Who Should Play Sphere Next?

In our current sonic battle of the shapes, we have a winner: Sphere is the hottest venue right now. The interior of the Las Vegas spectacle looks like a different universe, thanks to the 580,000 square feet of 16K LED screens, and the creative potential for artists willing to put in the work is endless. U2 has a residency set up until the year’s end, but here’s who we think should perform there next.

Dead and Co.

I was lucky enough to see two Dead and Co. shows during their final tour this past summer and reveled in every minute of it. They eventually played their final show on July 16, 2023, in San Francisco, wrapping up a tour that grossed $115 million — their most successful ever. Bob Weir, John Mayer, and the gang insisted it would be their last one ever, but guess what? I don’t mind if they lied! I know they would 1,000 percent reunite to play Sphere because what is the point of having 360-degree trippy visuals without having 20,000 people singing “Franklin’s Tower” at it?! Dead fans deserve to sphere next. —Morgan Baila

Hans Zimmer

Let my man Hans Zimmer cook. BWWOOOOOOMMMM.—Nick Quah

Talking Heads

A few years ago, I interviewed Jerry Harrison and the subject of a Talking Heads reunion — an idea that David Byrne has consistently dismissed — was broached. His response intrigued me: Stadiums. “We would try to do our interpretation,” he explained, “of what a show at that scale could be.” I’ve been thinking of this ever since. Granted, Sphere is not a stadium. It seats about 20,000 people. But Harrison specifically said he wanted the challenge of translating Talking Heads’ visual ideas on a “grandiose” scale, and there’s nothing quite as grandiose as whatever the hell this unnatural wonder is. With the band enjoying a soft reconciliation due to the rerelease of Stop Making Sense, why not ride that wave a little longer to these enormous screens with limitless potential? They’re all in good health. They know fans are begging for it. Makes sense to me. —Devon Ivie

Beyoncé

Beyoncé performs Renaissance but when she says, “Look around, everybody on mute,” she means everyone around the globe. —Zoé Haylock

LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy is secretly one of the most dramatic people on Earth (complimentary). Look no further than the LCD Soundsystem farewell tour (and The Long Goodbye live album and Shut Up and Play the Hits documentary) as proof. His maniacal dedication to precise acoustics and performance mixed with his flair for the dramatic makes LCD the perfect band for venue. Imagine grooving to “North American Scum,” cry-jumping to “All My Friends,” and feeling old during “Losing My Edge,” but in a sphere. Throw in a couple hundred disco balls and Noah Baumbach–produced visuals of New York City haunts, suburban hellscapes, and debaucherous nightlife and we have ourselves the perfectly weird dance party. —Nic Juarez

The Muppets

It’s been almost 40 years since the Muppets took their act on tour. And while it may take them a while to get back into performing shape (they’re not as young as they once were, and nobody wants to see Gonzo hurt his back during his flying cannonball act), their plushness would bring an inventive texture to the dome’s visuals that human acts just can’t match. Plus, imagine Kermit singing Rainbow Connection against an endless 360-degree skyscape. I’m tearing up already. —Curtis Yee

Lady Gaga

Access to performing in Sphere should only be reserved for the highest caliber of performers; those able to command a stage and screen, as well as invoke a level of showmanship that Las Vegas needs and deserves. Of course, Lady Gaga is always in that damn city, and if her penchant for Vegas-style residencies means anything, a performance at Sphere would fit into both her and the stadium’s oeuvre perfectly. Just imagine 2011 Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball–era visuals, or even Chromatica Ball’s “Museum of Brutality” projected across the big ass dome: When done right, I’m sure Sphere would be able to serve a diva quite well. —Reanna Cruz

Tame Impala

Tame Impala in their peak toured stadiums and festivals alike. Their psych-trippy sound and their penchant for a good melting visual would absolutely blow the minds of their drug-fueled fans. Best of luck to those actively tripping and trying to leave the 20K-person venue at the end of the show! —Gaby Grossman

Astronomers

Sphere should do a planetarium-style educational presentation about the stars, culminating in a laser light show grand finale set to the country hits of the ’90s. Billy Ray Cyrus should perform “Achy Breaky Heart” live for this. —Anne Victoria Clark

P!nk

P!nk is in a continual cycle of upping the ante. For her new album Trustfall, she learned to roller skate and took her acrobatic live show outdoors for the first time. After you’ve already done most stunts imaginable — and some out of imagination — in arenas around the world, what could be next? Flying around a giant sphere. I don’t know the safety precautions of rigging the place for P!nk’s acrobatics, but I do know seeing her fly around, with projections everywhere, would be absolutely stunning. (She could really give the 300-level crowd a show.) —Justin Curto

Kanye West

For obvious reasons, the answer is not Ye now. I do not want to see this artist I once admired use Sphere perform a blown-up version of the strange “net and Yoohoo” (Netanyahu) puppet show he did when he was interviewed by Alex Jones in 2022 and somehow managed to win a game of abhorrent belief chicken with him of all people. But Kanye West at pretty much any point in his career before he took a turn towards the irredeemably problematic shortly after the release of The Life of Pablo in 2016? Hell yes. Sphere is a grandiose venue, and it requires someone unafraid to meet its maximalism inch for inch, not unlike Kanye on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But its scale also threatens to overwhelm, and it requires an artist who understands the value of austerity, not unlike Kanye on Yeezus. It is a blank canvas waiting to be executive produced, and for all his faults, Kanye remains the most ambitious executive producer of his generation. —Hershal Pandya

Tribute acts

Tribute acts playing nothing but sphere-themed songs. “Wrecking Ball.” “Great Balls of Fire.” “I Get Around.” “Lucky Ball and Chain.” “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” Just keep doing it, 24 hours a day, in an endless … circle. —Christopher Bonanos