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Summer tours: Who do you need to see?

Brian Mansfield
USA TODAY

The 2015 touring season could shape up to be one of the most lucrative and best-attended ever, with at least a dozen acts playing stadium shows and some superstars playing indoor arenas for the first time in years. USA TODAY's Brian Mansfield looks at some of the biggest acts headed out on the road this summer.

The Edge and Bono of U2

U2

• U.S. start date: May 18, San Jose

Ticket prices: $30-$280

Why you should go: The 2009-2011 U2 360 tour was the highest-grossing in history. This year's Innocence + Experience Tour marks the first time in a decade the group will have played indoor arenas. Each of the six U.S. stops has at least two shows (Los Angeles and Chicago have five, New York City eight), with the band suggesting each night will be significantly different.

Support acts include: None

Stadium dates: None

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

U.S. start date: May 20, Bossier City, La.

Ticket prices: $35-$200

Why you should go: Swift's shows have always been long on spectacle as well as surprise, especially for productions that resemble mega-sized Broadway shows with lots of moving set pieces. She has indicated that her set list will rely heavily on material from 1989, the top-selling album in the U.S. since its November release, with earlier hits such as Love Story and I Knew You Were Trouble getting musical makeovers to fit in with the synth-oriented new material. In markets where she's not playing stadiums, Swift often will play multiple nights, including five shows at L.A.'s Staples Center.

Support acts include: Vance Joy, Shawn Mendes, Haim

Stadium dates: LSU Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge (May 22); Ford Field, Detroit (May 30); Heinz Field, Pittsburgh (June 6); Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia (June 12-13); MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. (July 10-11); Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. (July 13-14); Soldier Field, Chicago (July 18-19); Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. (July 24-25); CenturyLink Field, Seattle (Aug. 8); Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. (Aug. 15); PetCo Park, San Diego (Aug. 29); Minute Maid Park, Houston (Oct. 13); AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (Oct. 17); Georgia Dome, Atlanta (Oct. 24); Raymond James Stadium, Tampa (Oct. 31).

The Rolling Stones perform the final show of the U.S. leg of their 50th anniversary tour in 2013.

Rolling Stones

U.S. start date: May 24, San Diego

Ticket prices: $39-$422

Why you should go: Decent tickets for the 15-date Zip Code tour aren't cheap, but they've been selling well for the group's first U.S. stadium shows since 2005-2007's A Bigger Bang Tour. The tour coincides with a reissue of the group's 1971 Sticky Fingers album, so don't be surprised if songs such as Wild Horses and Sister Morphine show up in the set list. The group's last U.S. tour, in 2012 and 2013, was notable for featuring high-profile guests, including Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift, at nearly every stop.

Support acts include: None

Stadium dates: PetCo Park, San Diego (May 24); Ohio Stadium, Columbus (May 30); TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis (June 3); AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (June 6); Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta (June 9); Citrus Bowl, Orlando (June 12); LP Field, Nashville (June 17); Heinz Field, Pittsburgh (June 20); Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City (June 27); Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, N.C. (July 1); Motor Speedway, Indianapolis (July 4); Comerica Park, Detroit (July 8); Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y. (July 11).

Shania Twain

Shania Twain

U.S. start date: June 5, Seattle

Ticket prices: $43-$180

Why you should go: Twain, a dominant force during the late '90s and early 2000s with pop-country smashes such as Any Man of Mine and You're Still the One, hasn't toured in 11 years. In March, she told Good Morning America it would be her last. The Rock This Country Tour is expected to be an entirely different production from her Still the One show that ran from 2012 to 2014 at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace. It could also coincide with a new studio album, which would be Twain's first since 2002's Up!

Support acts include: Gavin DeGraw, Wes Mack

Stadium dates: None

Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters


Foo Fighters

U.S. start date: July 4, Washington, D.C.

Ticket prices: $31-$78

Why you should go: The domestic leg of the Sonic Highways World Tour includes the Foo Fighters' first stadium shows in this country, beginning with a July 4 celebration of the group's 20th anniversary, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. International dates on this tour have included a mini-set of classic-rock covers. Royal Blood or Gary Clark Jr. will open most concerts, though the stadium shows often have a hometown flair: Boston's Mission of Burma, Dropkick Murphys and Mighty Mighty Bosstones will play Fenway Park dates, while Cheap Trick, Naked Raygun and Urge Overkill are on the bill for Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Support acts include: Royal Blood, Gary Clark Jr., Buddy Guy, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, LL Cool J, Trouble Funk, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Cheap Trick, Naked Raygun, Urge Overkill, Mission of Burma, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dropkick Murphys

Stadium dates: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. (July 4); Citi Field, New York (July 15-16); Fenway Park, Boston (July 18-19); Wrigley Field, Chicago (Aug. 29).

One Direction

One Direction

U.S. start date: July 9, San Diego

Ticket prices: $23-$115

Why you should go: The U.S. dates of the On the Road Again Tour 2015 may have a bittersweet air about them, since most 1D fans purchased their tickets before Zayn Malik announced his departure from the group in March during the tour's Asian leg. Does that mean the shrieks for the group, now a quartet, will be only 80% as loud? Malik's image has since been taken out of the introductory video that plays just before the group takes the stage, and Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson have picked up the lion's share of Malik's vocal leads.

Support acts include: None

Stadium dates: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego (July 9); Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. (July 11); CenturyLink Field, Seattle (July 15); TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis (July 26); Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City (July 28); Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis (July 31); Heinz Field, Pittsburgh (Aug. 2); MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. (Aug. 5); M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (Aug. 8); Ohio Stadium, Columbus (Aug. 18); Soldier Field, Chicago (Aug. 23); Miller Park, Milwaukee (Aug. 25); FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland (Aug. 27); Ford Field, Detroit (Aug. 29); Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia (Sept. 1); Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y. (Sept. 3); Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. (Sept. 12).

Lead vocalist Brian Johnson and guitarist Angus Young of AC/DC.

AC/DC

U.S. start date: Aug. 22, Foxborough, Mass.

Ticket prices: $39-$110

Why you should go: If you plan on ever seeing the hard-rock stalwarts, this would be a good time to do it. The band isn't billing the Rock or Bust World Tour 2015 as its final outing, but time appears to be catching up with them. Dementia has forced the retirement of guitarist Malcolm Young, with nephew Stevie Young taking his place. Drummer Paul Rudd recently pleaded guilty to charges of drug possession and threatening to kill and has been replaced by Chris Slade, who drummed for the group from 1989 to 1994. Even with only one founding member, guitarist Angus Young, remaining, the group still earned raves at Coachella in April and will return for six dates at American football and baseball stadiums.

Support acts include: None

Stadium dates: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. (Aug. 22); MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. (Aug. 26); Ford Field, Detroit (Sept. 8); Wrigley Field, Chicago (Sept. 15); AT&T Park, San Francisco (Sept. 25); Dodger Stadium, L.A. (Sept. 28).

Madonna

Madonna

U.S. start date: Aug. 29, Miami

Ticket prices: $40-$383

Why you should go: A Madonna tour is always an impressive spectacle, and her 2008-2009 Sticky & Sweet Tour and 2012 The MDNA Tour were among the most successful outings ever. She'll play 15 arenas in support of her 13th studio album, Rebel Heart. So far, she has scheduled multiple nights in Miami and New York, compared to the 10 cities where she played two nights or more on The MDNA Tour, so don't be surprised if she adds an extra show here or there.

Support acts include: None

Stadium dates: None

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