The bright lights and glitz of the Las Vegas Strip is an ideal situation for certain headliners who schedule long-running residencies in the same theater that stretch out for weeks, months and, in some cases, years.
Spending many weeks or months out on the road touring can be a grueling grind for performers and quite expensive compared to staying in the same place for weeks or months. On the road, performers need to cover all the costs and expenses of moving their production from city to city, which includes taking care of their band, roadies and staff. And moving city to city every day or so can be quite exhausting.
Related: Huge star R&B group signs for Las Vegas Strip residency return
The Las Vegas Strip has been refreshing for some performers who enjoy the residency environment and prefer to stay put in the same theater to perform their shows for extended periods of time.
Almost everyone is aware of the legendary Las Vegas performers who have been around seemingly forever. Mr. Las Vegas Wayne Newton has been a Las Vegas headliner for over 60 years, as he began his career performing in Vegas in the 1950's as a teenager and became a headliner in 1963.
1970s pop star Barry Manilow has been performing at the off-Strip Westgate Las Vegas for over 18 years, and 70's teen idol Donny Osmond's residency at Harrah's Showroom has continued since August 2021.
The Strip residency revived Adele's live performances
More recently, superstar pop singer Adele rediscovered her love of performing on stage after scheduling a 24-show "Weekends With Adele" residency at the Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting in November 2022, which was extended to 100 shows and is set to conclude June 15, 2024.
"This residency, these shows have changed my life. I desperately needed to fall back in love with performing live again, and I have. I needed to reconnect with my songs and remember what they mean to me, and I have! Being on stage over the last year so up close and personal with an audience again after all these years has been a truly extraordinary restorative experience that I’ll never forget," Adele wrote on X, formerly Twitter, back in October 2023.
Megastar pop singer Lady Gaga has also enjoyed her second residency so much that during a Sept. 7, 2023, performance at MGM Resorts International's (MGM) Park MGM Dolby Live, she told the audience that she wanted her residency to last "forever."
"We’re gonna make a contract. Everybody on this stage will be here forever, we’ll do it. I’m not kidding. I make a lot of jokes on this stage. This is not one of them,” Lady Gaga said at the time.
Image source: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Lady Gaga's residency on the Strip returns
Lady Gaga is looking to keep her promise to her fans to perform at Dolby Live forever as she returns to her "Jazz & Piano" residency on the Las Vegas Strip at Park MGM for eight shows in June and July 2024.
After an eight-month hiatus, Lady Gaga will perform at Dolby Live June 19, 20, 27, 29, 30, July 3, 5 and 6. Citi/AAdvantage cardmember and Platinum cardmember presales start March 20 at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Fans can sign up for Lady Gaga's Little Monsters presale by noon Pacific time on March 20 for a 2 p.m. Pacific presale, according to the singer's website. The general public ticket sale begins March 23 at 10 a.m. Pacific.
The "Paparazzi" singer opened her 12-show "The Jazz + Piano" show on Aug. 31, 2023, featuring songs from the Great American Songbook as well as stripped down versions of her own hits performed in jazz style. The singer last performed her "Jazz & Piano" residency show at the theater on Oct. 5.
Previously, Lady Gaga performed her Las Vegas Strip residency "Enigma + Jazz & Piano" show, which included her biggest hits as well as songs from the Great American Songbook, from Dec. 28, 2018, through May 1, 2022, at Dolby Live's predecessor the Park Theater at the Park MGM. The residency reportedly earned $78 million at the box office, with Lady Gaga getting a guarantee of $1 million per show for the 74 initial shows of the residency.
