It was Sphere: the after-U2 between Dead & Company and Eagles

The Eagles remain in Las Vegas until 2026: the band has just announced a new extension of its residency to the spher – the spectacular immersive arena inaugurated in 2023 – which will bring the total to 48 shows, with replicas scheduled until January next year. It is a clear signal: after the U2, which closed their 40 inaugural dates on March 2, 2024, the “era spher” has not only officially started, it is a consolidated reality for rock music, and beyond.

The benchmark: U2 and the numbers of the revolution

U2 were the pioneers of this new show format. With the ResidenceCy “U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Spher”, the band has scored 663,000 spectators in 40 concerts, for a total collection of 244.5 million dollars – data that make it one of the most profitable indoor shows in history. But more than the numbers, the impact remain: the U2 redefined the concept of “residential” concert and the use of the scenic space as a visual medium. Bono and associates not only played an album – their classic “Achtung Baby”, who turned 30 years old – but built an immersive experience, between performances, visual art and technological design.

Who is now: the passage of witness

After the closing of the U2 Residence, the Sphere inaugurated a new season. The witness passed first to phish, the Jam Band that in April 2024 proposed concerts with interactive visuals and original content. In the same field, that of the Jam Rock touched Dead & Company, the heirs of the Grateful Dead: 48 concerts spread between spring 2024 and 2025 designed to fully exploit the immersive potential of the structure and to reinterpret the repertoire of the grateful Dead in a psychedelic and visual key. The Eagles, on the other hand, are confirmed as the heirs of the U2 effect in the long run: their residency, which began in 2024, has been gradually expanded, until it covered a large part of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, for 48 overall concerts. According to Variety and Billboard, the project has overcome all commercial expectations, becoming a point of reference for the management of the “fixed” tour of Las Vegas.
But not only that: between December and March 2025 the spher has opened to electronic music with the Anyma project, and then to pop with the backstreet boys, landed in July 2025 and with shows scheduled until 2026.

What is the spher and why everything changes

The spher of Las Vegas is the most technologically advanced concert structure in the world: a 20,000 seater arena with an internal spherical screen of 157 by 112 meters, 16k resolution, and a beamforming -based audio system, which allows you to direct the sound individually to each viewer thanks to speakers positioned under each seat.
The effect is that of a total experience: an audiovisual flow that envelops and dominates, where the boundaries between live music and study production are dissolved. As in a film in real time, the performance is synchronized with 360 ° projections, lights, and three -dimensional sounds that amplify the physical perception of listening.
The idea of ​​”liveness” transforms: what seems “live” is actually mediated, filtered and designed. The sphere thus represents the meeting point between two worlds – that of the concert and that of audiovisual production – in which the stage becomes a screen and the artist part of a continuous visual flow.

The impact on industry: Residency High-Tech

With the Sphere, Las Vegas has returned to the center of live music, but with a radically new model: no longer only comfort and repeatability, but a technological format that blends visual art, sound immersion and logistical sustainability.
After the U2, residency are no longer synonymous with routine: they are tailor -made productions, with a very high budget, which replace global tours. For “Legacy” bands such as Eagles or Dead & Company, the Sphere becomes a way to update the concert experience without distorting its identity.
And while we already talk about possible Queen shows (and while the Iron Maiden instead say that that model does not do for them) it is clear that the “Sphere model” is redefining the economy and aesthetics of live. After the U2, it is no longer just about concerts: it is about building worlds.