Timberlake to play Bucks arena
Justin Timberlake, fresh off the Super Bowl halftime, announces a stop here Sept. 21.
Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show headliner will be one of the first acts to play the new Bucks arena.
Justin Timberlake announced Monday a concert at the tentatively titled Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center Sept. 21, as part of his “Man of the Woods” tour.
Tickets, priced between $53.50 and $229, are available beginning at noon Feb. 12 by calling (800) 745-3000, (866) 448-7849 or visiting ticket master.com.
This will be Timberlake’s first Milwaukee concert in 15 years.
His last time in town was back in 2003 for the “Justified and Stripped Tour” with Cristina Aguilera. Before that, he performed five concerts in Milwaukee with NSYNC.
Timberlake has since become one of the biggest pop stars in the world, cementing his status with his influential 2006 album “Futuresex/LoveSounds,” before taking a break from music to focus on his acting career, including a role in David Fincher’s Oscar-winning “The Social Network.”
Timberlake returned to music in 2013 with the album “The 20/20 Experience” and its sequel later that fall. “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from the “Trolls” movie became his fifth Billboard 200-topping single as a solo artist. On Friday, he released his fifth studio album, “Man of the Woods” to mixed reviews.
The Timberlake booking is a strong get for the $524 million Bucks arena, following previous show announcements featuring Kevin Hart (Sept. 13), Maroon 5 with Julia Michaels (Sept. 16), Jim Gaffigan (Sept. 22), the Foo Fighters (Oct. 17) and Elton John (Feb. 17, 2019). The John show, part of the music legend’s final worldwide tour, quickly sold out after tickets went on sale Friday.
Concert industry experts have said that the new Bucks arena would benefit from a honeymoon period its first year or two. Its design included elements aimed to appeal to promoters, including six enclosed docks for more efficient loading, and a bottom-heavy layout, with two-thirds of the 17,500 seats located in the lower bowl, which should allow for more higher-tier ticket prices compared to the Bucks’ current home, the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Bucks president Peter Feigin has said he wants to book more than 20 concert tours a year. The Bradley Center, in its peak year in 2008, hosted 17 tours.
The new arena also will face significant competition from large venues in must-play Chicago.
The new Milwaukee arena, built with $250 million in public money, will open this August or September.