An Oasis of Nostalgia
Major band splits have led to massive reunions and arena or stadium tours, including the Britpop assembly of Gallagher brothers for a 2025 Oasis world tour
Out with the new, and in with the old. What’s better than discovering a new musician for the first time? Nostalgia! And renowned bands in the past few years have taken advantage of this desire for music of the past. Think Blur, Pup, The Walkmen, Rage Against The Machine, Blink-182, Pavement, Genesis, Mötley Crüe and now, notably, Oasis.
But the only thing that could lead to a reunion is the infamous split. To name a few of the biggest splits in rock: The Smiths, New Order, Talking Heads, Black Sabbath, Journey and Steve Perry, Styx, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, The Eagles. There are simply too many to name them all.
Bands are seizing the moment, like Sammy Hagar, who has played with Michael Anthony for years but rolled out a Van Halen tribute tour this year, Best of All Worlds, including Joe Satriani and Jason Bonham. Back in May, Coachella attendees got to witness the first performance of alt-group No Doubt in nine years. Similarly, Slayer played their first reunion show at Riot Fest a few weeks ago.
Main attraction
The most anticipated of them all, though, seems to be the reunion of Britpop band Oasis. Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher led the group through hits like Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova as one of the biggest rock bands of the late ’90s, but ultimately dismembered in 2009 because of the well-known beef between the siblings. Oasis became known for their foolery on stage and across tabloids, according to NPR. The Gallagher brothers made their dislike for each other clear via public insults, fights and incidents on stage and in interviews, such as the 1994 interview with NME‘s John Harris, where the two spent the entire time going at it.
The Gallaghers have maintained a decades-long feud but earlier this year hinted at a possible reunion for the first time. In August, Oasis confirmed the brothers would reunite and play together live for the first time in 16 years with 2025 tour dates. And while the initial announcement only mentioned shows in the U.K. and Ireland, a new report reveals the ’25 World Tour might make an appearance in Chicago and other cities.
Like most ticket sales for major artists in the past three years, the Oasis scramble for seats was predictably chaotic. Think back to sales of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, when the demand was simply much too high, and Ticketmaster couldn’t keep up. Millions of fans queued up on the platform in the hope of snagging tickets to see the band for the first time in 16 years, or likely for the first time ever.
According to Billboard, “more than one million tickets went on sale Saturday morning, with prices starting at about 74 pounds (just under $100) and rising to a 506-pound ($666) package that includes a pre-show party and merchandise.”
Within hours, the article states, tickets were offered on resale websites for as much as $7,800. The band even issued a warning on social media, telling fans not to buy tickets with inflated prices because in the U.K., tickets can only be resold at face value on authorized sites.
As of now, the ’25 World Tour U.K. dates are sold out, but on Monday the band announced a North American leg, including stops in Toronto; Chicago; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Los Angeles and Mexico City. Music Business Worldwide reported that Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’ tool, “which sees prices surge in real time as demand rises, will be switched off for the North American on-sale.” Face value of the tickets will range from $79 to a top-end of around $375, plus booking fees. Cage the Elephant will join Oasis for every North American date.
The payoff for Oasis
Liam and Noel are expected to make £50m each, according to BBC, an estimate made by Birmingham City University for the initial 14 dates. That’s just shy of $66.6 million. With more dates announced, the band will likely make more money across various revenue streams, such as merch, ticketing, sponsorship deals and other branding.
As soon as the band announced its reunion, the internet flooded with memes around the brother’s tumultuous relationship. The kicker of the joke is that the Gallagher brothers won’t be able to make it through an entire show, let alone the whole tour.
The jokes continued when Perry Farrell got in bandmate Dave Navarro’s face during a live performance for a Jane’s Addiction reunion tour. Jane’s Addiction cancelled the rest of their tour dates afterward. Fans compared the altercation to Oasis, to which Liam replied on X, “There attitude stinks,” and “I don’t think so we’re very professional these days we’re go blow your minds.” Spelling and grammar aren’t his thing.
Whether you’re looking to witness a heated show, or you’re a fan of Oasis, keep up with the band and their upcoming tour dates here.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and X @rockhoundlb, TikTok @rockhoundkp
