Vegas Sphere Reportedly Lines Up Iconic Jam Band for Next Artist Residency

U2 is a tough act to follow, but the Las Vegas Sphere is reportedly days away from announcing its next high-profile artist residency.

According to sources who spoke with the New York Post, Dead & Company will perform 14 shows this spring at the 18,600 seat venue. The spin-off jam band, which was formed in 2015 from former Grateful Dead members, is expected to kick off the residency in May shortly after U2 wraps its own 40-show run in March. The deal will likely be announced sometime this weeks, the source added.

The current Dead & Company lineup includes founding members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, as well as singer and guitarist John Mayer. The deal is being hammered out after Dead & Company wrapped up its farewell tour last summer, which concluded with a three-show run in San Francisco, the birthplace of the Grateful Dead, in front of more than 120,000 hometown fans.

Though the tour was billed as being the band’s final, they left the door open for possible reunions. 

“Something magical happened on this tour, and I don’t think any of us saw it coming,” Mayer posted to social media at the time. “Dead & Company is still a band—we just don’t know what the next show will be. I speak for us all when I say that I look forward to being shown the next shaft of light… I know we will all move towards it together.”

A source previously told The Post that the band was considering the Sphere because it didn’t involve travel, as the original members are now in their 70s and 80s. “They don’t consider that [a residency in one venue] a tour,” the source said. “It’s cutting a fine line, but that was the final tour.”

However, Mayer also hinted about a possible stint at the Sphere during CNN’s New Year’s Eve show. “I’m not at liberty to say just yet,” the 46-year-old said, when asked by co-host Andy Cohen whether Dead & Company might perform in 2024. “But, have hope is what I’ll say.”

The news comes on the heels of the psychedelic band Phish locking in a four-show run at the Sphere set for April. Both the Dead & Company and Phish shows will undoubtedly benefit from being able to leverage the venue’s 160,000-square-foot, 16K wraparound screen to project trippy imagery to accompany the music. In other words, you won’t want to leave your edibles at home.