This year has not been great for Las Vegas in regard to tourism. Due to rising inflation, soaring prices, and the fact both our neighbors to the north and south don't really want to bend over backwards to visit the States this year, a city that has been hit hard is the US's most "sinful" one.

“We have a number of very high rollers that come in from Mexico that aren’t so keen on coming in right now. And that seems to be the prevailing attitude internationally,” Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley told the AP in August after the city reported double-digit decreases in visitors.

But one segment has held strong: music fans.

Regardless if the show is in a parking lot for When We Were Young, in a hockey arena for Mother Monster, at the football stadium for Queen Bey, or in the Sphere for the Dead, people this year and for decades have shown they will pilgrimage to the desert to catch a great show.

This last weekend was no exception. Here are some highlights.

Eagles break a milestone at the Sphere

Don, Joe, Timothy, Vince and Deacon of the Eagles soared into some rare air on Halloween a couple of weeks ago when they sold out their 40th show at the eye-opening Sphere in Las Vegas.

The achievement made them just the third group to hit that milestone and last weekend they passed U2 to become the group to have played the second-most amount of shows at the revolutionary venue.

Dead & Co remains kings of the Sphere as of now with 49 performances at the psychedelic wonder. Eagles are now just five shows behind them, but they have eight shows booked for January and February of next month.

Snag your tickets on the Eagles website so you can be there when they become the first band to surpass 50 shows at the joint.

Kelly Clarkson unwrapped a Christmas song

It's dark at 5:30pm, it's getting a tad nippy, and even though there may be a few stray pumpkins still sitting on your or your neighbors' porch, Kelly Clarkson is more than ready for some yule tide tunes.

The very first American Idol inserted the Christmas song "Underneath the Tree" into both of her sets this weekend at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, where she has now done 10 shows on her Studio Sessions residency.

The singer co-wrote the tune with Greg Kurstin and it appears on her first holiday LP, 2013's Wrapped in Red. She dropped a second one, When Christmas Comes Around... in 2021 and it went to #20 on the album chart.

A sweet moment happened during the Friday night show when a couple made their way to the front of the audience. One of the men got on his knee and proposed to his true love.

As the man standing took in the moment and felt the emotion silently, Kelly jokingly egged him on by saying, "say yes, bitch."

The gentleman, smiling, approached Kelly's outstretched mic, and said into it, "yes, bitch."

Kelly only has one weekend of shows left at her home on the Strip, but fear not, more dates have been added to the calendar. Get tix from her website.

Jackson Browne concluded his five-night residency

One of the long-time mainstays of the Laurel Canyon scene of the 1970s, Jackson Browne turned 77 last month and promptly performed in a five-night sold out run at The Venetian Theater within walking distance of the Sphere.

Kicking off his residency on Halloween, the 7x Grammy-nominee has been performing sets of around 17 songs from and impressive 13 different albums from his career. He has even been playing two Warren Zevon covers.

If you hear about Jackson early next year, don't be surprised. He will be one of the musicians performing in the benefit called A Concert for Altadena which is scheduled for January 7, 2026 at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, California.

The special night supporting the families affected by the Altadena Fire from earlier this year is being organized by the band Dawes and includes Jackson and others including Aloe Blacc, Brad Paisley, Brandon Flowers, Eric Krasno, Everclear, Jenny Lewis, Judith Hill, Mandy Moore, Ozomatli, Stephen Stills.

Tickets available at Dawes' website.

Barry Manilow gears up to final shows ever

The man who has been singing about being the guy who writes the songs (even though that tune was written by a Beach Boy) will be stepping away from the piano in January.

This makes his last gigs at the Westgate Las Vegas (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) all the more special as the entertainer who gave us “Copacabana,” “Mandy” "Even Now," and “Can’t Smile Without You” will soon be wrapping up his six decades in show biz.

This weekend he played another set jam packed with hits from the American Bandstand theme to love songs and sing-alongs. Celebs like Richard Marx, Daisy Fuentes and Kathy Griffin were in the audience as now just six more performances are on his calendar at the Westgate, followed by ten in January.

“It’s a bittersweet experience for me because I know that I’m not coming back here and (the fans) know I’m not coming back here,” Barry told Billboard. “And when I finish and I say ‘goodbye’ it is goodbye. I’ve never felt that before.”

Get your tickets on Barry's website.

Barry Manilow Farewell Tour 2026

1/6 Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
1/7 Kia Center, Orlando, FL
1/8 Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
1/10-1/11 Hertz Arena, Estero, FL
1/12 VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
1/14 North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, SC
1/15 First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
1/16 Gas South Arena, Duluth, GA
1/18 Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH