The Artists We’d Pay Almost Anything to See Live Again
Some concerts are worth the ticket price. Others could seemingly name their price and still sell out in minutes.
Concert tickets have become expensive enough that spending hundreds to stand in a stadium no longer sounds particularly shocking.
But there are certain artists for whom normal financial judgement would disappear completely.
The bands that broke up too soon. The artists we never got the chance to see. The reunions that seem increasingly unlikely. And the performers whose music belongs so strongly to a particular period of our lives that hearing it live again would probably justify a questionable amount of money.
Oasis proved exactly how powerful that feeling can be. Their reunion became one of the biggest music events of 2025, with millions attempting to get tickets and stadium dates selling out.
They aren't the only artists capable of causing that kind of chaos.
ABBA
Yes, ABBA Voyage exists. And yes, the digital versions are remarkably convincing.
But it's still not quite the same.
A genuine ABBA reunion featuring all four members would be one of those rare concerts capable of attracting several generations at once.
“Dancing Queen”, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”, “Mamma Mia”, “The Winner Takes It All”.
There are greatest-hits catalogues, and then there is ABBA.
They haven't performed publicly together as a group since the early 1980s. At this point, a real reunion feels incredibly unlikely.
Which is exactly why people would pay so much for it.
One Direction
This one carries considerably more emotion now.
One Direction's hiatus began in 2016 with the possibility that the five members might eventually find their way back to each other.
Following Liam Payne's death in 2024, the reunion fans imagined can never happen in its original form.
But the possibility of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik appearing on one stage again — perhaps as a tribute to Liam — would be enormous.
For millions who grew up during the band's peak, One Direction wasn't simply another pop group. They were attached to an entire period of adolescence.
There probably wouldn't be enough tickets in the world.
Fleetwood Mac
Few bands have managed to make interpersonal chaos sound quite so good.
Fleetwood Mac's history is almost inseparable from the relationships, arguments and break-ups happening behind the music, which somehow makes songs like “Dreams”, “Go Your Own Way” and “The Chain” even better.
The death of Christine McVie in 2022 means the classic Rumours-era lineup can never fully reunite.
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham sharing a stage again, however?
People would travel.
Daft Punk
Daft Punk announced their split in 2021 with an eight-minute video and very little explanation.
Since then, the mythology has only grown.
Their live performances were already relatively rare, and the 2006–07 Alive tour has developed an almost legendary reputation among electronic music fans.
No endless farewell tour. No annual reunion rumours turned into ticket sales.
They simply stopped.
If the helmets appeared on a festival poster tomorrow, the internet would probably collapse.
Rihanna
Technically, Rihanna hasn't retired from music.
It just occasionally feels like she has.
Her last studio album, Anti, arrived in 2016. Since then we've had businesses, babies, a Super Bowl halftime show and years of increasingly desperate questions about the next album.
The remarkable thing is that people are still waiting.
A proper Rihanna album followed by a world tour would be one of the biggest pop events of whichever year she finally decides to do it.
At this stage, we'd just like to know if R9 is a real object.
The Smiths
This might be one of music's most impossible reunions.
Morrissey and Johnny Marr have spent decades making it abundantly clear that getting The Smiths back together is not particularly high on either man's agenda.
That hasn't stopped people wanting it.
The band's original run lasted only five years, from 1982 to 1987, leaving behind a catalogue whose influence has considerably outlasted the group itself.
“How Soon Is Now?”, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”, “This Charming Man”.
One night would be enough.
It also probably isn't happening.
Destiny's Child
Beyoncé doesn't exactly need a reunion tour.
That's partly what would make one so exciting.
Destiny's Child have appeared together briefly since going their separate ways, most memorably during Beyoncé's 2018 Coachella performance, but there hasn't been a proper reunion tour.
Imagine Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams announcing one.
“Say My Name.” “Survivor.” “Lose My Breath.” “Bootylicious.”
Ticket websites should probably start preparing now.
The artists we can never see
Then there are the concerts money genuinely can't buy.
Amy Winehouse at a tiny London venue.
Freddie Mercury commanding Wembley again.
David Bowie.
Prince.
George Michael.
Kurt Cobain with Nirvana.
Avicii at sunset.
There is something strange about watching old concert footage of artists you were either too young to see or assumed would always be around.
Maybe that's partly why live music has become so valuable.
Streaming gave us almost every song ever recorded whenever we want it. Old performances live permanently on YouTube. An artist from 1977 can play through your headphones as easily as someone who released an album yesterday.
But being there remains impossible to reproduce.
And occasionally an artist disappears before a generation realises just how much they would have paid for one more night.
So perhaps the increasingly ridiculous concert ticket isn't always ridiculous.
Because if the right name appeared on the poster tomorrow?
Most of us already know exactly how irresponsible we'd be.