The Main Event was a co-headlining concert tour from American

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New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

with special guests TLC, and

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

. The tour began on May 1, 2015, in

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, and finished on July 2, 2015, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. It included close to fifty dates across North America. It was the thirty-eighth ranked North American tour of 2015, grossing $26.1 million.

Background

In January 2015, New Kids on the Block appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'' to announce the tour. It had been hinted that the band might collaborate with TLC and Nelly while on the road. For the show's production there would be "new and top notch production elements", and a 360 degree stage. TLC was excited about the tour and said, "We are thrilled to be able to join pop icons NKOTB and Nelly on tour. We are equally excited to back on the road connecting with our fans in such huge arenas."

Concert synopsis

The concert began with

performing a few of his songs, followed by TLC's set, which was approximately 40 minutes long. Then there was a ten-minute break before New Kids on the Block took the stage. Going with the theme of the tour, the band dramatically entered the stage looking "like prizefighters entering a ring," "wearing modern leather ensembles" and opening their set with a new song. "1989" would appear in a wedding-invitation style font on the screen whenever a classic New Kids song was performed. Fans could see the band during the costume changes that were captured on the "Quick Change Cam." The show was filled with production and choreography for every song, including streamer cannons, confetti shooting high into the air, and heart-shaped balloons. The band started the show with two new songs. Other songs performed were "Block Party", "10", "Crash", "Step by Step" and " My Favorite Girl". There were solo sections during the show, such as Jordan Knight on his solo hit "Give It to You", Joey McIntyre on "Twisted", and Donnie Wahlberg on "I Need You".

Setlists

Tour dates

Critical reception

Kelli Skye of the ''

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'' said that the show "was a grand spectacle done in the round so guests could get a 360-degree view of all of the on state action...

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made sure that every section of the venue got a little love." Beth Spotswood from ''

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'' stated that the New Kids "appeared older, more embarrassing in concert." Spotswood was ready to go home once McIntyre went out on stage wearing nothing but white jeans. On opening act Nelly, she said, "it was a bit sad to see the rapper hit the stage to perform for a bunch of moms at 7:20 p.m. on a Sunday evening." McIntyre would occasionally thank "the audience for sticking by NKOTB."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Main Event (tour), The New Kids on the Block concert tours TLC (group) concert tours Co-headlining concert tours 2015 concert tours