Everything You Need to Know to See Music at Sphere

It’s impossible to miss. Spanning a total of 875,000 square feet and projecting rays of light into the Las Vegas night, Sphere is a marvel of modern construction that took five years and $2.3 billion to build. Since opening with a U2 residency in 2023, the venue’s established itself as one of the most unique concert experiences in the world, with 270 degrees of visuals and immersive, heart-thumping audio. Sphere has also hosted jam bands like Phish and Dead & Company (who have returned this year for an 18-show run) and the melodic techno electronic act, Anyma.

Visiting Sphere is a must for music lovers. That said, this is a venue unlike any other, and there’s a lot first-timers should know before planning a trip for the 2025 lineup—whether you’re spending a heady weekend listening to Dead & Co., indulging in beach-country vibes with Kenny Chesney, chasing a peaceful easy feeling with the Eagles, or reliving the early 2000s pop glory of Backstreet Boys, here’s a guide to everything you need to know to visit Sphere this year.

In addition to the live performances, Sphere offers cinematic experiences including V-U2, an 82-minute U2 concert film, and The Sphere Experience featuring interactive exhibits and Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth, a 55-minute film created specifically for the unusual venue. For those, admission varies from just under $100 to around $200 depending on seat choice.

Though you may be able to find cheaper options, on average, tickets for live music at Sphere start in the $200 to $300 range. You can purchase them via Ticketmaster, and dig deeper into the full schedule on the official Sphere website. There are also suites available for groups of up to 12 to 16 people (though some suites include capacity upgrade options) running $3,000 to $35,000 based on event, amenities, and suite type. Suites boast some impressive bells and whistles, including VIP parking, expedited entry, elevated views, and an on-site attendant.

Travel packages that include access to special fan experiences are also available via Vibee.

One of the unique aspects of Sphere is that you’re really not trying to look at the stage, which is tiny compared to most of the other venues where you’d see the same acts. Instead, it’s all about the 16K resolution, 16,000 square foot screen, which wraps around the entire venue’s interior.

That said, some seats are better than others. Director’s Cut seats, located in the center of sections 300 and 400 (specifically section 306) provide an ideal view designed to make you feel like you’re looking through the director’s lens. As such, these chairs are priced at a premium.

There are some obstructed views in the 100-level sections, rows 24 to 37, due to upper level overhang. Most of the seats in the 200 and 300 levels have unobstructed views except for a few on the far ends of each row. If heights are a problem, note that the stairs to the upper sections are steep, and the seats feel very high up. GA tickets are on the floor, standing room only. You’ll be craning your neck a bit to take in the visuals, but it is—by far—the best place for dancing.

If your budget allows, staying at The Venetian (or the attached Palazzo) makes a lot of sense as the 35-story luxury hotel, resort, and casino is in fact connected to the venue by a pedestrian bridge. The average cost for a room for two ranges from $200 to $600 a night, depending on time of year and demand. About a mile away, Wynn Las Vegas features similar rates. For the best Sphere views, try the newish Fontainebleau, which features suites with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the massive dome’s 24-7 exterior projections.

There are also options for more affordable near-Sphere accommodations. The Westin Las Vegas Hotel and Spa, Tuscany Suites and Casino, Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club Resort, and Treasure Island Las Vegas are all half a mile away or closer. VRBO and Airbnb also have relatively affordable options near the Strip if you and your crew want a homier basecamp.

The east side of the Strip, where Sphere is located, has no shortage of food options, from fine dining to fast casual. Grateful Dead merch maven Jesse Lockwood of Primarily Dead attended multiple Dead & Co. shows last year and recommends the beloved Silver Stamp for their great beer selection and friendly dive bar vibe, or Lotus of Siam for exceptional Thai Food. He also notes two top-notch Tiki bars—The Golden Tiki and Frankie’s Tiki Room, both about a 10-minute drive from the venue—for grabbing a Mai Tai before Sphere immersion.

If you’re sticking closer to the scene, check out your options at The Venetian. Estiatorio Milos is great for small plates and a quick quaff from their Greek-focused wine list before a brief jaunt down the Venetian-Sphere walkway. Alternatively, grab a coal-fired pizza from Grimaldi’s or sit down at the Vegas outpost of SoCal fave Gjelina for some New American fine dining flair. Also nearby: the Block 16 Urban Food Hall at The Cosmopolitan which offers—yes—16 breezy but satisfying options, including Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Lardo, and Tekka Bar: Handroll and Sake. It’s a short walk from there to the tram, which drops off about two blocks from Sphere. (For more ultimate Vegas eats, see Eater’s list of the 38 Best Restaurants in Las Vegas.)

No matter how you plan to get to Sphere, build in extra time for delays—traffic, road closures, and other issues aren’t uncommon—and arrive about an hour before showtime to allow for bag check, seat-finding, Spherexploration, etc., as doors typically open 45 minutes before showtime. Parking at Sphere is ticketed and costs around $20 for The Sphere Experience and other movie showings, and between $45 for standard lot parking and $75 for valet parking during concerts.

Sphere is about a 15- to 20-minute walk from the Venetian or Wynn resorts. The pedestrian bridge connecting The Venetian to Sphere can be tricky to find from inside the hotel/casino, so make sure you’ve got good directions if you’re going that route. Rideshare pickup and drop-off happens on the corner of Manhattan St. and Westchester Dr.—directly across from the Sphere entrance—but Thrillist Editorial Director Lesley Suter cautions that the area gets bonkers post-show. If it’s within your budget, she recommends hiring and reserving a car from the hotel to pick you up: “They can pull right up to a special area, wait for you, and whisk you home.”

