Boy-band icons add dates to Strip residency
The Strip’s boy-band revival shows no signs of abating.
New Kids On The Block have announced 16 additional dates, giving them 24, as “The Right Stuff” dance party continues at Dolby Live.
The added dates are June 19, 20, 24, 26, 27; July: 1, 3, 4; and Oct. 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17. Tickets to those shows go on sale 10 a.m. Pacific time Friday at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets to previously scheduled dates are on sale now. Those shows are scheduled Wednesday, Friday, Saturday; and continuing Feb 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28.
In a fittingly white-themed announcement ceremony, NKOTB and select Blockheads (their notorious fan club) turned up at the famed Little White Wedding Chapel in downtown Las Vegas. The band was honored with keys to the Las Vegas Strip from key-bearing Clark County Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom. The lineup of Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Donny Wood then celebrated with a wedding ceremony to officially be wed to the city for the long term.
In a statement, Wahlberg said, “What we’ve built here in Vegas, together with our incredible Blockheads, feels truly magical. 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.”
NKOTB and Backstreet Boys at Sphere have seized strong demand for boy-band nostalgia in Las Vegas. In a memorable unbilled moment on June 28, Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean and Howie Dorough joined the New Kids on stage at the Park MGM Theater. The summit ignited impromptu talk of a co-headlining tour. The bands have run the road together in 2011-12.
“When are we going back on the road together again?” McLean asked. “How about, we finish Vegas, you smash the Sphere, and we team up and do it one more time?” Wahlberg said. But such a concept has been sidelined, as these boys have more work to do in Vegas.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
