Dead & Company are reportedly in talks to play a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas in Summer 2024.
News of the talks comes from a report in the New York Post, which quotes sources who claim that the potential residency would take place “next summer,” but stressed that negotiations are “still in the works and not 100%.”
The Sphere — which cost $2.3 billion to construct and opened this past September — has been busy hosting a U2 residency, which was recently extended into 2024 (get tickets here). After those shows wrap in March, Phish — another psychedelic jam in a similar vein to Dead & Co — are booked for a week-long run (get tickets here). Beyoncé has supposedly been in talks about hosting shows there as well.
According to another report by the New York Post, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, and others have “been considered” for residencies as well, but as “insiders” in the new article explain, the venue’s high-tech amenities, including its massive, wraparound LCD screen, have rendered the cost of producing a show there quite high, which has been a bit of a deterrent for artists.
Dead & Company, however, have inherited the Grateful Dead’s long-held fascination for new technology, so something like a state-of-the-art screen display might not be too big of a turn-off. Additionally, Dead & Company are represented by Irving Azoff, who not only represents U2 as well, but was a one-time partner and close collaborator with the Sphere’s CEO, James Dolan. Yet, as the sources stressed, nothing is official.
This past summer, Dead & Company concluded their farewell tour with a final show in San Francisco. John Mayer, meanwhile, has been busy touring solo, and will embark on another run of solo dates next March in Europe (grab tickets here). This past June, his ex, Artist of the Year Taylor Swift, played the song that is often said to be about him, “Dear John,” live for the first time in 11 years.