Las Vegas Strip casino signs legendary rock band to new residency

Classic rock band signs up for an unusual Las Vegas Strip residency.

By Kirk O’Neil

TheStreet

Rock and roll bands are infamous for announcing their farewell tours, only to renege on their promises to stop touring.

Legendary British rockers The Who announced that their 1982 tour would be their farewell tour, but they returned to perform at Live Aid in 1985 and then embarked on another full tour in 1989.

The “My Generation” singers couldn’t stay away from the stage and returned for another tour in 1996, followed by a 2002 tour after the death of bass player John Entwistle and continued touring regularly.

The Doobie Brothers joined the trend in 1982 with their farewell tour and even released a live album afterward to commemorate the tour. The band reunited in 1989 and performed several more tours, including their 50th anniversary tour that stretched from 2021 into 2023.

The Eagles, which have been performing farewell tours since their “Farewell 1 Tour” in 2003, said it wrapped up its touring career with a show on its “Long Goodbye” tour in the Netherlands on June 15, 2024.

The band may no longer be touring, but they are playing a tour’s worth of shows at Sphere Las Vegas, as they launched their residency on Sept. 10, 2024, and have scheduled 44 shows so far through Nov. 8, 2025.

Legendary rock band Foreigner may not say goodbye to touring either after extending their so-called farewell tour in October 2024 for another year, which was supposed to end Oct. 11, 2025, in Atlantic City, N.J.

No farewell for Foreigner

The band might just keep on extending its farewell tour forever.

Originally, Foreigner was scheduled to finish its farewell tour on March 13, 2024. But just before its final show, it scheduled a 16-show Farewell Residency at the Venetian Theater at The Venetian Las Vegas, spread out over March, April, October, and November 2024.

Then, on Oct. 24, 2024, the “Juke Box Hero” singers decided to cash in on their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and extended their farewell tour past the final Vegas show on Nov. 9, 2024, and booked 26 more shows in 2025, from March 13 through Oct. 11.

Foreigner extended the tour even further by adding 13 more shows in Canada from Oct. 21 through Nov. 7, 2025.

Foreigner launches orchestral residency

And now, the “Hot Blooded” singers have tossed their Farewell Tour promotion out the tour bus window, and have scheduled a unique engagement back at the Venetian Theater in Vegas, its “Foreigner: The Hits Orchestral” residency, “Celebrating 50 Years Live in Vegas,” on March 6, 7, 11, 13, and 14, 2026.

Foreigner’s orchestral residency in Vegas will celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra that’s conducted by Julliard cello virtuoso Dave Eggar, who has performed, recorded, and arranged for artists that include Coldplay, Paul Simon, Amy Winehouse, Beyonce, and others, along with his arranging partner, Chuck Palmer, the band revealed in a statement.

Official Platinum, Citi Cardmember, Artist, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, and Venetian ticket presales are on sale now until 10 p.m. Pacific time on April 24.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 25 at 10 a.m. Pacific at Ticketmaster.com.