Shortly after Nevada legalized gambling in the 1930s and the construction of the Hoover Dam brought both economic prosperity and an ineffable sense of 20th century modernism to the region, Las Vegas assumed its rightful role as America’s ID.
Much of the country’s sense of post-World War II glamor comes from images of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin performing, and partying, at iconic venues and casinos such as Caesars Palace, and the rest of the country wanted in on the fun. In the ’60s Las Vegas came to represent a maturing country and a relative loosening of social mores, as well as a place to have a good time, and live entertainment has always been a big part of that.
Sin City is filled with homegrown performers or people who made their way over there and never seem to leave, such as comedian-magicians Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy (RIP) and the Mind Freak Criss Angel. But there’s also plenty of musicians that have set up shop over on the Strip, from Celine Dion, who has more or less made it her home, to artists like Mariah Carey, who did a year’s worth of shows in 2015.
Like everything else in the live entertainment world, and the world in general, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Las Vegas residencies hard in 2020, with artists such as the Jonas Brothers and Kelly Clarkson being some of the first to cancel their run of shows.
The road back to normal was a bumpy one for Las Vegas last year, as exemplified by Adele having to postpone her hotly anticipated “Weekends With Adele” residency late last year after half of her crew reportedly became infected with the omicron variant.
But if Las Vegas stands for anything, it is the idea that you can’t stop the party, you can merely momentarily delay it. As such, a new slate of residencies and one-off shows have been announced this year, though promoters and venues are well aware there’s no going back to 2019.
Image source: Robert Mora/Getty Images.
Which Artists Are Doing Las Vegas Residencies This Year?
As much fun as people have always had in Las Vegas, the town did have a bit of a reputation for quite a while as a place where Artists of a Certain Age went to settle down when they were tired of life on the road.
These artists adopted a "you come to me" approach, as their fans had became adults with jobs who were glad to pay money to travel to see them and make a weekend out of it. Celine Dion more or less perfected the art of this in the 21st century, though unfortunately "severe and persistent muscle spasms" have kept her off the stage of late.
There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, as the classics never go out of style, as they say.
But venues have worked hard over the past decade to freshen up the city’s image and attract younger customers by booking residencies with current pop artists such as Katy Perry, who kicked off her “Katy Perry: Play” residency last year, giving America the sexy dancing mushrooms it wasn’t sure it needed.
And you can love or hate electronic dance music and DJ culture, but there’s no denying it’s about as circa-now as you can get, and DJs such as Steve Aoki, Tiesto and Marshmello all brought the drop during their Vegas residencies over the years.
The 2022 residency announced so far contain a mix of the vintage and newer, including the above-mentioned Perry, who more or less auditioned for the gig with her early single “Waking Up In Vegas.”
Here’s what some of Vegas’s biggest casinos will have on offer this year, for you to check out in-between time spent at the craps table.
Caesars Palace (Owned by Caesars Entertainment) (CZR)
- Sting kicked off his latest Las Vegas residency, “My Songs,” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in October of last year.
- Keith Urban’s residency will end on May 29, as he obviously doesn’t want to be away from his wife Nicole Kidman any longer than he has to.
Resorts World Las Vegas (Owned by Hilton Hotels & Resorts) (HGV)
- Carrie Underwood launched her inaugural “Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency” last fall, which runs until April 2.
- Katy Perry will continue to bring the fireworks with her "Play" residency until August 13.
Park MGM (Owned by MGM Resorts International) (MGM)
- Lady Gaga will continue her hopefully good romance with Vegas with a two-week run at Dolby Live at Park MGM that ends May 1.
- Silk Sonic, the collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak sound like they just woke up from the ‘70s, but they're bringing Top 40 hits such as "Leave the Door Open" to their 13-show residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas.
The STRAT Hotel, Casino & SkyPod (Owned by Golden Entertainment) (GDEN)
- AC/DC didn't write "Sin City" for pop stars to have all the fun in Vegas, and The STRAT proves that rock 'n' roll has a home on the Strip with a residency from the Red Rocker himself, as Sammy Hagar and Friends kicked off in October of last year. Just don’t drive more than 55 on your way over.
- Surrender to the charm of power-pop icons Cheap Trick, who will be doing shows until March 5.
House of Blues (Owned by Live Nation) (LYV)
- Guitar God Carlos Santana has extended his “An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live: Presented by SiriusXM” residency until May 29.
Some Covid Precautions Remains In Place
A lot of the country has begun loosening its COVID-19 precautions, much to the dismay of many health officials, but Vegas is making it clear that even as it has a climate and preponderance of retirees similar to Florida, it continues to take safety seriously.
The House of Blues and most other Las Vegas venues will continue to implement an ever-evolving safety protocol. As stated on the House of Blues website:
Going forward, prior to entry into the venue, ALL shows will require attendees to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of the event OR full COVID-19 vaccination (at least two weeks after final dose),” the venue’s website details. “Face coverings are strongly recommended for fans who are not fully vaccinated, unless actively eating or drinking, per CDC guidelines.”
Nevada has dropped its indoor mask requirement for fully vaccinated people.
Is the strict COVID-19 protocol the reason why the notoriously anti-vax classic rocker Van Morrison is only doing a handful of shows and not a full residency of wild nights?
