When rock star P!nk performs at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse next year, she’ll be just the eighth woman to perform a headlining act on the Dome stage. And she’ll be the first female solo headliner at a full Dome show that isn’t SU Block Party.
P!nk yesterday added Syracuse’s Dome to her 2024 tour with a concert on Sunday, Oct. 6.
She’s a major booking for any city. The star power of Pink’s long pop rock legacy, distinctive contralto range and dazzling acrobatics propelled the success of her high-flying Summer Carnival tour to shatter attendance records worldwide, with over 3 million tickets sold.
This comes as welcome news for P!nk’s energetic fan base. Seeing P!nk in Upstate New York at all is rare. She last performed a short set at Turning Stone Resort Casino in 2002 and opened for *NSYNC in Buffalo and Albany in 2000.
The October concert will mark P!nk’s first show in Syracuse.
In the history of 72 Syracuse Dome concerts, only seven women have headlined or co-headlined shows at Central New York’s largest concert venue since it opened in 1980.
P!nk will be the first solo female headliner for a full Dome concert.
Ke$ha solo headlined a short Dome show in 2013, but it was an SU Block Party show (with a smaller stage), geared more toward SU and SUNY ESF students than the general public. Fergie, Ciara and SZA also co-headlined SU Block Party shows at the Dome with other performers.
Every other top-billed female performer in Dome history (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Vanessa Williams) were all co-headliners with men.
It’s certainly not for any lack of popular women pop/rock performers touring stadiums in the last 40 years. At various points in their careers, it would’ve been groundbreaking to book Madonna, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston, Cher, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Tina Turner, Shakira, Ariana Grande, Gwen Stefani or The Spice Girls at the Dome, just to name a few. (Thankfully, some of those artists did perform at the New York State Fair.)
But the Dome is our biggest, most well-known venue in town. Only 10 percent of headliners in Dome history have been women.
It’s not the first time Syracuse concert venues failed to prioritize diversity in booking acts. Reporter Geoff Herbert noted the Syracuse amphitheater’s 2023 lineup featured more shows and less diversity than other amphitheaters across the state.
Billy Joel has performed at the Dome as many times as all the previous female headliners combined. Sure, Syracuse loves the “Piano Man,” but we’re long overdue for P!nk to “Get This Party Started.”
P!nk, whose hits include “So What,” “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” “Just Like A Pill,” “Lady Marmalade” and “TRUSTFALL” will be joined by Sheryl Crow, The Script, and KidCutUp in Syracuse on Oct. 6, 2024. Tickets go on sale Monday, Dec. 11, at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. VIP packages will be available.
Her widespread appeal and 2023 tour success bode well for boosting the greater Syracuse economy. She’s been breaking attendance records across the nation.
In August, Pink became the first female artist ever to headline a stadium concert in the entire state of Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There, she shattered that venue’s attendance record, with 46,644 fans packed into Milwaukee’s American Family Field. (For reference, Elton John’s Syracuse show last year drew 38,000.)
Pink will headline a concert at Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome on Oct. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Here’s a look back on previous women headliners who paved the way for P!nk’s Dome debut.
Women headliners in Syracuse Dome history
July 2, 1983 – Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Linda Ronstadt
The first complaints about how odd it was that a building named after an air-conditioning company and yet had no AC might have occurred at Willie Nelson’s 10.5 hour-long Texas Woodstock. Featuring Willie, Merle Haggard, The Stray Cats, Linda Ronstadt and Waylon Jennings, the steamy concert became known as the “Syracuse Sauna.” “I want this in the paper,” demanded one Buffalo concert goer. “It’s too (deleted) hot in here.” Fans were even angrier after beer taps went dry early.
Nov. 1, 1983 – Bob Hope and Vanessa Williams
Headliner Bob Hope, joined by Miss America and SU alumna Vanessa Williams, performed in front of a “decent-sized crowd,” according to The Post-Standard archives. It was their fifth stop on a seven-college tour. Hope’s comedy act lampooned Syracuse’s weather and Jim Boeheim’s sport coats, but his dated jokes about Vietnam and airline stewardesses fell flat with the young audience. Williams stole the show, singing a rendition of “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
Nov. 26, 1988 – Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Oak Ridge Boys
A country triple bill, including some holiday music, filled the Carrier Dome on Nov. 26, 1988. Kenny Rogers had already played the Dome twice before. Music reporter Brian Bourke wrote The Oak Ridge Boys got the crowd of just under 14,000 yelling during “Elvira,” but it was Dolly Parton who drew most of the attention.
“Parton was certainly the most striking artist on the bill,” Bourke wrote. Her songs “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “9 to 5,” were accentuated with stories of growing up in the Smokey Mountain foothills.
Dolly Parton performed at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 26, 1988. She co-headlined a concert with Kenny Rogers and The Oak Ridge Boys. (Photo by Jon Olson)Syracuse Post-Standard
April 22, 2007 - Ciara, Lupe Fiasco and TV on the Radio
Ciara, Lupe Fiasco and TV on the Radio co-headlined a triple bill at SU’s Block Party on April 22, 2007.
April 22, 2008 – Fergie and Sean Kingston
Singer Fergie and Sean Kingston co-headlined the SU Block Party on April 22, 2008.
April 26, 2013 – Ke$ha
Pop star Ke$ha drew roughly 9,000 people as the solo headliner for SU Block Party in 2013. Music critic Chris Baker noted Ke$ha’s “half-hearted 51-minute performance finished with someone else singing the closing song while she bounded around the stage spitting beer at the crowd.”
April 27, 2018 - Gucci Mane, SZA and DJ Medasin
Gucci Mane, SZA and DJ Medasin performed at the Dome at the annual SU Block Party.
More women have performed at the Dome, but were not billed as headliners.
The One World Concert in 2012 was a unique event at the Dome. The celebration was headlined by a 50-minute talk by the Dalai Lama. A total of 26 artists were set to perform (though Nas was a no-show). Dave Matthews Band was the second biggest act on the bill, but the lineup included singers Natasha Bedingfield, Cyndi Lauper, Nelly Furtado, Roberta Flack and emcee Whoopi Goldberg, among others. Goldberg left early when the concert dragged on, saying she had to leave for work.
The first woman to take the stage at the Carrier Dome was First Lady Nancy Reagan. She spoke at a Republican musical fundraiser at the Dome on Oct. 22, 1980. Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton and Foster Brooks headlined the show to raise money for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign. Dome officials estimated attendance at the show around 13,000.
Reporter Johnathan Croyle contributed to this report.
Katrina Tulloch is the editor of This Is CNY. She also shoots videos and writes stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email • Instagram • X • Facebook
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