Vegas Music, Dining & Sports Events to Look Forward in 2026

Posted on: January 1, 2026, 03:37h. 

Last updated on: January 1, 2026, 03:39h.

Corey Levitan Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.

Mulling a trip to the entertainment capital of the world this year? Maybe you should also consider visiting the sports and dining capitals of the world, too, since they’re all the same place now. Here are the highlights we know so far about what sounds like a good year for that Vegas vacation.

Music Concerts, Residencies & Festivals

Most of 2026’s music highlights will continue to happen at the Sphere, because most are continuations of residencies that began this year (Eagles, Backstreet Boys, Phish, Zac Brown Band and Kenny Chesney).

The standout exception will be the launch of first No Doubt “tour” since the Gen X superstars went on indefinite hiatus in 2013.

One huge non-Sphere highlight will be Dolly Parton’s six Caesars Palace shows, which she postponed in November due to an unexplained illness. Her makeup dates (Sept. 17-26) will mark her first Las Vegas residency in 33 years.

Stadium spectacles will be headed by country stars Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, and rockers AC/DC, Foo Fighters, and Guns N’ Roses. And on the festival front, EDC and “When We Were Young” both return, but the real news is that “Sick New World” will do it after canceling its 2025 edition. 

Dining: All the Strip News That’s Fit to Eat

Las Vegas’ 2026 dining calendar is stacked with heavyweight debuts, chef‑driven imports, and long‑awaited returns — the kind of openings that shift the city’s food conversation.

Leading the pack will be Cantina Contramar at Fontainebleau, the first US restaurant from Gabriela Cámara of Mexico City’s iconic Contramar. Expect her signature seafood, broader regional Mexican cooking, and a design by acclaimed architect Frida Escobedo.

Country star Luke Combs will take over the vacated Margaritaville space at the Flamingo with Category 10, a three-story honkytonk featuring food, drinks and country music this fall.

At the Sahara, James Beard Award–winning chef Kwame Onwuachi is slated to open Maroon, a Caribbean steakhouse blending jerk traditions, Afro‑Caribbean flavors, and New York swagger. It replaces Bazaar Meat, which relocated to The Venetian.

Wynn Las Vegas is adding serious star power with Sartiano’s Italian Steakhouse, a sibling to the New York original. With Alfred Portale as culinary director, the menu merges Italian classics with modern American steakhouse polish.

Finally, the city’s most anticipated restaurant return belongs to Lotus of Siam. The local Thai favorite will move back to its original Commercial Center home — now expanded to roughly 19,000 square feet – only a mile east of the Sahara.

Sports Highlight Reel

The big sports news is NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s commitment to deciding this year whether the NBA will expand. Las Vegas and Seattle are the front-runners for a new team. After that, here are all the big sports events we know about so far.