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New Kids on the Block are ready to spend the next year in a committed relationship with Las Vegas, ’til death 2026 do them part.
On Wednesday (Nov. 12), the veteran boy band — made up of Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood — headed to Las Vegas’ Little White Wedding Chapel to “recommit” to Sin City for 16 new dates of “The Right Stuff,” their debut Vegas residency, bringing their grand total of 2026 shows to 24. Clark County Commission chairman Tick Segerblom also gave NKOTB the keys to the Las Vegas Strip, so it sounds like they’re officially moving in to their new home of Dolby Live at Park MGM for the next year.
After kicking off the residency back in June, New Kids will have three more shows this week (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) before returning for previously announced February concerts starting on Valentine’s Day and continuing with the brand-new dates in June, July and October.
“What we’ve built here in Vegas, together with our incredible Blockheads, feels truly magical,” Wahlberg said in a statement announcing the news. “The energy in that room each night — the lights, the lasers, flying up to the balcony to see all our Blockheads dancing and singing along — is so far beyond anything we’ve ever done before. Vegas has been so welcoming to us, we couldn’t leave just yet! We are having the absolute best time and are so excited and honored to be asked to extend our stay here at the Dolby through 2026.”
To get tickets to the newly announced shows, Fan Club pre-sale starts Monday at 10 a.m. PT, while Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets starting Monday at noon PT through the Citi Entertainment program. Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers will have access to a pre-sale starting Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT, while members of MGM Rewards will receive access to a pre-sale starting Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. PT. All pre-sales end Nov. 20 at 10 p.m. PT before the on-sale begins Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. PT.
A limited number of tickets for all previously announced performances are on sale now as well.
In addition to Wednesday’s quickie Vegas wedding, “The Right Stuff” residency also includes a different set of marriage vows each night: between the band and their fans. “Do you, New Kids, take these Blockheads to be your forever fans, so long as we both shall live?” Wahlberg asked his bandmates during the residency’s June 20 debut, to which they all responded: “I do.”
“Do you, Blockheads, take these New Kids to be your forever boy band, forsaking all other boy bands — that means *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, One Direction, all of them — so long as we both shall live?” Wahlberg cheekily asked the screaming crowd, who clearly had no trouble abandoning all those other groups to commit to New Kids on the Block once and for all.
See the full “Right Stuff” residency dates below:
Trending on Billboard The Eagles have added more 2026 dates to their Sphere residency, extending their run as the artist with the most dates at the Las Vegas immersive venue to 56. The new shows will take place March 20-21 and March 27-28. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees had previously announced […]
Source: Gabe Ginsberg / Getty
Jeezy has earned the distinction of now holding a Guinness World Record for the largest performing orchestra at a Hip-Hop concert.
According to Complex, “The rapper was awarded during the Saturday (Nov. 1) performance of his TM:101 Live residency in Las Vegas, where he held shows at PH Live Resort & Casino. Backstage at the concert, which commemorates the 25-year anniversary of his debut album, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, Jeezy was gifted an official certificate by Guinness World Records adjudicator Andy Glass.”
“This isn’t just a win for me — it’s a moment for the culture, for music, and for Vegas,” Jeezy stated in acceptance of the certificate, per a press release. “Thank you to every musician, every fan, and everyone who believed we could take this all the way. A winner is a dreamer who never gave up!”
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Jeezy went on to thank all those who helped turn TM:101 Live into a symphony, including composer Derrick Hodge, whose Color of Noize orchestra has been backing the “Let’s Get It” rapper during his live performances. For Jeezy’s residency and possibly because it’s in celebration of TM:101, the orchestra is made up of 101 musicians. He also thanked musical director Adam Blackstone, DJ Drama, and DJ Ace.
Complex notes that “After the completion of the ‘Masquerade’ dates of his Las Vegas residency on October 31 and November 1, TM:101 Live returns with Nutcracker-themed shows on December 19 and 21.”
