Who Is Opening for Def Leppard on the 2027 Tour?

The Struts and the Goo Goo Dolls are the two acts playing before Def Leppard in 2027, and they are on all 45 shows. Nothing rotates and nothing is city specific: The Struts go on first, the Goo Goo Dolls play next, and Def Leppard closes the night. Whether you buy for Detroit in March or Indianapolis in July, you are getting the same three bands.

Def Leppard announced the tour on Thursday, October 8, 2026 and named both acts the same day. The official billing is "Def Leppard with Goo Goo Dolls and very special guests The Struts," which is where the playing order comes from. Set times for individual shows have not been published yet, so the exact minute each band starts will come from your venue closer to the date.

The run opens Tuesday, March 2, 2027 at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania and ends Friday, July 2, 2027 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. General tickets go on sale Friday, October 16, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time.

The Two Opening Acts

Goo Goo Dolls are the reason this is a genuine double bill rather than a headliner plus a warmup. The press release calls them a four time Grammy nominated band, and they have had an unlikely second life in the last few years: "Iris," their 1998 ballad, went certified Diamond and has passed 5 billion streams worldwide after a wave of young listeners found it through TikTok and a string of covers. They spent the summer of 2026 on their own headline tour with Neon Trees. Expect a real hits set here: "Iris," "Slide," "Name," "Black Balloon." If you are coming for Def Leppard and only loosely know the Goo Goo Dolls, this is the part of the night that will surprise you most.

The Struts are the band that starts the show, and they are not strangers to this tour. They played a handful of dates on Def Leppard's 2025 summer tour, and singer Luke Spiller has recorded with both Joe Elliott and Phil Collen. Spiller has also named Def Leppard as one of the bands that shaped how he sings and how he dresses, which is obvious within about thirty seconds of a Struts set. They have opened for the Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses, The Who and the Foo Fighters, and the live show is all glam swagger and audience singalongs. Their best known song is "Could Have Been Me." Get to your seat early for this one. The first act of the night always plays to a half full arena, and this is not the band to miss.

Every 2027 Date and Venue

Forty five shows, March 2 through July 2. The Struts and Goo Goo Dolls play all of them, so there is no opener column to read: the lineup is identical everywhere.

Date	City	Venue
Tue, Mar 2	Allentown, PA	PPL Center
Fri, Mar 5	Montreal, QC	Bell Centre
Sun, Mar 7	Detroit, MI	Little Caesars Arena
Tue, Mar 9	Toronto, ON	Scotiabank Arena
Thu, Mar 11	Quebec City, QC	Centre Videotron
Sat, Mar 13	Newark, NJ	Prudential Center
Wed, Mar 17	Boston, MA	TD Garden
Fri, Mar 19	Nashville, TN	Bridgestone Arena
Sun, Mar 21	Washington, DC	Capital One Arena
Tue, Mar 23	Pittsburgh, PA	PPG Paints Arena
Thu, Mar 25	Chicago, IL	United Center
Sat, Mar 27	Minneapolis, MN	Target Center
Mon, Mar 29	Denver, CO	Ball Arena
Wed, Mar 31	Salt Lake City, UT	Delta Center
Tue, Apr 13	Austin, TX	Moody Center
Fri, Apr 16	North Little Rock, AR	Simmons Bank Arena
Sun, Apr 18	Fort Worth, TX	Dickies Arena
Tue, Apr 20	Mobile, AL	Regions Arena
Thu, Apr 22	Wichita, KS	INTRUST Bank Arena
Sat, Apr 24	Lincoln, NE	Pinnacle Bank Arena
Mon, Apr 26	Kansas City, MO	T-Mobile Center
Thu, Apr 29	Glendale, AZ	Desert Diamond Arena
Sat, May 1	Los Angeles, CA	Hollywood Bowl
Wed, May 5	San Francisco, CA	Chase Center
Fri, May 7	Sacramento, CA	Golden 1 Center
Sun, May 9	Seattle, WA	Climate Pledge Arena
Tue, May 11	Spokane, WA	Numerica Veterans Arena
Fri, May 14	Vancouver, BC	Rogers Arena
Sun, May 16	Edmonton, AB	Rogers Place
Sat, May 29	San Antonio, TX	Frost Bank Center
Tue, Jun 1	Houston, TX	Toyota Center
Thu, Jun 3	Oklahoma City, OK	Paycom Center
Sat, Jun 5	Milwaukee, WI	Fiserv Forum
Mon, Jun 7	St. Louis, MO	Enterprise Center
Wed, Jun 9	Louisville, KY	KFC Yum! Center
Fri, Jun 11	Savannah, GA	Enmarket Arena
Sun, Jun 13	Tampa, FL	Benchmark International Arena
Thu, Jun 17	Atlanta, GA	State Farm Arena
Sat, Jun 19	Columbus, OH	Schottenstein Center
Mon, Jun 21	Cleveland, OH	Rocket Arena
Wed, Jun 23	New York, NY	Madison Square Garden
Fri, Jun 25	Uncasville, CT	Mohegan Sun Arena
Sun, Jun 27	Philadelphia, PA	Xfinity Mobile Arena
Wed, Jun 30	Charlotte, NC	Spectrum Center
Fri, Jul 2	Indianapolis, IN	Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Four Things Worth Knowing Before You Book

There are two long breaks in the middle. Nothing is scheduled between Salt Lake City on March 31 and Austin on April 13, and nothing between Edmonton on May 16 and San Antonio on May 29. If your city is right after one of those gaps, you are getting a rested band.

