The Sphere was promised to provide a live entertainment experience the likes of which has never been seen or heard. 

By all accounts, the Madison Square Garden Company’s 18,600-seat venue in Las Vegas delivers exactly that. It’s half-concert, half-spectacle, with its 160,000 square-foot wraparound LED screen serving as a mesmerizing backdrop for some of the biggest names in show business. 

And it doesn’t hurt when U2 opens your venue with nine sold-out concerts, the start of a 40-plus show stretch for Bono & Co. at the brand new dome connected to the Venetian hotel. The shows and venue have been showered in praise from the start, with the band recently adding 11 shows for a residency that will now run through March 2. 

Having seen this beast in action, it didn’t take long before social media circles and music subreddits started to speculate. Or dream, in some cases. When is *our* favorite band going to play The Sphere? 

To satisfy your curiosity, we have composed a list of betting odds on who could be the next to perform at The Sphere.

We know that Phish will be next in line behind U2, with the iconic jam band booking four nights from April 18-21 in what will undoubtedly be an unprecedented psychedelic audio/visual experience. So much so that the Phans, as they’re known in certain circles, should probably take it easy on the usual extracurriculars. 

There’s nothing in terms of live music on the schedule beyond April 21. The venue regularly hosts one-hour ‘immersive films,’ but they didn’t spend more than $2 billion to build the world’s fanciest IMAX theatre. They built the Sphere to draw the biggest names in music and entertainment, and surely they will come. 

Next Artist To Play The Sphere Odds

These odds are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect odds that may be available on legal betting apps.

Who Will Perform Next At The Sphere?

There’s a lot to consider when looking at acts the Sphere could book to follow U2 and Phish. Many of the above will likely get there at some point, but some otherwise likely candidates have conflicting concert schedules in 2024 and probably won’t be next to perform there. 

We also have to consider that this venue is currently reserved for superstars. The biggest of the big acts. The tippy top of the A-list. With apologies to the likes of Bon Iver and Goose, they don’t move the mainstream needle enough to follow in Bono and Trey’s footsteps.

Several artists are currently rumored to be in talks with MSG for potential Sphere runs, including our most likely next act – Harry Styles. 

While Taylor Swift (more on her later) is currently taking over the world on her record-breaking Eras Tour, Style’s recent Love On Tour was the sixth-highest-grossing concert of all time. Whether you like the music or not, the guy sold out Madison Square Garden for 13 consecutive shows in 2022. Those aren’t rookie numbers. 

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Styles would also likely bring a younger audience to the Sphere and provide some variety, a true pop act to follow U2’s iconic rock and Phish’s unparalleled jam sessions. 

The same is also true of Beyonce. The superstar R&B singer is coming off her Renaissance Tour which grossed an average of $10.4 million over 58 shows – the second-highest per-show average of all time behind the Eras Tour. 

James Dolan, chairman of MSG Network, has reportedly been personally pursuing Beyonce for a Sphere run in 2024 and it seems like a no-brainer if both parties can come to an agreement. 

If the Sphere wants to continue with bands rather than solo acts in the early going, Metallica seems like another obvious choice. The heavy metal group basically invented its own genre and has been crushing it on the road for 40 years now. There would be an incredible opportunity for some gnarly visuals and lights to accompany the head-banging sounds, and fans would jump at the chance to see it up close. 

Our next most likely act, Ed Sheeran, checks all of the same boxes as Styles and is coming off a massive tour of his own. He also took in one of the early U2 shows at the Sphere and there seems like mutual interest. 

That’s where we have a hard cutoff from the four most likely acts – Styles, Beyonce, Metallica, and Sheeran – to the next tier of artists who seem like long shots to take the third residency slot for various reasons. 

The Deadheads would flock to Vegas in droves for a Dead & Company show, but the band is coming off a massive 2023 tour it claims will be the last ever. We’re always skeptical about ‘final’ tours – The Eagles have done, like, seven of them – but they don’t seem eager to jump back into it. Especially considering the workload involved for these acts to create custom light and visual shows to go along with the music.

The Rolling Stones would absolutely tear the roof off the Sphere, but they’re on tour from April-July 2024 – exactly the window we expect a third act to step in for a Vegas run. For shame. 

That’s the same problem with Swift. The secondary market for a potential Swift run at the Sphere could probably single-handedly support the local economy, but she’s about to embark on a nearly year-long international stretch of her Eras Tour and simply won’t have the time. Maybe in 2025. 

Other touring staples like Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, and the Flaming Lips just don’t seem like great fits. Others like Elton John and Billie Eilish have the chops, but might not be able to take full advantage of the Sphere’s technological capabilities. 

Again, most of these artists will likely play The Sphere in the coming years. It’s already become one of the most well-known venues in North America after just a few months. It’s hot, it’s new. The envy of promoters and venue owners across the country. 

They built it. The people did come. The only question is which massive act will fill it next?