Jeezy has been a busy man. Over the summer, he headlined a nationwide tour, but one performance in Baltimore was the most special. Jeezy was in Atlanta, where he lives, before his Charm City performance when he learned that his flight was canceled. Not wanting to miss his show, the “Put On” rapper called an Uber to drive him over 10 hours. The Uber was driven by a man named Tanner, who Jeezy brought on stage to thank for being the reason he was able to make the show in time.
Trending on Billboard Marc Anthony announced Tuesday (Nov. 4) his first-ever residency in Las Vegas. The 10-date “Vegas… My Way!” will take place at BleauLive Theater at the Fontainebleau, kicking off Feb. 13. “This residency marks a new chapter in my journey,” Marc Anthony said in a statement. “Las Vegas has always been about reinvention […]
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Luke Combs and Opry Entertainment Group (OEG) will bring a new Category 10 entertainment venue to the Flamingo Las Vegas next fall. Inspired by Combs’s chart-topping 2017 hit “Hurricane,” the Category 10 brand’s flagship venue opened in Nashville in late 2024.
The three-story venue will feature Hurricane Hall, a main dining hall that will include three bars, a central stage and dance floor, as well as state-of-the-art video, acoustics and lighting. Hurricane Hall will offer curated artist lineups daily and host the brand’s free line dancing lessons. The second floor will include The Still, inspired by Combs’s songwriting talents, which will offer a more intimate area with a view of the stage, as well as an extensive collection of bourbons hand-selected by Combs. The Still will also have an adjacent outdoor patio space.
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The third level will hold The Eye Rooftop, a covered rooftop space featuring a DJ booth, dance floor and bar with views of the Las Vegas Strip. The venue will also feature the Beautiful Crazy Women’s Lounge, located inside the women’s restroom on the first floor, which will offer a champagne bar, makeup counters, soft seating and Hollywood vanity mirrors.
Combs said in a statement, “I am stoked about having a second Category 10 location in Las Vegas. 2026 was already going to be an awesome year, but this takes it to the next level. I can’t wait for Bootleggers to have their own place to party on The Strip.”
Combs is set to headline more than 20 dates in Europe and North America next year on his My Kinda Saturday Night stadium tour. He was recently named the highest RIAA-certified country artist in history, with more than 168 million units sold.
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“With Luke’s enormous international appeal, securing the right Las Vegas location for Category 10 has been a priority since we first announced the partnership back in 2023,” Colin Reed, executive chairman of OEG parent company Ryman Hospitality Properties, said in a statement. “The United Kingdom ranks as the leading market for international visitors to Las Vegas outside North America. Combined with the UK’s continued embrace of country music and Luke, this is an ideal moment to bring Category 10 to one of the world’s great entertainment playgrounds.”
Reed continued, “We have formed a wonderful relationship with Caesars Entertainment through our Ole Red Las Vegas location, and we look forward to bringing more country music experiences to the market.”
“The addition of Category 10 continues to build on the momentum of a tremendous year transforming Flamingo Las Vegas,” added Dan Walsh, senior vp and general manager of the resort. “With exciting new experiences like the Go Pool, Pinky’s by Vanderpump, Gordon Ramsay Burger and Havana 1957, we’ve brought a whole new level of energy to our iconic resort. Category 10 elevates that energy even further, bringing one of the biggest names in music to the Flamingo and offering live performances with great food and cocktails at the best location on The Strip.”
LAS VEGAS — While New Kids on the Block might seem like a perfect fit for Las Vegas, the veteran boy band had somehow never found themselves with a Sin City residency — until Friday night (June 20).
The Right Stuff residency kicked off night 1 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, with NKOTB gracing a stage previously headlined by Usher, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and more superstars. But when the Boston boys were getting started 40 years ago, they had a different perception of Vegas than the entertainment destination it’s become.
