Enter the Sphere

The venues make the Vegas. The Madison Square Garden Company is planning to open the MSG Sphere in time for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, and that’s not necessarily because some megastar act will be booked for the $2.17 billion arena—the most expensive entertainment venue ever built in Las Vegas. If you’ve seen the Sphere and been struck by its imposing presence just east of the Strip, wait until its exterior LED screen—all 580,000 square feet wrapping around the nearly 400-foot-tall circular structure—is fully operational and blasting advertisements and other content across the Vegas skyline in a way we’ve never seen.

Inside, the Sphere will host concerts, residency performances (reported by Billboard to begin with U2, though drummer Larry Mullen Jr.’s health issues could nix that possibility), sporting events, original attractions and corporate gatherings in what appears to be the most technologically advanced theater in the world. Those fortunate enough to attend a performance will likely learn the true definition of today’s most overused phrase—“immersive entertainment”—and the Sphere has the capacity to broadcast that same performance on its exterior. Las Vegas has long been the place to turn imagination into reality, but this is on the grandest of scales. –Brock Radke

Christen Downtown’s new indie music hub

We’ve been following the construction for months, and though there’s still no specific timeline for Swan Dive’s opening, we’re told “all systems are go” for a 2023 launch. The music venue, which will occupy the upper floor of the two-story Colorado building at 1301 S. Main Street and feature a show capacity around 400, is expected to fill the independent and underground music void left behind by the shuttered Bunkhouse Saloon—in no small part because the Swan Dive’s talent buyer will be Mike Henry, who promoted acts such as Bob Mould, Deerhunter and Japanese Breakfast in that space.

Henry, who’s partnering with owner Harvey Graham—the man behind Downtown dance club Oddfellows and multiple rooms in Austin, Texas, including a Swan Dive there—provided one new interesting tidbit by deadline: “In addition to the music venue, Swan Dive will feature a balcony bar overlooking Main Street, which will always be free/no cover charge—even on the nights when the venue has ticketed shows.” –Spencer Patterson

Take an UnCommon stroll

UnCommons, the 40-acre residential, retail and office center at the 215 and Durango in the southwest Valley, is set to deliver an abundance of cultural riches. Commissioned works by local artists like Cerissa Lopez, Mila May and Eric Vozzola will line its walls, and its lifestyle amenities—which will eventually include a luxury cinema—are complemented with a stacked restaurant row. Some two dozen prestige eateries, including Nicole Brisson and Jason Rocheleau’s Italian restaurant and market Amari, Alejandro Medina and Rajat Parr’s Indian dining concept Dhaba Ji, Meráki chefs Girair “Jerry” Goumroian and Nikos Georgousis’ Kávos Coastal Greek Grill, local favorites such as SoulBelly BBQ and Proper Sandwich, and even a Vegas location of beloved Portland, Oregon, ice creamery Salt & Straw, will compete for your attention along UnCommons’ handsome, pleasant and thankfully walkable streets. –Geoff Carter

Experience Fontainebleau, finally

Just before Christmas, Fontainebleau secured a $2.2 billion construction loan to complete its Las Vegas Strip resort, the 67-story building on the northern end of the Strip that has rested unfinished and unopened for 14 years. After initial funding stalled during the Great Recession, the building was snagged out of bankruptcy by Carl Icahn, then sold to the Witkoff Group in 2017, which announced plans to complete it and open it as the Drew Las Vegas. But those plans soured over the pandemic, and miraculously, Fontainebleau developer Jeffrey Soffer reclaimed the property, partnering with Koch Real Estate Investments.

Now it’s on track to open in the fourth quarter as an updated version of the Fontainebleau we were supposed to get in 2008. It’ll be right next door to the shiny new Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall and across the street from Resorts World, with 3,700 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting space. The typical Strip specifics (restaurants, nightclubs, shows, etc.) still haven’t been officially announced, but a quick look at the iconic Miami Beach resort will give you an idea where this thing is headed. And now that we’re just months away, it’s safe to assume that info will be rolling out soon to generate maximum excitement. –BR

