VEGAS MUSIC NEWS: Park MGM Books LL Cool J, Doobie Bros Make Bleau Debut, Foreigner Finally Snags a Founding Member

Hip-hop icon LL Cool J  announced on Thursday that he will headline “Rock the Bells: the Residency” at Park MGM’s Dolby Live next spring and summer. The dates are May 15, 16, 19, 21, and 22; and July 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 17.

The production—billed as a celebration of hip-hop and its history featuring as-yet-unannounced special guests from multiple generations—is presented under the Rock The Bells, the media, lifestyle, and commerce brand founded by LL Cool J in 2018.

“Rock the Bells celebrates everybody who was part of (hip-hop’s) story,” LL Cool J said in a statement. “This isn’t me doing a show in Vegas. It’s all of us. Artists from different generations and different genres, sharing one stage, for fans who were there at the beginning and kids hearing it for the first time.

“People from all over the world come to Vegas to celebrate, so this show belongs here.”

Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. PT Monday, Nov. 2, via Ticketmaster. Citi cardholders will have access to a presale beginning 10 a.m. PT Friday, Oct. 30, through Citi Entertainment.

Artist fan-club members, MGM Rewards members, and Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers will be eligible for a separate presale beginning 10 a.m. PT on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Doobie Doobie Bleau

The Doobie Brothers will make their Fontainebleau Las Vegas debut with a nine-show residency at BleauLive Theater in 2027. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are scheduled to perform Feb. 26-27, March 5-6, Aug. 27-28, and Sept. 1, 3 and 4.

One of the most successful American rock bands of the past five decades, The Doobies have sold more than 48 million albums worldwide and scored enduring hits including “Listen to the Music,” “China Grove,” “Long Train Runnin’,” “Black Water” and “What a Fool Believes.”

The residency features the reunited lineup of original members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons alongside longtime bandmates Michael McDonald and John McFee.

This will be the band’s first residency since headlining Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater (now PH Live) from May 13-28, 2022.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT Friday, Oct. 30, through Ticketmaster or fontainebleaulasvegas.com.

Strangers in Foreigner Return

The band performing as Foreigner returns to the Venetian Theatre next year to celebrate its 50th anniversary. However, it has only snagged one original member. Unfortunately, that member is neither singer Lou Gramm nor guitarist Mick Jones but only keyboardist Al Greenwood, who played on the band’s first three albums: Foreigner, Double Vision, and Head Games.

Making matters worse, the residency’s announcement only promises Greenwood’s appearance on “several of the shows” without mentioning which ones.  The shows are set for March 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, and 20, 2027.

Singer Luis Maldonado, bassist Jeff Pilson, lead guitarist Bruce Watson, guitarist John Roth, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, and drummer Chris Frazier last performed as Foreigner—with not even a single original member—during its “The Hits Unplugged” concert on Sept. 16, 2026.

Gramm has never sung with Foreigner during its modern Venetian residencies, which began in 2020. He left the group in late 2002, though he has made recent guest singing appearances with the current lineup in Clearwater, Fla. In March 2025 and Port Chester, New York, in December 2025.

The last time Jones performed with Foreigner in Las Vegas was in April 2022 at the Venetian, before retiring due to Parkinson’s disease.

Tickets, starting at $55, go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30 via Ticketmaster.