The five-piece U.K. metalcore band composed of guitarists Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell, vocalist Danny Worsnop, bassist Sam Bettley and drummer James Cassells has swept the States through non-stop touring and the release of Reckless & Relentless, which debuted at No. 9 on the Nielsen SoundScan Top Albums chart in April.
Asking Alexandria has also gained quite an online following, and scored a performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in April through Whooznxt.com – a site that tracks bands and rewards gigs to those that add the most new fans on social networks. AA acquired close to 90,000 new fans the week of South by Southwest.
But it’s not just Internet-savvy youth that have caught on. Pantheon Agency’s Ash Avildsen told Pollstar AA has also won over older crowds through its covers of Skid Row.
“Every time they go into an older, hard-rock audience, its just as good as if they were playing Warped Tour or Bamboozle,” he said. “It’s really exciting to see a band do so well with young, Hot Topic kind of kids but also go play to adults who listen to the radio.”
Asking Alexandria plays Vans Warped Tour through the summer and will co-headline with Hollywood Undead beginning in November.
Avg. tickets sold in 2011: 1,029
Percentage Sold: 90%
Avg. gross: $21,593