David Victor
The originals still move the market. When U2 announces a record or Queen turns up in IMAX, people go looking for the closest live version they can get, and that's usually a tribute act. Here's what the artists behind our countdowns have been up to. This roundup covers mid-September through the first week of October 2026, and it was a busy few weeks.
U2 turned 50 and made a new record
On September 25, U2 marked 50 years as a band by going back to Mount Temple, the Dublin school where Larry Mullen Jr. pinned a note to a bulletin board looking for musicians. They played a six-song surprise set for about a thousand of the current students. A day earlier they'd announced Carnaval de Luz, their first album of new songs in nine years. It's out November 13.
That matters if you book shows. A new record in an anniversary year means fans want the whole catalog, from Boy through this year's Days of Ash and Easter Lily EPs. The acts in our U2 tribute band countdown that can cover every era are the ones getting the calls.
Two Beatles are still working
Ringo played Forest Hills Stadium in Queens in early October, his first show there since the Beatles played it in August 1964. That same week Paul put out an expanded edition of Boys of Dungeon Lane with a new version of Home to Us, the duet he cut with Ringo. Ringo's 86. Paul's 84. Neither of them seems to have heard of retirement.
Britain's Finest opening Torrance Summer Nights, June 2026
The catalog's busy too. The Rubber Soul Special Edition came out October 2 with new Giles Martin mixes, session takes and home demos. If your crowd wants these songs played right, start with Britain's Finest and then read the rest of our Beatles tribute band rankings.
Queen is back on the big screen
Queen Budapest opened in cinemas and IMAX worldwide on October 7. It's the restored film of Queen's July 1986 show at the Népstadion, shot on 17 cameras behind the Iron Curtain, and it's Freddie at full power. Go see it.
Nine days earlier, Brian May walked on at the end of Roger Taylor's solo show at London's Roundhouse to play We Will Rock You and Radio Ga Ga. Taylor's touring a new solo album, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World, which came out September 18.
Bohemian Queen live at the Avalon in Hollywood
Planning a Queen night? Book Bohemian Queen. Our Queen tribute band countdown explains why I'd put them over everyone else.
One night at the Ryman covered two of rock's biggest legacies
The 25th Americana Honors & Awards on September 16 opened with something nobody's seen in more than two decades. Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch and Ron Blair, the original Heartbreakers, backed Chris Stapleton on American Girl and Breakdown. It was their first performance together since 2002. I wish I'd been there. The same night, Robert Plant picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Petty camp isn't slowing down. Origins 1971-1978, a 50th anniversary box set with seven unreleased tracks, comes out November 6. Plant's still on the road with Saving Grace, and he was on the bill at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco in early October. Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening starts a November run on the 11th at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois.
If Petty's your band, our Tom Petty tribute countdown has the acts that get the Tench organ parts right. For Zeppelin, see our Led Zeppelin tribute rankings.
Pink Floyd's 2027 is already crowded
Brit Floyd announced Animals 50, a nearly three-hour show built around the 1977 album. It opens February 23 in Hamilton, Ontario and runs to April 17 in Pittsburgh. Then Roger Waters put his name on LEGACY, a Pink Floyd show with a band led by his son Harry. It launches February 15, 2027 and plays more than 100 cities across North America and Europe. Floyd fans are spoiled.
Moon Shadows live in Las Vegas
That's a lot of Floyd for one winter, so lock your date early. Moon Shadows plays The Dark Side of the Moon complete, track by track, and it's the show I'd book. The rest of the field is in our Pink Floyd tribute band countdown.
Taylor Swift added four songs and an award
Taylor released The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore in late September, a deluxe edition with four new songs, Patient Zero among them. Two days after it came out she picked up MTV's first Artist Director Honors at the VMAs. Expect requests for Patient Zero by Christmas. Lover: An Eras Tour Experience leads our Taylor Swift tribute rankings.
Lover: An Eras Tour Experience and a full house
The rest of the news, quickly
The Eagles have stretched their Sphere residency in Las Vegas to 72 shows, running through January 23, 2027. So much for the farewell. American Eagle USA tops our Eagles countdown.
American Eagle USA live in Las Vegas
ABBA Voyage extended its London run to June 28, 2027, which takes the digital ABBA past its fifth anniversary. The real four still aren't touring. Our ABBA tribute band rankings cover the live options.
Bad Company will release Live In London on November 13. It's the October 2016 O2 Arena show that turned out to be Mick Ralphs' last with the band. Six Gun Rebels play them nightly.
Six Gun Rebels performing “Deal with the Preacher”
John Fogerty spent September on the road with Steve Winwood, and in Charlotte the two finally shared a song: In The Midnight Hour, of all things, not a Creedence tune. (The Creedence tribute countdown has plenty of those.)
Garth Brooks keeps adding arena dates, including three nights at Tulsa's BOK Center in his home state and two in Kansas City. Thunder Rolls brings that '90s Garth catalog to rooms that can't book the real thing. Same songs, smaller fee.
Thunder Rolls performing “Friends in Low Places”
What it means if you're booking
Anniversaries and new records drive demand, and this fall has plenty of both. If you're planning a corporate event, a festival or a concert series for 2027, don't wait. The good acts go first. Our guide to how much tribute bands cost will set your budget, and if you want one of the acts above, get in touch.