“When you’re young, you think you’re really cool,” Jordan Knight told Billboard on Friday ahead of the residency kick-off. “And if somebody said, ‘You guys are going to be doing Vegas in your 50s,’ my thought probably back then would be like, ‘Oh no, no. That’s so corny. … That’s where acts just retire.’ But us doing this right now, I feel like we’re being true to ourselves, really. I don’t think we’re selling out to commercialism or Vegas or whatever it may be. I think we’re just being really true to ourselves. Yes, we have some bells and whistles, but I think we’re just using it really tastefully.”
There were definitely bells and whistles — like the high-flying moment that saw all five members hoisted up among the rafters in individual telephone booths to get as close as possible to every fan in the 5,000-capacity venue — but at its core, this was the New Kids show that their Blockhead superfans have come to expect. That is, the once-teenybopper pop stars (now ranging in age from 52 to 56) left every drop of energy, enthusiasm and love they had on the stage to put on a fun, escapist show in their new home of Vegas, with dates through February. That included the megahits, of course — “Step by Step,” “Hangin’ Tough” and the residency’s namesake “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” — but it also included gems from every one of the band’s seven non-Christmas studio albums, all the way back to their 1986 self-titled debut.
For his part, Jonathan Knight is finding that he’s able to enjoy things at this stage of the band’s career more than those chaotic early days. “When we started, we were just kids,” Jonathan told Billboard just before the show. “I think when we look back at that, nobody prepares you for this. I mean, I would never think at 56 years old, I would be in Vegas, when I was 20. Just being able to, for me personally, just being here, being in the moment, I mean back then, it was just such a blur.”
To keep Friday night’s show from becoming a blur, Billboard has rounded up the five best moments from New Kids’ nonstop fun opening night.
Using Every Inch of the Stage — And Beyond
LAS VEGAS — For New Kids on the Block‘s first-ever Las Vegas residency — which kicked off Friday night (June 20) at Dolby Live at Park MGM — the veteran boy band had a lot of ground to cover in their night 1 setlist. As they explained onstage, Joey McIntyre officially joined the group in […]
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Eugene “Big U” Henley Jr. has pleaded not guilty to a flurry of charges he’s facing in connection with racketeering, gang violence, and murder. The mother of one of Big U’s alleged murder victims, Rayshawn Williams, believes that the music executive and assumed gang boss committed the crime.
TMZ Hip Hop spoke with the mother and sister of Rayshawn Williams outside of a Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles location in California. Shadonna Brown took questions from the outlet’s reporter regarding Big U’s ongoing case, and she didn’t mince words about her assessment of Henley and his alleged involvement in the death of her son.
Court documents highlight that Henley carried out a hit against Williams, who was a rapper signed to Henley’s Uneek Music label, after a dispute in Las Vegas went awry. FBI agent Andrew Roosa said that Williams was flown to Las Vegas in January 2021 by Henley and was slated to record music, but didn’t show up to the sessions. This appeared to anger Henley, who flew to Las Vegas to oversee the sessions. After that, what occurred remains a mystery.
Brown says her “mother’s intuition” is what led her to believe Big U was responsible for her son’s murder. Even further, it appeared that Williams recorded a song dissing his label boss, even down to how he would pass away. Williams was found shot several times in a Nevada landfill, and some suggest that the hit was carried out due to the diss track.
Williams and Henley’s son played football together in high school, highlighting the depth of the bond they seemed to share. Brown has since launched a GoFundMe to relocate for what she says are safety reasons. She also added that Henley never contacted her after the death of her son.
—Photo: Getty
Penske Media Corporation (PMC) is in talks to open a Rolling Stone Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas, sources tell Billboard.
The potential property would open on the site of the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino, which PMC (owner of Rolling Stone as well as brands including Billboard) is currently in talks to acquire from CIM Group, the sources say. As reported by Vital Vegas, which first reported the news of PMC’s possible acquisition, PMC is just one of several potential buyers for the property; suitors have also included John Unwin‘s Corvus Collective, which dropped out after failing to come up with the $30 million in cash needed to complete the purchase. Downtown Grand is currently managed by Fifth Street Gaming.
