Ionic Las Vegas Strip show closing after 12 years

Las Vegas has become a destination music city, whereas it used to be a place where has-been artists milked whatever fame they had left. That still happens to a point, but the performers have to either have a really big fan base or still be very good at entertaining to make that work.

While Adele, Garth Brooks, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and a couple of other acts can sell out large showrooms, most acts happen in much smaller venues. Sometimes those artists might perform in different slots at the same venue.

At Ole Red, Blake Shelton's country bar and performance space at Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) Horseshoe, smaller bands play the early slots where it's less important to draw a crowd, while headliners take the stage at night.

Las Vegas has rooms that sit under 300 people. That can be the perfect size for a comedian to sell out regularly or for niche shows to eke out a profit.

The problem is that when you play a small room — even if you do pretty well — a relatively small downturn in ticket sales can mean the beginning of the end.

Not every band can sell out huge venues like the Las Vegas Sphere.

Image source: Sphere Entertainment

“Raiding the Rock Vault” closing after 12 years

While the headlines go to the Eagles or U2 playing The Las Vegas Sphere, the Las Vegas Strip hosts acts of all sizes and types. Donnie Osmond and Wayne Newton play multiple times a week in relatively intimate showrooms, while performers of yesteryear such as Rich Little still find regular work in small comedy rooms.

Shows without a big-name headliner have struggled in Las Vegas in recent years. That has included “Raiding the Rock Vault,” a live show that has been playing a 250-seat venue at Caesars Planet Hollywood.

The show sounds like a sight to see in a small venue.

“These are NOT basement guitarists and karaoke wannabees who stumbled out of the garage and onto the stage to play half-decent covers. The cast of Raiding the Rock Vault plays the standards like only real rockers can, because they are real rockers,” the show shared on its website.

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The site continued to make it clear that the performers are world class.

“These killer tribute performers belt it out like the professionals they are — with power and guts. While a group of Guitar Gods lead the audience through three decades of hits: Hendrix, Zeppelin, Queen, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Van Halen, and everything in between. And two extremely talented female vocalists round out the performance. These killer performers even played in legendary bands like Heart, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Dio, Survivor, Slaughter, and more,” according to the website.

The problem is that some of those names still play Las Vegas, as do many hard rock and light metal acts. That, along with a number of other problems, has forced “Raiding the Rock Vault” to close.

Las Vegas Strip loses a rock show

“Raiding the Rock Vault” has been nearly as enduring as some of the bands it pays tribute to. The show has played multiple Las Vegas Strip venues, and made it through the Covid pandemic.

The show has been dark in July and August as “Raiding the Rock Vault” producer Harry Cowell expected Las Vegas to have a slow summer.

“Raiding the Rock Vault” shared its sad news on Facebook.

“After 12 epic years and over 1,800 shows in Las Vegas, ‘Raiding the Rock Vault' is hitting the road! Our record-breaking residency at Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip ends December 30, 2025… and in 2026, we're heading out on a North America, UK & Europe Tour,” the show shared.

Tickets are on sale for dates between August 30 and December 30.

Cowell shared in a press release that he does not think the Las Vegas climate will recover quickly.

“We don’t see the Las Vegas tourism situation improving in the next year or two, so we’ve decided to satisfy the demand that has grown in other territories for ‘Raiding the Rock Vault,'” he said in a press release.