VEGAS MUSIC NEWS: Queen Confirms Sphere Talks, Sheeran’s Stadium Second Chance

• Will Queen roll into the Sphere?
• Will Ed Sheeran’s next scheduled Vegas date go off without a hitch?
• Will you spend NYE with Kings of Leon at the Venetian?

Queen is in talks to perform an upcoming Las Vegas Sphere residency, Rolling Stone confirmed on Thursday. Singer Adam Lambert would once again fill the giant shoes of long-departed singer Freddie Mercury.

“ I’m very keen on the Sphere,” guitarist Brian May said. “I sat there watching the Eagles, thinking, ‘We should do this. The stuff that we could bring to this would be stupendous.’ So, yeah, I would like to do it. We’re having conversations.”

A Sphere residency would be perfect for May and drummer Roger Taylor,  who at 78 and 76, respectively, are still happy to perform but less happy to circle the world to do it.

I’ve had 50 years of touring, and there’s a part of me that thinks it’s enough,” May told Rolling Stone. “So my feeling at the moment is I don’t want to tour as such. I still want to play shows. I still want to innovate.”

A Queen residency would also be perfect for the Sphere. The legacy superstars toured from 2019 through last February, filling more than 100 15K-20K-seat arenas and stadiums.

To hardcore Queen fans who think a residency starring the runner-up from Season 8 of “American Idol” is a less-than situation because the appeal of Queen was at least 50% Freddie Mercury, they’re not necessarily wrong.

But there’s nothing the band can do about it. Or is there?

Every act headlining the Sphere produces exclusive video to fill the beyond-hi-res 360K square-foot screen. And it’s hardly a stretch to imagine Freddie’s image and voice, both digitally upgraded, commanding the globular wonder as his old group’s lead vocalist for at least one song, and possibly, many more.

Sheeran Fearin’

Usually, it’s the acts headlining big stadium shows who get nervous about them. But for Ed Sheeran, who returns to Allegiant Stadium on July 18 as part of his North American “Loop” tour, the fans have got to be more nervous.

That’s because the last time Sheeran announced a concert at Allegiant, tens of thousands of them flew to Vegas for the show, only to discover 90 minutes before showtime that it was canceled. (A serious flooring issue was blamed.)

Sheeran made up the gig on Oct. 28, 2023, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who purchased the original tickets — or even most of those who did — were able to schlep to Vegas again.

Tickets for Sheeran’s show next summer go on sale at 10 am Friday, September 26 via Ticketmaster.

Kings of New Year’s

Kings of Leon have announced New Year’s Eve shows on December 30 and 31 at the Venetian Theater.

A press release promises a chance to see the Tennessee trio in “a close-up, elevated experience, playing all the hits in a show special to Las Vegas.”

Tickets for “Kings of Leon: Live in Las Vegas” go on sale at 10 am PT Saturday, September 27 via kingsofleon.com. (Presales are happening now.)