STRING THEORY: Ara Malikian (left) had the No. 2 concert on the new Hot Tickets chart; Billy Strings owned the rest of the top four. (Getty Images) Contrasts are stark atop Hot Tickets with performances by two artists in different parts of the world in different settings, one outdoor in the parking lot and the other indoor and socially distanced. The glaring similarity between bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings and Lebanese violinist Ara Malikian, though, is proficiency on a stringed instrument — and headlining the chart’s four highest-grossing concerts. Strings leads the pack with three of the four, all performances from his “Meet Me at the Drive-In” tour. Ranked No. 1 is his three-night engagement Sept. 11-13 in the parking lot at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. With tickets sold for up to four people in 1,307 vehicles, the headcount from all three shows hit 4,624. His $257,156… Continue Reading Stringed Excellence: Guitarist, Violinist Shine

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