Why don't you play here?

We regularly receive questions about WHY we tour where we tour, and WHY NOT HERE?. Whether it is Brazil, Norway, Scotland, or the USA, the answer is pretty much the same:

Any confirmed touring plans will always be posted to this website. We are always actively trying to find ways to tour as many places as possible. We enjoy touring, we love to travel to new places, and we want to play to you. However, many countries/regions/cities are simply not always financially viable to reach. This is a complex balance of issues. Sometimes it's to do with the economies of certain countries, exchange rates etc (and lately, insane tax laws which mean we must give most of our concert income to your governments!). All this must be balanced against our costs: trucking, equipment hire, flights, hotels, crew wages, h's trousers etc. Our overall popularity in a certain part of the world is an important factor too. We can't and won't charge you £500 each for a ticket!

And it's not ALWAYS about money! Even more frustratingly - sometimes a show in your town might make perfect sense financially, only for us to discover that there is no venue (of a sensible capacity) available on the days we can get there. Grr..

SO, in a nutshell, it's COMPLICATED!

This doesn't mean we'll stop trying to find other ways of coming to you, because we WANT to - but many of the routes we DO try often fall apart under scrutiny. There are always several solutions to a problem, and we will continue to try to make a gig happen somewhere close to you. Please remember, that we're not intentionally NOT touring in your country. It's certainly not "personal" or because of any prejudices on our part - it's simply a matter of timing, economics and geography.

Just as there are many fans who cannot find the resources to travel to see a Marillion show, in the same way, WE can't always find the resources to come see YOU. So how come I just saw an unknown English band play in my town last night and Marillion say they can't make it work? Well, the answer's the same really. Maybe their costs are lower (we do need a LOT of technology to create our music - we're not a bar-band) and maybe they have a record company covering their losses. (We've been there too, but the record labels only spend money for a couple of years and, ultimately, you gotta give it back!). ..and maybe the bass-player's dad's a billionaire. Or (more likely), maybe they'll be broke and have split up in a year's time.

But it's not all doom and gloom. There are ALWAYS tours, gigs, and festivals that we are working on every week that you never hear about, because we don't want to announce plans that may fall through. This is why we only post fully confirmed dates on our website. We would love to come and see all of you - and we're working on it. We hope this helps you to understand our situation. See you soon.. Hopefully!

Marillion