Breaking Down Some Of The Top Upcoming Indie Rock Tours

In what was once seen as counter productive to their DIY ethics, indie rock is becoming increasingly mainstream. Below we'll take a look at some of the scene's hottest tours this spring.

Foals and Cage The Elephant

UK math rockers Foals will be hitting the road this spring alongside Cage The Elephant. The duo kick off their US tour at Boston's Orpheum Theater on May 4th and close it out May 20th at Oakland's Fox Theater. Foals tickets currently average $90 on the secondary market. Both Foals and Cage the Elephant will be performing at Radio 104.5′s Birthday Bash in Camden, NJ alongside Foster The People, Third Eye Blind, Bastille, and KONGOS. One of the highlights each group's schedule is the annual Coachella festival. Although Coachella tickets quickly sold out on the primary market, there's nearly 2,000 available through resale channels.

Broken Bells

Broken Bells are formed from the ashes of the indie scene's most respected groups, The Shins. Singer James Mercer is joined with producer Danger Mouse to create two highly acclaimed albums in 2010 and 2014. The duo is joined by a full backing band on their current tour in support of the recently released “After The Disco.” With a tour including New York's Webster Hall and the famed 9:30 Club in Washington DC, Broken Bells tickets are currently commanding an average of $97 on the secondary market.

Grouplove and MS MR

Grouplove are just about ready to embark on their Spring US tour. While the country is still experiencing definite winter weather, the band's upbeat summer sound will definitely invoke warm feelings to those in attendance. With support from MS MR on most dates, Grouplove tickets are only available on the secondary market for many of the sold out dates, including Terminal 5, the 9:30Club, and Stubb's. The two dates with the cheapest average ticket price are March 25th at the Electric Factory and April 6th at Stubb's BBQ in Austin. Each are currently going for $47. Tickets for the CD 102.5 Day at the Lifestyle Community Pavilion were originally $5, but are listed on the resale market from $29.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

The indie pop band fronted by Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein are one of the scene's newest darlings. The group originated on Quite Scientific Records before moving onto major label Warner Bros Records in 2013. Currently amidst a US tour, the band may owe some credit to Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr for the boost in search results. Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr tickets currently average $104 on the secondary market. The most expensive remaining date is March 23rd at Virginia's Jefferson Theater, at an average asking price of $173.

Neutral Milk Hotel

By far the most experienced performer of this update, Jeff Magnum and Neutral Milk Hotel continue their 2014 tour dates at the end of March after a few weeks rest. They reset the clock on March 26th at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall and close out the US tour July 25th at the nationally recognized Merriweather Post Pavilion. The highlight of the tour's second leg undoubtedly comes July 18th-20th at Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival. NMH will highlight the second night, while Beck and Kendrick Lamar take the reigns for the other two. Neutral Milk Hotel tickets currently average $103 on the secondary market, with the cheapest date occurring July 20th at Columbus, Ohio's Lifestyles Communities Pavilion in which they'll be joined by Circulatory System sponsored by local station CD102.5. Re-sale market tickets at “The LC” start at $35, 10% below face price.

Foster The People

Mark Foster and the People recently announced a special St. Patrick's Day show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Foster are undeniably the biggest act to grace the stage at the 550 capacity hidden gem in Brooklyn in 2014. When tickets finally went on sale, they sold out in less than one minute. In order to help prevent excessive resale prices, the on sale only allowed users the opportunity to purchase a maximum of 2 Foster The People tickets. Despite the efforts, there was over 100 tickets (or 20%) already available on the secondary market less than 12 hours later. The cheapest general admission entry is currently going for $73, a $53 increase over the original $20 face price. Foster will be performing on many of the country's largest festivals throughout 2014 in support of their newest full length album, “Supermodel”. The cheapest tour date comes April 30^th at the Bayou Music Center in Texas, averaging $79 on the secondary market.