Immerse yourself in punk

Opening March 10, the Punk Rock Museum will celebrate every era of its namesake, “from the Germs to The Linda Lindas.” Conceived, designed and run by the people who made the music that changed your life, the museum will feature iconic artifacts such as Fear’s “New York’s Alright if You Like” saxophone, Devo’s “Energy Dome” hats, Sum 41’s green chainsaw and a number of historic guitars and basses, which you’re invited to play through the original amps. You’ll also find beer-stained setlists, vintage gig flyers, handwritten lyrics and some artifacts from Las Vegas’ own punk rock past, a proud history of generator-run desert shows. Once you’ve taken in the collection and chunked out a few chords, you can check out the museum’s tattoo shop, wedding chapel and gift shop, or just get a beer at the Triple Down, an on-site bar run by the inimitable P Moss. –GC

Attend a sick new music festival

Laugh Sick New World off as nu metal nostalgia if you want, but dig into the poster and you’ll find a first-year festival with a varied soundtrack heading to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on May 13. We’re talking The Sisters of Mercy, Mr. Bungle, Death Grips, Placebo, Ministry, Turnstile, Killing Joke, Melvins, Failure and Skinny Puppy to name just a few, along with, yes, big names from the nu metal world like System of a Down, Korn and Deftones. –SP

Do all the Mirage stuff … before you can’t

Now that the sale of the Mirage to Hard Rock International is complete, the clock is ticking. It’ll be hard to say goodbye to one of the most iconic and influential resorts ever to hit the Strip, but we’ll have at least a year to do so. The volcano should continue to erupt until initial construction begins, and Cirque du Soleil’s beautiful resident show The Beatles Love will perform through 2023. The stand-up stars of the Aces of Comedy and rising magician Shin Lim will likely also be looking for new opportunities in the near future.

It’s exciting to consider updated dining and entertainment options that will be part of a new Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas when it arrives in 2025, but for now, find your favorite experiences at this special destination and get back in the building; we’ve always been partial to a stroll through the rain forest atrium, a cocktail and snack at the bar at Heritage Steak, and an afternoon escape to the tropical pool landscape. Each visit to the Mirage always feels like a celebration, and we’re ready to sneak in a few more this year. –BR

Unleash your inner Swiftie

This city has waited a long time for Taylor Swift’s return (she last played a non-festival set here in 2009), and the timing for her March 24-25 shows at Allegiant Stadium couldn’t be better. She’ll be arriving with her Eras Tour, which supports all 10 of her studio albums, so it’ll be worth all the scheming it will take to secure the tough ticket. The star is known for executing a great show, and including everything from amazing props (like Karyn, the giant inflatable snake that appeared at the Reputation Stadium Tour) to talented guest stars like Mick Jagger. In other words, it should have all the spectacle Las Vegas deserves. –Evelyn Mateos

Raise the banner with the Aces

The WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces will open their 2023 season on the road in Seattle on May 20 before playing their first home game at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena on May 27 against the Los Angeles Sparks. Judging by the over-the-top, Champagne-and-cigar super-bash the Aces threw to celebrate their championship win on the Strip in September, we’re expecting some serious fun at that home opener to once again celebrate this historic accomplishment. And we don’t think you should miss it. –BR

Support independent culture

The city’s first standalone theater dedicated to independent and international film is set to open early this year, and it’s an absolute stunner. The two-story, 14,000-square-foot Beverly Theater features a state-of-the-art auditorium, a terrace with a panoramic Downtown view and a spacious courtyard, all devoted to three programming pillars: Lit, Live and Film. The first two will owe much to the theater’s next-door neighbor, the Writer’s Block; author readings and signings will move to the Beverly, and it seems likely that the Wave In literary, music and arts festival will use it for a home base.

But really, what has us most excited is walking into this beautiful, purpose-built space and enjoying unexpected, challenging and rare cinema of the sort that used to skip this Valley entirely. Vegas has waited a long time for that curtain to rise. –GC

Consume publicly

The arrival of adult-use recreational cannabis consumption lounges might not mean much to locals who have been happily puffing, vaping and consuming in their own homes these past few years. But it’ll be game-changing for our resort corridor, where tourists have had little choice but to light up in places where they’re not supposed to. It’ll also be fascinating to see what individual operators bring to the consumption lounge concept, from dining to decor to entertainment. The possibilities are so numerous that it’s not tough to imagine that some of us homebodies might even be persuaded to take a cab or rideshare to the nearest consumption lounge and light up, too. –GC

Try a taste of Israel

Miznon, an Israeli street food stop serving falafel, ratatouille, lamb kebab and more in fluffy pita bread, is already open at the Venetian. Chef Eyal Shani, considered the founding father of modern Israeli cuisine, will soon open a second Venetian restaurant, the energetic and refined HaSalon, and late in 2023, James Beard Award winner Alon Shaya will debut his first Las Vegas restaurant at Wynn. –BR