The Hollywood Bowl is the odd one out. Forty four of these shows are indoor arenas. May 1 in Los Angeles is the exception: an outdoor amphitheater with box seating, a hard curfew and a notoriously early start. Check the posted door time for that one rather than assuming an arena schedule, because a late arrival can cost you The Struts and part of the Goo Goo Dolls set.

Three venues changed names recently. Benchmark International Arena in Tampa is the building that spent years as Amalie Arena, Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia was the Wells Fargo Center, and Numerica Veterans Arena is the Spokane Arena. Older directions, parking guides and ticket resale listings still use the previous names.

One dollar per ticket goes to City of Hope. It is built into every ticket on the tour, so you do not have to opt in or add anything at checkout.

Lots of Weeknights

This schedule leans hard on weeknights for a tour of this size. Sunday shows in Detroit, Washington, Fort Worth, Seattle, Edmonton, Tampa and Philadelphia, Monday shows in Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis and Cleveland, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays scattered all the way through. There are only seven Saturdays in the whole run. If you are driving in from out of town, look at the day of the week before you look at the price.

What Def Leppard Have Been Doing

Def Leppard spent 2026 on a third sold out Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace plus sold out shows in Europe, South America and Mexico, so the band going into this tour is a band that has been playing constantly rather than one coming off a break.

New music is less settled. Joe Elliott has said the band has written a lot of it, telling Ultimate Classic Rock that "we've kind of got nearly two albums" and that "we're gonna pick and choose which 10 or 11 we think are the right ones." No album has been announced and no release date exists, so going in expecting new songs would be optimistic. What is guaranteed is the catalog: "Photograph," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Hysteria," "Love Bites," "Rock of Ages," "Animal."

For more of what is coming, see our rock tour dates and alternative tour dates pages, plus our guides to who is opening for A Perfect Circle in 2027, who is opening for Metallica in 2027 and who is opening for Slipknot in 2027.

Tickets and On-Sale

Window	When	Who
Rock Brigade fan club presale	Mon, Oct 12, 2026, 10 a.m. local	Rock Brigade members
Citi presale (US dates)	Mon, Oct 12, noon local, through Thu, Oct 15, 10 p.m. local	Citi cardholders
Verizon presale (select US shows)	Mon, Oct 12, through Thu, Oct 15, 10 p.m. local	Verizon customers
General on-sale	Fri, Oct 16, 2026, 10 a.m. local	Everyone

Event pages live on Ticketmaster's Def Leppard artist page, on Live Nation and on SeatGeek. The Canadian dates in Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, Vancouver and Edmonton sell through ticketmaster.ca.

One small thing to watch: listings disagree on the Verizon presale start time, with the press release saying noon local and at least one venue saying 10 a.m. local. If you plan to use it, be ready at 10.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is opening for Def Leppard in 2027?

The Struts and the Goo Goo Dolls, on all 45 shows. The Struts play first, the Goo Goo Dolls play second, and Def Leppard closes.

Does the lineup change from city to city?

No. Unlike a lot of big tours, this one takes the same three bands everywhere. Every date from Allentown on March 2 to Indianapolis on July 2 has the same bill.

Are the Goo Goo Dolls an opening act or a co-headliner?

Somewhere in between, which is why the billing reads the way it does. Def Leppard closes the show and the tour is announced under their name, but the Goo Goo Dolls are presented as a full partner rather than a warmup, with their own hits set. Treat it as a double bill where Def Leppard goes last.

What time should I get there?

Earlier than you think. With three bands and arena curfews, doors will typically open about 90 minutes before the first set, and The Struts will likely be on close to the posted start time. Your venue will publish exact set times in the week of the show.

When do tickets go on sale?

General on-sale is Friday, October 16, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time. Presales start Monday, October 12: the Rock Brigade fan club at 10 a.m. local, Citi cardholders at noon local for US dates, and Verizon for select US shows.

Where does the tour start and end?

It starts Tuesday, March 2, 2027 at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania and ends Friday, July 2, 2027 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

How many Canadian shows are there?

Five: Montreal on March 5, Toronto on March 9, Quebec City on March 11, Vancouver on May 14 and Edmonton on May 16.

Is there a new Def Leppard album coming?

Nothing has been announced. Joe Elliott has said the band has close to two albums' worth of songs written and still has to choose which ones make the record, but there is no title and no release date.