Brand New

Along with Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional, Brand New were one of the original forefathers of the Emo movement in the early 00's. With limited live dates in 2013 and 2014, Brand New tickets tend to quickly sell out and then resurface on secondary market well above face price. It was a problem the band rarely had to face during their heyday. The most expensive date of Brand New's tour is currently The Pageant in St. Louis, featuring an asking price of $152. Brand New will be a co headliner on the final night of the Boston Calling festival, alongside Modest Mouse, Bastille, and Tegan & Sara.

The Neighbourhood

The Neighbourhood are enjoying their greatest success yet in the United States, crossover hit “Sweater Weather” peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 charts while reaching number 1 on the US Alternative charts. Despite a bleak black-and-white image throughout their music videos, the band has reason to be happy with the latest single “Afraid” also charting on the Billboard 200. Despite the chart performance, The Neighbourhood tickets haven't reached ridiculous proportions on the re-sale market. Their May 20^th date at the Central Park Summerstage is the 2nd cheapest of the series behind Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst, and features the overall cheapest ticket available.

The 1975

From Cheshire, UK, the 1975 are quickly extending their reach Stateside. The Synth pop 4 piece with R&B influences have been given sound comparisons to The Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, and Michael Jackson to name a few. It took the group nearly 10 years to garner the attention of record labels, but quickly blew up after that. Their full length self titled album charted at number 1 on the UK charts and is certified Gold by the BPI. Their US tour kicks off April 16th at Club Nokia in LA, and concludes June 5th at Baltimore's Ram's Head. In between they'll be at plenty of festival dates. Thus far, the cheapest US tour date is May 3rd in Madison, Wisconsin. At an average asking price of $41, it's 66% below the average asking price of The 1975 tickets on the secondary market.

Death Cab For Cutie

Indie Rock icons Death Cab For Cutie have just two performances scheduled this spring, but it's expected to be a jam packed weekend. On May 23rd, the Ben Gibbard led group will take the stage at the Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center in the Rochester, New York area. They'll be joined by The Head and the Heart & Built to Spill. There's currently 604 Death Cab For Cutie tickets available on the resale market, at an average cost of $110. The cheapest ticket is $55, but the primary market is your best bet as tickets are not sold out yet. The next night, Death Cab will headline Day 2 of the Boston Calling Festival.

Conor Oberst

Long time indie legend Conor Oberst brings his solo act across some smaller venues late this Spring. While Oberst is expected to debut material for his forthcoming “Upside Down Mountain” album, fans will be hoping he'll throw in some songs from his other projects – the primary songwriter of Bright Eyes and the Mystic Valley Band. He'll spend two nights at some of the nation's top indie venues, such as the 9:30 Club, Metro Smart Bar, and First Avenue, and also headline at the Central Park Summerstage on July 29^th. While most dates on the tour feature limited Conor Oberst tickets available on the secondary market, they still command a $121 asking price. With the opportunity to catch one of indie and folk's premier songwriters (whom has been writing since 12 years old) in an intimate setting, it's a safe bet each venue will be a packed house.

Bastille

It's just a few short weeks before Bastille make their way stateside. Still feeling the benefits of crossover hit “Pompeii”, Bastille tickets have reached their highest demand yet. Average asking price on the re-sale market is $181, with the cheapest date being the May 27th show at the Lifestyles Communities Pavilion (average price $62, get-in price $23). Bastille will pass by many chain venues such as The House Of Blues and The Fillmore as they alternate from headlining shows to festivals to radio bashes with the likes of Foster The People and Third Eye Blind.

Boston Calling

The Boston Calling Festival is a general whos-who of indie, folk, and alternative rock. The 3 day fest features monster names such as Jack Johnson, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Bastille, The Neighbourhood, Tegan And Sara (who will be opening for Katy Perry on select dates), Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, Built To Spill, Walk Off The Earth, Jenny Lewis (formerly of Rilo Kiley and child star from “The Wizard”), Frank Turner, and many others. Currently a 3-day pass is your best bet by FAR on the secondary market, starting from $80. It's actually cheaper than a 2-day pass (starting at $85), and two individual Boston Calling tickets for Day 2 and Day 3. Day 1 has the cheapest available price at $75, but with the 3-day pass only 6% more than that, it's undoubtably the wisest decision.