Tune in to a new Station

Expected to open in the fourth quarter off Durango Drive and the Beltway in the southwest Valley, Durango Station represents a return to form for the traditionally local-focused Station Casinos after the purchase, renovation and sale of the Palms in recent years. The new $750 million neighborhood resort will offer a 15-story hotel tower with 211 rooms, 83,000 square feet of casino space, a fancy pool, a selection of restaurants and bars and a food hall with 11 vendors. Expect Durango to raise the bar on the neighborhood casino experience much the way Station’s Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock did before it. –BR

Dine around Downtown

When developer J Dapper acquired the 60-year-old Huntridge Center shopping plaza in 2016, he had an idea of creating a distinctive mix of dining experiences there, with regional chains alongside locally owned establishments. In late December, Yukon Pizza—a Vegas Test Kitchen favorite—joined the center’s existing handful of chain joints, serving up its delicious, sourdough-crust pie. It’ll soon be joined by Winnie & Ethel’s, an old-fashioned neighborhood diner whose proprietors Mallory Gott and chef Aaron Lee won the space in the Dapper Companies-sponsored Great Las Vegas Coffee Shop Giveaway last year.

By the way, Dapper’s 201 S. Las Vegas Boulevard project, located practically at the doorstep of Fremont East, should open in 2023, too, bringing with it a Broken Yolk Cafe location and several other restaurants that include Pachinko Pub, a new project from the creators of FukuBurger. –GC

Spend time with new residents Garth Brooks and Maroon 5

These guys have been playing mammoth Vegas concerts for a long time, but you’ll get new versions in 2023. Maroon 5 was a New Year’s Eve mainstay at Mandalay Bay for years in addition to regular tour stops on the Strip. Now, the pop-rock outfit will repackage its many hits for a residency run at Dolby Live at Park MGM beginning on March 24. And Garth Brooks has already etched his household name into the Vegas volume of entertainment history, thanks to a legendary residency at Wynn and his sold-out summer 2021 concert at Allegiant Stadium that helped reopen the city during the pandemic. His new Plus One residency takes him to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting on May 18, and Brooks has already signed on for a second year. –BR

Catch March Madness—up close

For decades, Las Vegas has been the most exciting place to experience the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, with casino sportsbooks offering the unbeatable combination of massive television arrays showing every second of action, betting options galore and a partylike atmosphere that lasts four straight days. This year, however, Vegas will take its March Madness game to another level still, hosting the West Regional—a trio of Sweet 16 and Elite Eight contests—March 23 and 25 at T-Mobile Arena. It will mark the first time Vegas has been an NCAA Tournament site, but it won’t be the last—Allegiant Stadium is already lined up for the Final Four in 2028. –SP

Watch a few bolts get knocked loose

It’s not news that the robots are coming for us. They’re the next great artists, the writers with impeccable prose. Now they’re targeting our Strip residencies with BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon, an exclusive live show featuring large-scale brawls between the best bots in the world and the teams that control them (for now). An offshoot of BattleBots’ hit Discovery Channel show, Destruct-A-Thon opens February 3 at Caesars Entertainment Studios and promises to grind more gears and bend more bolts than ever before. See you in the arena. –Amber Sampson

Pick Six

If you missed last fall’s Smith Center engagement of Six, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ musical comedy based on the lives of Henry VIII’s six doomed spouses, you needn’t lose your head over it. The critically acclaimed smash is coming to back to town on March 21 for a limited seven-week engagement at the Venetian’s Palazzo Theater.

The wildly popular show, which “remix[es] 500 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st-century girl power,” comes to Vegas at the absolute peak of its popularity, fresh from two Tony Award wins (Best Costume Design in a Musical and Best Original Score). Tickets begin at $70—an absolute steal for a show with productions still playing to sellout crowds on Broadway. –GC

Speed down to the F1 race

Not unlike the recent World Cup in Qatar, Formula One racing is an international phenomenon that’s less celebrated in the U.S. But you don’t have to be a fan or understand the thrill of open-wheel single-seaters to recognize what a big deal F1 will be when it comes to Las Vegas November 16-18. Its race course will take over the Strip in unprecedented fashion. Casinos are falling over themselves to create exclusive VIP packages and experiences for international fans traveling for what feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s sort of a global Super Bowl before the actual Super Bowl comes to town in 2024, and the Strip is already buzzing about it. –BR

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