The Las Vegas Sphere’s Immersive Experience
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Phish performs at the Las Vegas Sphere. Photo by Rich Fury, Sphere Entertainment, courtesy of Getty Images.
The Sphere has offered the residencies of legendary bands such as the Eagles, U2 and Phish
Joel Veenstra, chair of the Department of Drama and head of stage management at UC Irvine, recently joined LAist’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle to discuss how emerging technologies are changing the landscape of live entertainment and audience experiences. During the conversation, Veenstra highlighted the technological capabilities that make venues such as the Sphere distinct from traditional performance spaces. “I think the key difference is the technology. So, as you experience sitting in the Sphere, you have this immersive 360-degree space that can do so many different things that are unique, in addition to different sound technologies that are engaged and different immersive things. Like within the Wizard of Oz, they have apples that are dropping in the show, and so it’s almost like a controlled theatrical experience.”
Expanding on his thoughts following the interview, Veenstra noted that the Sphere’s success is not simply because it functions as a concert venue, but because it fundamentally reimagines what the venue itself can become. Rather than serving only as a space for a performance, he explained that the environment becomes the attraction. “The success of the Sphere isn’t because it is a concert venue,” Veenstra said. “It is because they transformed the venue itself into being the headliner.”
He described the experience as existing somewhere between multiple forms of entertainment and technology, combining elements of extended reality, immersive cinema, themed experiences, electronic music culture and live performance. Unlike a traditional VR headset, however, the experience is shared collectively rather than individually. “The Sphere is essentially a communal VR,” he said. “The isolation of a VR headset is not there. An immersive reality is now available for a group of individuals, not unlike the joy of going to a movie or a theatrical production together.”
While Veenstra does not believe the future of entertainment means every venue will become a Sphere-like environment, he noted that it has raised expectations across the industry. “The venues of the future won’t all be like the Sphere, but it absolutely elevated the bar for what live entertainment can feel like,” he said, noting that venue developers and producers are increasingly considering immersive and technology-driven experiences as a central part of entertainment’s future.
