Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Luke Bryan performs at the 52nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, April 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.
Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 | 2 a.m.
If the past weekend in Las Vegas was about major league pro sports special events, the next one is all about country music.
Three major concert residencies will take over the Strip this week with George Strait performing at T-Mobile Arena, Shania Twain at Zappos Theater at the Planet Hollywood resort, and Luke Bryan debuting his new show at Resorts World Theatre. All three have performances scheduled for February 11 and 12, with Bryan and Twain continuing shows later this month.
Of course, country music artists have long maintained a dominant presence in the Vegas entertainment scene and major stars like these are regularly returning to Strip showrooms and theaters throughout the year, not just when events like National Finals Rodeo or the Academy of Country Music Awards are in town. Even while the NHL All-Star Weekend and the NFL Pro Bowl converged here in the last few days, Garth Brooks was performing at Park MGM and Kane Brown made a tour stop at T-Mobile Arena.
Bryan, the 45-year-old Nashville singer and songwriter who also judges on “American Idol,” is the newest addition to the portfolio of Vegas country headliners. He starts his new residency at the 5,000-seat Resorts World Theatre Friday night with eight more shows throughout February. Tickets and information are available at rwlasvegas.com.
He’s the third resident artist to get started at Resorts World, following fellow country superstar Carrie Underwood and fellow “Idol” judge Katy Perry last year. Bryan recently told People Magazine that those two singers set the bar very high at Resorts World.
"When you're in the entertainment capital of the world, you don't wanna go up there and lay any eggs," he said. "I'm going to come out there and deliver the energy, deliver the entertainment. I think in Vegas, I've always been able to get away with really being myself, being free, and reacting with the fans in the moment. In Vegas, you can get away with that a little more than some conservative country music markets across the country."
Whatever the reasons may be, it’s clear country artists love spending time on the Vegas stage. Brad Paisley has extended his recurring gig at Wynn’s Encore Theater, coming back to the Strip on March 11; Underwood returns to Resorts World on March 23; and Keith Urban continues his residency show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 25.
Strait has been breaking records with his shows at T-Mobile Arena since the venue first arrived in 2016; tickets and information for this week’s “Strait to Vegas” concerts can be found at t-mobilearena.com.
Twain recently announced she’ll be concluding her second Las Vegas Strip residency, “Let’s Go!” at Zappos Theater, in September. Tickets and info for her return to Planet Hollywood can be found at caesars.com.
Country music in Las Vegas will continue to get bigger this year when the ACM Awards will be held March 7 at Allegiant Stadium. The event was originally set for MGM Grand Garden Arena in April before being reset in November, and it will also mark the first time the awards shows exclusively livestreamed on Amazon Prime Video. Last week the show announced the legendary Dolly Parton will host this year’s ACMs, and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.
