Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Bruno Mars opens new Chelsea on Dec. 29 and NYE to launch octet of shows at Cosmopolitan

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Bruno Mars performs during the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival in MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.

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Bruno Mars performs during the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival in MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.

Bruno Mars, who lit up the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night and is to be the featured halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl in February, opens the new Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan as part of the Strip venue's New Year’s Eve celebration.

Announced today by the hotel, Mars plays what will be a sparkling-new venue on Dec. 29 and 31 as part of an eight-show set of performances. Colleague Robin Leach first reported last week that the hotel was about to announce Mars as a recurring headliner.

The Grammy Award-winning artist and accomplished songwriter is back at the Cosmo in 2014 from Feb. 15-16 (two weeks after his Super Bowl appearance), May 23-24 and Aug. 22-23. Tickets are $150 for the Dec. 29 and Dec. 31 shows and are on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through the Cosmopolitan website or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets for the other shows start at $95.

In August, Mars played a rollicking, sold-out show with his fiery backing band, the Hooligans, at Grand Garden Arena and has previously performed at Pearl Concert Theater in the Palms. In a news release, Mars said: “Me and the Hooligans are bringin' live music to the Cosmopolitan’s Chelsea on New Year's Eve. It'll be our first time, but not our last.”

In the same release, Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin said: “Bruno Mars is a perfect fit for the Cosmopolitan, as he has a natural affinity for Las Vegas and is a true performer.”

Given Mars’ affection for grand staging and the use of inventive light and video technology (which he displayed most effectively on Saturday during his set-closing “Gorilla"), it will be interesting to see if the new venue, where the appeal is its very intimacy, can capture the grandeur of his live performances.

But the hotel and Mars seem confident they can deliver a unique, high-powered and — most important — hot-selling show.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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