Music legend adds 17 dates to Las Vegas Strip production
Lionel Richie is gonna have a party, all night long … For many more nights.
Richie’s “King of Hearts” residency at Encore Theater will roll into 2024, with 17 dates stretching from June 26-Nov. 16. Tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Friday at Ticketmaster.com.
Richie reportedly loves the Wynn’s headlining room. It’s easy to see why. He’s sold out 39 shows since opening in March 2019.
Richie is scheduled to return to “American Idol” with fellow judges and Las Vegas headliners Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. Season 22 will debut in the spring, with Ryan Seacrest hosting.
Richie’s Encore set list has been highlighted by such hits as “Endless Love,” “Lady,” “All Night Long,” “Penny Lover,” “Stuck on You,” “Hello,” “Say You, Say Me” and “Dancing on the Ceiling.” The former member of the Commodores has has sold 125 million albums worldwide and has won an Oscar (for Best Original Song, “Say You, Say Me,” in 1986), a Golden Globe, four Grammys, is a 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and a Kennedy Center Awards recipient in 2017.
The 74-year-old hit-maker and “American Idol” judge previously headlined the former Zappos Theater (today’s Bakkt Theater) from 2016-2018. His first appearance in Las Vegas was in that venue, when it was Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, in 1982.
“We did ‘All Night Long,’ before it was a hit, in my first show here in Vegas,” Richie said. “Now, back in the day, you could put a song out and it would take two to three weeks for it to be a hit. But when I started ‘All Night Long,’ people responded to it as if it was already a hit. They had no idea what is was, but they liked it.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