If talks are successful, the Rolling Stone Hotel and Casino could well be the future site of the Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival, which PMC acquired through Rolling Stone in 2022. As a PMC spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in February, the festival “is in the process of making a long-term investment in Las Vegas real estate for the festival’s new home downtown.” A version of Life Is Beautiful, A Big Beautiful Block Party, was staged for two days and nights last September at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Vegas with headliners Peggy Gou, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, Jamie xx and Jungle.
While nothing is confirmed — sources say the due diligence process for PMC’s potential acquisition of the Downtown Hotel & Casino is underway — Rolling Stone and its sister brands have been looking to strategically invest in opportunities that create brand extensions. Indeed, licensing and experiential opportunities have been a major part of the brand strategy for PMC and Rolling Stone. On March 12, Rolling Stone opened Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience, a first-of-its-kind 360-degree immersive music history experience at Illuminarium Las Vegas at AREA15 that included more than 1,000 photographs, 200 videos and 1,300 Rolling Stone covers and featured more than 300 iconic artists.
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“While we do not comment on specific investment or acquisition details, Penske Media is always looking for strategic opportunities that meet the long-term goals of our brands,” said a spokesperson for Penske Media. “We are committed to growing our international and domestic footprints in both experiential and hospitality for Rolling Stone. As producers of over three hundred events annually across the portfolio, Las Vegas, like other entertainment centers, remains an important market for us.”
Rolling Stone is looking into several additional real estate opportunities around the world and will consider those that meet strategic long-term goals for the brand, sources say, with the Rolling Stone name being licensed for casinos and hotels, similar to Peter Morton‘s Hard Rock Cafe playbook.
PMC and its brands produce more than 300 live events per year and have several events planned in Las Vegas, including the 51st American Music Awards — part of PMC-owned Dick Clark Productions — which will return to the city on Monday, May 26. There is also talk of the 61st annual Academy of Country Music Awards moving to Vegas next year, sources say.
Two of the world’s most iconic names in electronic music — U.S.-based Insomniac and Belgium’s Tomorrowland — are joining forces for the first time ever to debut a groundbreaking new experience titled UNITY.
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The collaborative project will premiere over Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29–31) at Sphere in Las Vegas, one of the most technologically advanced venues on the planet.
Billed as “just the beginning,” UNITY marks the first chapter in a broader partnership between the two powerhouse festival producers and promises to transport audiences into a new dimension of immersive music and storytelling.
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“Through the past decades, we both have strived to create festivals and experiences around the world that foster beautiful, unique communities of individuals,” reads a joint statement from Insomniac and Tomorrowland. “Music is our universal language, the dance floor our sanctuary, and every one of you, our family. Now, for the first time in history, our worlds become one.”
“Now, for the first time in history, our worlds become one. In UNITY, we join together to create a brand-new experience that harnesses the magic, love, and awe-inspiring moments within our events—and there’s no better stage on earth than Sphere.”
Merging Tomorrowland’s signature dreamworlds — including Planaxis, Adscendo, and Orbyz — with Insomniac’s flagship universes like Beyond Wonderland, Escape Halloween, and Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), the UNITY experience is being described as a guided audiovisual journey through the imagination. The story will unfold across an original orchestral-meets-electronic soundtrack, featuring cinematic compositions and iconic dance anthems, building toward surprise DJ performances during a climactic finale.
The event will take full advantage of Sphere’s next-gen immersive capabilities, including its 16K resolution wraparound LED display and Sphere Immersive Sound system, allowing UNITY to blur the lines between fantasy and reality, bringing fans inside the shared creative visions of both brands.
Vibee is offering exclusive hotel and ticket packages from March 27–30 at unity.vibee.com, with general presale access beginning March 31 at 10 a.m. General on-sale begins April 7 at unityxsphere.com.
