Sidhu Moose Wala's hologram tour opens with a sold-out Toronto night, with Vancouver and Calgary next

TORONTO — Four years after he was shot and killed in Punjab, Sidhu Moose Wala headlined a sold-out Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 9 — as a hologram. The show opened the late rapper's Signed to God world tour, which Billboard Canada reports makes him the first Punjabi artist to tour in holographic form.

Moose Wala built his career in Canada. As CBC News noted, he rose to prominence while living in Brampton, Ont., as an international student, and paid tribute to the city in songs such as his 2018 track B-Town. He died in May 2022 when gunmen opened fire on a vehicle he was in near his home village in northern India.

The Toronto date, listed by Scotiabank Arena as rescheduled, leaned heavily on live guests from the Punjabi music scene Moose Wala helped push into the mainstream. AP Dhillon performed his hit "Brown Munde" with Shinda Kahlon, led the crowd in chanting Moose Wala's name and said he regretted never meeting him. Producer Steel Banglez played their collaborations "Attach" and "Invincible," and AR Paisley also appeared.

One of the most emotional moments came when Moose Wala's father, mother and two-year-old brother, Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, came on stage. According to Billboard Canada, the toddler drew an ovation after copying his late brother's trademark thaapi thigh-slap gesture.

The hologram entered through an on-screen lightning strike and changed outfits through a set that included "295," his Billboard Hot 100 entry, as well as "So High" and "Rebirth," which features Burna Boy. The Nigerian star sent a recorded message to the crowd. Sunny Malton performed "Never Fold" after leading a chant via video.

Demand did not come cheap. CBC reported that some resale listings for the Toronto and Vancouver shows reached about $2,000 once taxes and fees were added. One fan who flew in from California told CBC he paid $270 by buying early, and said the same seat later sold for about $1,500.

Industry watchers are treating the tour as a test of whether hologram concerts can sustain premium pricing. Music journalist Alan Cross told CBC that digital-first shows such as ABBA Voyage in London point to a real market, while tech analyst Carmi Levy said the technology has improved sharply since the much-discussed Tupac Shakur hologram at Coachella in 2012.

The format also raises questions some fans and critics have about posthumous performances, including who controls an artist's likeness and how new or unreleased material is presented. In this case, Moose Wala's family appeared on stage in support of the production.

The tour's remaining Canadian stops are Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Thursday, Oct. 15, and Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday, Oct. 19, before it moves on to the United States.

Sources: https://ca.billboard.com/music/concerts/sidhu-moose-wala-toronto-hologram; https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sidhu-moose-wala-hologram-concert-tour-9.7378115; https://www.scotiabankarena.com/events/detail/signed-to-god-world-tour