If Nashville is the Music City, Las Vegas is Sin City and the Strip is the capital of music residencies. And fittingly so, since Las Vegas has been playing host to a lot of different performers since 1940 when world-famous prodigy Władziu Valentino Liberace graced the Sin City with a concert series. Decades later, the charm of Las Vegas is still as strong as ever with artists like Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Elton John, Elvis Presley and many more continue to perform here.
And included in that impressively long list are country artists like George Strait and Shania Twain who have done legendary residencies. In this article, we feature them and three more country stars who have all done Las Vegas.
What is a Las Vegas residency?
A Las Vegas residency is basically a contract between a popular musical artist with one of the large casinos on the Strip wherein they will perform shows from a minimum of several times a week to as long as several months or even years.
These residencies are considered low-stress, highly profitable shows. Unlike traditional tours which stop at different cities across the US in a span of a month or two, Las Vegas offers a one-stop shop for both performers and concert-goers. It’s less stressful as performers stay in one place to perform and concert-goers can go and be able to watch different artists along the Strip.
Some critics think that residencies are nothing but a simple attempt to rejuvenate a declining career of an artist. But lately, a lot of trending artists like Drake are giving in to Las Vegas residencies.
5 Country Artists in Sin City
Let’s get to know the 5 country artists who have had contracts in Sin City.
1. Shania Twain’s ‘Shania: Still The One’ (2012)
Dubbed as the “Queen of Country Pop” and a massive influence to the new generation of female country music artists, Twain is considered one of the top artists in the genre. Not only that but she is also the all-time best-selling female artist in country music history with over 85 million records sold.
In 2004, Shania took time off stage and made her comeback after eight years. She launched her Las Vegas residency with Shania: Still The One at The Colosseum where she performed 105 shows in three years. The “Queen of Country Pop” grossed $43.6 million throughout the entire residency.
And now she is back again with Shania Twain: Let’s Go! which is a concert celebration for her legacy as one of Las Vegas’ first female and country music headliners, paving the way for other country music artist residencies. The series will kick off in December at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
2. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s ‘Soul2Soul’ (2012)
Known as one of country music’s power couples, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have cultivated a successful path individually as country music artists. Together, they have sold over 70 million albums and won different awards. Yet despite being two of the best in the genre and a couple at that, they rarely headlined together.
One of the very few times that they did was in 2012 for their ‘Soul2Soul’ Las Vegas residency. The limited engagement series covered 10 weekends until April 2013 at The Venetian Theatre. The 1,815 seat venue was very different from their usual tours which have all been done in arenas.
For You
As of now, the couple has not announced whether they’ll be reprising the show but if they would, you’ll hear it straight from us!
3. Brooks & Dunn with Reba McEntire ‘Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas’ (2015)
The duo Brooks & Dunn has been known as the greatest country duo of the last century and deservingly so, after all, they won the CMA Award for the best vocal duo from 1992 until 2006 (except 2000). And not to mention various hits they produced and other awards that they bagged. But in 2010, the duo decided to go solo.
Five years later, they reunited on stage with country superstar Reba McEntire for the ‘Together in Vegas’ series. The show was played at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. And with their combined star power, they raked in $25.4 million and sold 205,159 tickets in three years.
And this 2021, they announced that they will grace The Colosseum again. The series is the culmination of their friendship ever since they started touring together back in 1993. ‘Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas’ is scheduled for December featuring 30 action-packed hits.
4. George Strait’s ‘Strait to Vegas’ (2016)
George Strait has been known as the “King of Country” and the pioneer of the neotraditionalist country style and movement. And throughout his three-decade-long career, Strait has charted over 60 number ones – more than any other artist has achieved in any genre, collected over 30 Platinum-selling albums, and earned more than 60 major awards.
In 2016, the “King of Country” kicked off his acclaimed ‘Strait to Vegas’ series at the T-Mobile Arena. He has played 28 shows through his entire residency, performing two at a time with three-to-four month breaks in between. The country legend’s residency sold 469,471 tickets and earned $68.7 million as per Billboard.
And for the first time since his chart-topping show last February 2020, he is stepping back on the stage of T-Mobile Arena. He will be playing back-to-back nights this winter scheduled in December and February. He will be joined by special guests Caitlyn Smith and Tenille Townes.
5. Lady A’s ‘The Lady Antebellum: Our Kind of Vegas’ (2019)
The country music group Lady A is definitely one of the most popular groups in the genre and even outside. With their hit song “Need You Now,” they have been able to put themselves on the map and sell over 10 million records in the US alone. After their long run in the industry, the group finally headlined their first-ever Las Vegas residency in 2019.
Lady A has always felt at home in Las Vegas as they won their first-ever award here (ACM Awards). Their 15-date Our Kind of Vegas was held at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino’s Resort, running from February until August 2019. There is no news yet when they will do it again but they sure hinted that they wouldn’t mind doing another run. So, stay tuned!
