Who opened for them? How to find a concert’s opening act
Type the band and the year. Every night they played that year comes up with its opening acts. Only remember the opener? Use the second box below.
Only remember the opening band?
Type the opening band, and the year if you know it. You’ll see every night they played as an opening act, and who else was on the bill.
Famous opening acts
Some openers became bigger than the bands they opened for. A few well-known pairings:
| Opening act | Opened for | When | Look up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beastie Boys | Madonna | The Virgin Tour, 1985 | |
| Bryan Adams | Journey | Frontiers Tour, 1983 | |
| Cinderella | Bon Jovi | Slippery When Wet Tour, 1986–87 | |
| Tesla | Def Leppard | Hysteria Tour, 1987–88 | |
| Nirvana | Sonic Youth | Summer 1991, in Europe | |
| Cheap Trick | Stone Temple Pilots | Spring 1997 |
Other places to find the opening act
- The ticket stub. Look under the headliner’s name for “with” or “special guests”. How to read an old ticket stub
- The tour poster or newspaper ad. Ads in the local paper listed the whole bill. Many libraries give free access to old newspapers with a library card.
- The tour’s Wikipedia page. Many tour articles have an opening act column, or name the openers for each leg in the text.
- setlist.fm. Many shows list the support acts next to the headliner’s set.
- Fans of the opener. Fan sites often list every show their band played, including the ones where they opened.
Why the opener can change
Tours are booked in legs, and each leg can have a different opening act. Some nights also had a local band, a second opener, or a last-minute replacement. So check the exact date, not just the tour.
Questions
What does “special guest” on a ticket mean?
It usually names the opening act. “With” or “special guests” under the headliner’s name is the bill for that night.
Why did the opening act change during the tour?
Tours are booked in legs, and each leg can have a different opener. Some nights also had a local band open, or a second opener.
Why isn’t an opener listed for my night?
Our list shows the opening acts we could find in tour records. Some nights were never written down. Try a ticket stub, a poster, or the local paper’s ad for the show.
How accurate are the opening acts in your list?
When we checked a sample of 300 nights against a second source, about 9 in 10 matched. If one matters, check it in a second place, like the tour’s Wikipedia page.
Found the night? Turn it into a gift.
We make a private page for that night: live music from that tour, the setlist, and the story of the night, written to them by name. $89. Full refund if we can’t find the show.
See what they getUpdated October 30, 2026. Opening acts in our list come from tour pages, MusicBrainz and Billboard box scores. Famous pairings checked October 30, 2026 against Wikipedia tour articles and band fan archives.