Dave Matthews Band And The History Behind ‘Labor Dave Weekend’

The Gorge is a magical place. Nick was lucky enough to visit there for the first time last year. It’s a natural amphitheater, located in the Columbia River Valley, about 2 1/2 hours east of Seattle in Washington State. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The closest town is called George, and its population is 809. So why do tens of thousands of people flock to the concert venue there? Every year, there are several shows throughout the summer, and every year, at the end of the summer season, that pilgrimage is made by diehard fans of the Dave Matthews Band.

At The Gorge, Labor Day Weekend is now affectionately known as “Labor DAVE Weekend”. And the reason why, of course, is because the Dave Matthews Band has taken up a residency at The Gorge Amphitheater for three days and nights of peace, love, and music. 

Recently, Nick McIlwain had a conversation with one of the founders of “Dave Matthews Band Gorge Crew”, Nathaniel Shoshan, and discussed why The Gorge is so incredible, its history, what it’s like to be there for Labor Day weekend, and why it’s become so magical and so transformative for so many people. Nathaniel started going there in 2008 and hasn’t missed a year since, except for 2020 when there was no festival. On top of that, DMBGC has become the go-to fan site. Their Instagram posts are very reflective of what it’s like to be a DMB fan, and the crew helps build that sense of community. And they are lightning fast, especially when the band is touring!

In this conversation, Nick and Nate talk about chasing songs that they may or may not have seen live, want to see live again, and why it’s so cool to see bands that change up their setlists every night. They also discuss the occasional bout of concert fatigue, when maybe, just maybe, you get a LITTLE tired of seeing your favorite band over and over. 

Pollstar, a tour industry publication, has released a list of the artists who have sold the most concert tickets since 1980. On that list are some of rock's most iconic acts.

Topping the concert ticket sales list was U2 with over 26 million tickets sold. Pollstar noted of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group's humble early days, "U2’s first show recorded in the archives was a performance for 1,440 patrons at Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on Nov. 29, 1981, during the band’s “October” tour supporting their second studio album. It was the fourth headlining trek in the group’s touring history and ran for about one year, wrapping in August 1982."

A number of major rock acts are scattered throughout the top 2o of the massive 150 artist ranking. Among them are Bon Jovi, the Eagles, Metallica, Paul McCartney and more.

Scroll below and see which acts made the top 20 of Pollstar's Top Touring Artists list along with their total touring grosses.

Tickets sold: 11,865,380

Tickets sold: 12,266,482

Tickets sold: 12,287,930

Tickets sold: 12,532,987

Tickets sold: 12,948,499

Tickets sold: 13,173,925

Tickets sold: 13,297,669

Tickets sold: 13,336,974

Tickets sold: 13,501,959

Tickets sold: 15,276,864

Tickets sold: 15,549,243

Tickets sold: 16,410,448

Tickets sold: 16,973,102

Tickets sold: 17,750,044

Tickets sold: 19,468,173

Tickets sold: 19,756,467

Tickets sold: 20,845,687

Tickets sold: 22,137,799

Tickets sold: 23,279,056

Tickets sold: 26,178,043