Palace of Auburn Hills
July 18, 2011	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre
July 19, 2011	London		John Labatt Centre
July 22, 2011	Ottawa		Scotiabank Place
July 23, 2011	Montreal		Bell Centre
July 26, 2011	Boston	United States	TD Garden
July 27, 2011	Washington, D.C.		Verizon Center
July 29, 2011	Philadelphia		Wells Fargo Center
July 30, 2011	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena
August 2, 2011	Newark		Prudential Center
August 3, 2011	Pittsburgh		Consol Energy Center
August 5, 2011	Columbus		Value City Arena
August 6, 2011	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena
August 9, 2011	Milwaukee		Bradley Center
August 10, 2011	Des Moines		Wells Fargo Arena
August 12, 2011	Denver		Pepsi Center
August 13, 2011	Salt Lake City		EnergySolutions Arena
August 17, 2011	Los Angeles		Staples Center
August 19, 2011	Phoenix		US Airways Center
August 20, 2011	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena
August 23, 2011	San Jose		HP Pavilion at San Jose
August 24, 2011	Sacramento		Power Balance Pavilion
August 26, 2011	Portland
August 27, 2011	Seattle		KeyArena
August 30, 2011	Vancouver	Canada	Rogers Arena
September 1, 2011	Calgary		Scotiabank Saddledome
September 2, 2011	Edmonton		Rexall Place
September 4, 2011	Winnipeg		MTS Centre
Europe[13]
September 14, 2011	Vienna	Austria	Großer Saal
September 16, 2011	Berlin	Germany	Tempodrom
September 18, 2011	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falkoner Teatret
September 20, 2011	Bergen	Norway	Vestlandshallen
September 21, 2011	Oslo		Oslo Spektrum
September 23, 2011	Stockholm	Sweden	Ericsson Globe
September 25, 2011	Helsinki	Finland	Finlandia Hall
September 26, 2011	Tampere		Tampere Hall
September 30, 2011	Munich	Germany	Philharmonie im Gasteig
October 2, 2011	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Heineken Music Hall
October 3, 2011	Paris	France	Le Grand Rex
October 6, 2011	Lucerne	Switzerland	KKL Concert Hall
October 9, 2011	Düsseldorf	Germany	Philips Halle
October 11, 2011	London	England	HMV Hammersmith Apollo
October 12, 2011	Birmingham		Symphony Hall
October 14, 2011	Manchester		Bridgewater Hall
October 16, 2011	Glasgow	Scotland	Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
October 18, 2011	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Waterfront Hall
October 19, 2011	Dublin	Ireland	Grand Canal Theatre
North America
October 26, 2011	Sunrise	United States	BankAtlantic Center
October 28, 2011	Tampa		St. Pete Times Forum
October 29, 2011	Orlando		Amway Center
November 1, 2011	North Charleston		North Charleston Coliseum
November 2, 2011	Norfolk		Norfolk Scope
November 4, 2011	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 8, 2011	Manchester		Verizon Wireless Arena
November 9, 2011	Providence		Dunkin' Donuts Center
November 14, 2011	New York City
Africa[14] [15]
November 26, 2011	North West Province	South Africa	Sun City Superbowl
November 27, 2011
November 29, 2011	Cape Town		Grand Arena at Grand West Casino
November 30, 2011
December 2, 2011	Port Elizabeth

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

<	--Date-->	<	--City, (State or Country)-->	<	--Venue-->	<	--Reason/Additional Info-->
June 7, 2011	Greenville, South Carolina	BI-LO Center	Cancelled[16]
August 16, 2011	San Diego, California	Viejas Arena	Cancelled[17]

Box office score data

Venue	City	Tickets sold / available	Gross revenue
American Airlines Center	Dallas	7,407 / 8,849 (84%)	$538,521[18]
i wireless Center	Moline	5,871 / 6,000 (98%)	$302,706[19]
Air Canada Centre	Toronto	7,658 / 8,000 (96%)	$731,996[20]
John Labatt Centre	London	5,344 / 6,389 (84%)	$409,672[21]
Bell Centre	Montreal	3,646 / 4,550 (80%)	$361,312[22]
Verizon Center	Washington, D.C.	5,734 / 13,559 (42%)	$521,628[23]
Mohegan Sun Arena	Uncasville	4,298 / 4,653 (92%)	$504,120[24]
Staples Center	Los Angeles	9,296 / 10,220 (91%)	$684,452[25]
US Airways Center	Phoenix	5,822 / 9,694 (60%)	$500,901[26]
Rose Garden Arena	Portland	4,426 / 8,818 (49%)	$357,130[27]
Rexall Place	Edmonton	5,963 / 11,080 (54%)	$504,672[28]
Waterfront Hall	Belfast	1,892 / 1,892 (100%)	$126,651[29]
Grand Canal Theatre	Dublin	2,038 / 2,038 (100%)	$126,773
BankAtlantic Center	Sunrise	6,977 / 7,794 (89%)	$404,208
TOTAL		71,946 / 94,718 (76%)	$5,717,612

