The Up and Coming Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. The tour began on 28 March 2010, at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, northwest of

Downtown Phoenix Downtown Phoenix is the central business district (CBD) of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is located in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County and ...

. As with McCartney's other

concert tours A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

as a solo artist, the setlist for the Up and Coming Tour was composed of songs by his former bands the Beatles and

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

, as well as songs from his solo career. The tour included two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, followed by concerts in Miami and San Juan, the latter marking both McCartney's first concert in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and the first visit by a member of the Beatles. The tour ended on 10 June 2011 with a show in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Nevada. The Up and Coming Tour was performed across venues in North America, Europe, and South America. Tickets for the concert in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, were sold out within an hour, and a second concert in the same venue was announced for the following day due to the demand. During the tour, McCartney received the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

Background

McCartney announced shows for Europe, including his first appearance at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

, his first Scottish date for 20 years at Hampden Park, Glasgow, his last being at Glasgow SECC Arena on 23 June 1990 and his first show in Cardiff, Wales in over three decades, at the Millennium Stadium. Additional dates are to be announced. On 5 April McCartney announced his first concert in Mexico since 2002. On 17 May McCartney announced a return to the United States in July, visiting

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

and San Francisco. On 28 May 2010, McCartney announced his first-ever show in Nashville. The Salt Lake City show marked McCartney's first show in Utah, and the San Francisco show marked his first performance in the city since

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

performed at Candlestick Park in 1966. On 3 June 2010, McCartney announced he would be opening the

Consol Energy Center PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

with a show on 18 August 2010. He also announced other cities, including

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Kansas City,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

as part of the tour's upcoming return to North America. On 7 June 2010, McCartney announced his first show in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

since his mammoth New World Tour in 1993. It was McCartney's first show in North Carolina since his Back in the U.S. Tour in 2002. On 14 June 2010, McCartney announced second dates for Toronto and Pittsburgh, due to popular demand in both cities, and the fact that the shows sold out in minutes. McCartney's 14 August 2010 show at the Wachovia Center sold out in two minutes, and another show was added for 15 August. In November 2010, McCartney returned to Argentina and Brazil for the first time in 17 years since the New World Tour with two sold out shows in São Paulo that attracted over 140,000 fans. McCartney returned to South America in 2011 for another 4 concerts, Peru, Chile and two in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The tour ended on 10 June with a show in

The O2 rehearsals

Three months after ending his

Good Evening Europe Tour The Good Evening Europe Tour was a concert tour by Paul McCartney in Europe. The tour began on 2 December 2009, at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, and concluded on 22 December 2009, at The O2 in London. Background The tour followed Mc ...

The O2 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...

, McCartney used the arena to stage full rehearsals. He had previously hired the venue to rehearse for his '04 Summer Tour. Talking about performing in London, McCartney said, "My last show of 2009 was in London at The O2 and we had a great night, there was a great party atmosphere. I hope that this summer we can have an even bigger party in Hyde Park. I've had a little taste of performing in the park when I guested briefly with

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

there last summer and it tasted good. So I'm looking forward to getting there with the band and performing our own show."

Technical specifications

The tour required 31 trucks to transport all its equipment and employed a full-time crew of over 150 people to make it all work. The total weight of all the tour's equipment was . The indoor concerts on the tour used 90 speakers, and the outdoor stadium shows used 130. Backstage at each show there were 14 touring offices and dressing rooms. The catering department served approximately 480 vegetarian meals a day to the crew.

Web chat

Paul McCartney made his second webchat with fans on 20 May 2010 (his first being in 1997, setting a

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

). He spoke from his Sussex studio during the chat. He announced the winners of a competition run by his website, and said that the tour would most likely visit Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. He also praised his confidence with his band members during the tour.

Gershwin Prize

McCartney received the

' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from President

on 2 June 2010. McCartney is the third winner of the Gershwin prize, which is the most prestigious American award for popular music. After collecting the award, McCartney performed at a star-studded concert inside the White House, playing songs such as "

Eleanor Rigby "Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with " Yellow Submarine". The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to L ...

", " Let It Be" and " Michelle" in tribute to the US First Lady, Michelle Obama. Stevie Wonder joined him on stage to perform a duet of "

Ebony and Ivory "Ebony and Ivory" is a song that was released in 1982 as a single by Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder. It was issued on 29 March that year as the lead single from McCartney's third solo album, ''Tug of War'' (1982). Written by McCartney ...

" before McCartney ended the concert with " Hey Jude". Also performing were

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

, Emmylou Harris,

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, Dave Grohl,

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

, Jonas Brothers, Herbie Hancock,

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

and Elvis Costello.

Reception

In the United States

Reception towards the Up and Coming Tour in the United States was generally positive. In

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

: The

Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

stated the following: "With apologies to Ringo Starr,

legacy couldn’t have hoped to be in better hands at this late date than Paul McCartney's." In Los Angeles, McCartney said, "The first time we came here we were little kids", told the sold-out Bowl throng, recalling how big it seemed." In Miami: "There was a little of everything: Good potential for a contact high. Beatles Rock Band images on the big video screen. AARP members storming the barricades just like in the '60s – only with digital cameras, not protest signs. A ukulele-powered version of "

Something Something may refer to: Philosophy and language *Something (concept) *Something, an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums * ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 * ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970 * ''Something'' (Shirley Scott ...

In South America

In Buenos Aires, the online presale began on 10 October by CrowdSurge, two days later by Ticketek (only for BBVA Banco Francés customers). The presale began at 10 am, but 4 minutes later the system crashed. The 25,000 tickets enabled for the Ticketek presale sold out within hours, along with the general public sale. On 14 October ticketek announced a new concert for Thursday 11 November; this show was added due to overwhelming demand. The pre-sale (again only for BBVA Banco Francé customers) began 15 and the regular tickets on 19. Both concerts sold out in a few hours. The first concert sold out in 1 hour, and the second one in nine hours.

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

, Brazil's television network, broadcast one hour of "best moments" of the first São Paulo concert on 21 November. Both São Paulo tickets were sold out in less than 10 hours, with over 128,000 sold.

Tour band

Tour dates

;Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

Setlist

Instruments played by band members

References

{{Paul McCartney 2010 concert tours 2011 concert tours Paul McCartney concert tours