Aside from purses, fanny packs, or any in the roughly 6” x 6” x 2” zone, Sphere is officially a “no bag” venue, so you’ll be packing light. However, there are some carry-ins worth considering:

When Dead & Co. wrapped their lauded Sphere residency last August, they heavily implied a second run was coming. Sure enough, the group—original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart with an assemblage of virtuosic players including guitarist/Deadhead John Mayer—announced their 10th anniversary Dead Forever residency for spring 2025.

The first run featured dazzling psychedelic visuals that drew from the Dead’s six-decade history, kicking off in front of the Haight-Ashbury home where the band lived in the ’60s and traveling through outer space, hallucinatory scenes, and nostalgic imagery including ticket stubs from the many venues the band played over the years. While much of these visuals remain, roughly 40 percent of the imagery has been updated to incorporate even more Dead mythology. Real-time footage of the band playing is also creatively worked into the show, whose setlist changes every time.

As is Dead tradition, Sphere performances include a 30-minute intermission between each night’s two sets. You can spend this time perusing the myriad merch stands or taking photos in the sprawling lobby with folks dressed as the band’s beloved dancing bears. While Deadheads famously forged the tradition of recording most every live performance, be warned that audio recording devices are, per Sphere regulations, technically not permitted inside the venue.

You’ll also want to hit Shakedown Vegas, a vending area for unofficial Dead merch that builds on the “Shakedown Street” parking-lot tradition. Nearly 130 vendors are flocking to the tarmac behind the Tuscany Suites and Casino from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on show days. Co-organizer Molly Henderson suggests arriving at opening for a chance at the limited daily door prize.

Kenny Chesney will become Sphere’s first country artist, but don’t expect wall-to-wall pastoral views or larger-than-life galloping stallions. Posters and teaser clips show the Tennessee-born star leaning into the beachy motifs that have come to define his aesthetic, fire up his “No Shoes Nation” fanbase, and make him Jimmy Buffett’s heir apparent. A recent trailer revealed visuals incorporating tour posters from across his career, and giant stadium crowds rendered in 16K.

There are currently few setlist details, but fans can expect that it will span a 20-album catalog that extends back to 1994 and includes both hits like “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” “Get Along,” and “I Go Back,” and left turns like the Wailers-featuring reggae cut “Spread the Love.”

“When we started talking about all of the possibilities [that] playing Sphere offered, I was all in,” said Chesney via enthusiastic statement when the residency was revealed. “Just the idea of 4D technology and the impossibly dialed-in sound raises the experience for No Shoes Nation, literally immersing them in music, visuals, sound, and being together. To me, this is going to be a whole new way of rocking the fans, and I can’t wait.” Feel like a rock star, indeed.

Backstreet Boys will make the bubble-like Sphere go pop with their Into the Millennium series. The title references their 1999 smash album Millennium, which included era-defining songs like “Larger Than Life,” “I Want It That Way,” and “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”—all of which will presumably be featured in the setlist, along with the Boys’ other Y2K-era anthems.

On July 11, the same day the scream-along residency starts, the group is also releasing Millennium 2.0, which includes all the original album’s music plus 13 bonus tracks comprising a flurry of live recordings, demos, and alternative versions, along with a new song called “Hey.”

While announcing the shows on Today, Kevin Richardson said that while there are challenges in performing at the world’s most state-of-the-art venue, “We’re excited about it because when we did the Millennium tour back in ’99, 2000, our concept for the artwork, the album artwork, and the tour was the future—but we’re 25 years into the future now, and a lot has changed, so we’re excited to take that album, that concept of the future, to the next level.” He also noted that while almost all of the acts who’ve previously played have been bands who stand up and play instruments, the group’s signature dancing will take advantage of the space in a new way.

A word to the wise: Las Vegas summers are very hot, with nighttime temperatures often staying up in the ’90s. Indoor spaces are typically well air-conditioned, but most any trek to Sphere will involve outdoor walking, so if you’re going to one of these shows, make sure to hydrate.

Country-rock legends the Eagles ran a wildly successful Sphere residency in 2024, then announced a sequel in 2025. This return is happening in two parts, with the first completed in April and the second happening over a dozen shows in September, October, and November. The band’s current lineup includes original members Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit, along with Vince Gill (a solo star and decades-long band journeyman) and Deacon Frey (the son of late founding member Glenn Frey), plus a team of longtime touring musicians.

Thus far, the 2025 shows have opened on imagery depicting ’70s-era Sunset Strip, where the band famously got its start. As in the 2024 run, the sets have begun with the Eagles’ enduring 1977 earworm “Hotel California” as the accompanying visuals bring to life the song’s famed “dark desert highway.” Fans can also expect selections spanning the group’s vast, harmony-rich catalog, with recent concerts featuring the same 20-song setlist that’s included “Life in the Fast Lane,” “Desperado,” “Already Gone,” and “Witchy Woman,” along with notable cuts from the members’ solo output, including Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good” and Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”

Vibee is offering Eagles travel packages that include a two-night stay at the adjacent Venetian, concert tickets, and memorabilia. Pricing begins at $1,067 per person, with the $1,428 VIP tier including travel to and from the venue and priority access inside. Additionally, packages include access to a Hotel California pop-up that explores the Eagles’ 50-plus-year history. The display includes guitarist and singer Joe Walsh’s personal collection of hotel keys, a neon sign from the original Hotel California Tour, and previously unseen ’70s-era photos of the band.

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