External links

• Groban's Official Website
• Groban's Official Facebook Page
• Groban's Official YouTube Page
• Groban's Official Myspace Page

Notes and References

1. Web site: Josh Groban brings 'Straight to You' tour to Grand Rapids in August . Sinkevics, John . 28 February 2011 . . Advance Publications . 9 March 2011.
2. Josh Groban Announces 2011 "Straight To You" World Tour . . 14 February 2011 . 9 March 2011.
3. Web site: If you're 20 and you know it, slap your face . Groban, Josh . 28 February 2011 . Josh Groban Blog. . 9 March 2011.
4. Web site: New "Straight To You" World Tour Dates Announced . 1 March 2011 . Groban's Official Website . Reprise Records . 9 March 2011.
5. . 9 March 2011 . Josh Groban on 'Straight To You' Tour . . Radio broadcast . . New York City . 9 March 2011.
6. Web site: Josh Groban Talks Tour & Tony . 8 March 2011 . . . 9 March 2011.
7. Web site: Josh Groban's 'Straight To You' Tour coming to the Portland Rose Garden in August . White, Ryan . 1 March 2011 . . 9 March 2011.
8. Web site: Josh Groban Announces ELEW As Support On Straight To You Tour. BWW News Desk . 12 April 2011 . Broadway World . 14 April 2011.
9. Web site: Saturday Night: Josh Groban At Toyota Center . Gray, Chris . 16 May 2011 . . 17 May 2011. 2.
10. Web site: Tour: Current . Groban's Official Website . . 9 March 2011.
11. Web site: Josh Groban tour reveals full scope of North American concert plans . Reitz, Allison . 1 March 2011 . TicketNews . 9 March 2011.
12. Web site: Josh Groban coming "Straight To You" all year long . Hall, Tara . 1 March 2011 . SoundSpike . . 9 March 2011.
13. Web site: Josh Groban Announces Autumn UK Shows . Stickler, Jon . 11 April 2011 . Stereoboard . 14 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120316215503/http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/164809/9. live . 16 March 2012.
14. Web site: Josh Groban heading for SA . 5 August 2011 . The Times (South Africa). Avusa. Johannesburg, South Africa. 6 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110807013025/http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/2011/08/05/josh-groban-heading-for-sa . live . 7 August 2011.
15. Web site: A Special Evening with Josh Groban . 15 September 2011 . . . 6 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111019031343/http://www.algoafm.co.za/eventdetail.asp?EventID=418 . 19 October 2011 . dead .
16. Web site: CANCELLED: Josh Groban Concert in Greenville . Staff . 6 June 2011 . . . 6 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110812053528/http://www2.wspa.com/news/2011/jun/06/cancelled-josh-groban-concert-greenville-ar-1935639/ . dead . 12 August 2011.
17. Web site: Singer Josh Groban Cancels San Diego Concert . 9 August 2011 . . . 11 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120927180303/http://www.10news.com/news/28816785/detail.html. dead . 27 September 2012.
18. Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores. 9 July 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp . 19 February 2012 . live . 30 June 2011.
19. Billboard Boxscore: Current Scores. 18 June 2011. 15 June 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. live. 19 February 2012.
20. Billboard Boxscore – Current Scores. 26 November 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. 19 February 2012 . live. 26 November 2011.
21. Billboard Boxscore – Current Scores. 6 August 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. 19 February 2012. live. 1 August 2011.
22. Billboard Boxscore – Current Scores. 13 August 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. 19 February 2012 . live. 6 August 2011.
23. Billboard Boxscore: Issue Date 11/12/2011. 12 November 2011 . Billboard . 3 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp . live . 19 February 2012.
24. Billboard Boxscore – Current Scores. 20 August 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. 19 February 2012 . live. 11 August 2011.
25. Billboard Boxscore – Current Scores. 3 September 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. 19 February 2012 . live . 24 August 2011.
26. 21 January 2012. Billboard Boxscore. Billboard. 124. 2. New York City, New York. 0006-2510. 13 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. live. 19 February 2012.
27. Web site: FreezePage. http://www.freezepage.com/1315494553EGFUVPBGXN?url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. dead. 2011-09-08.
28. Billboard Boxscore – Current Scores. 15 October 2011. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. 19 February 2012. live. 3 October 2011.
29. 25 February 2012. Billboard Boxscore. Billboard. 124. 6. New York. 0006-2510. 19 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219150959/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp. live. 19 February 2012.