‘Eyes of the World’ on the Sphere

When the Sphere opened on Sept. 29, 2023, to the roaring rock-and-roll of U2, there were already rumors of which bands would play the venue next…it felt like a dream when the “Dead Forever” was announced for May 16 through Aug.10.

With a mega-entertainment project of this size, a Dolan had to be involved. Yes, those Guardians and Dolan Science Center Dolans, infamous for giving donations key to the functioning of John Carroll University, and skipping out on signing major hitters for Cleveland. It wasn’t the current Guardians owner Charles Dolan, but his nephew James L. Dolan who bankrolled the big music ball in the Nevada desert.

Dolan, who invested over $2,300,000,000 into this project, started the construction of the Sphere in 2018, with roughly 17,500 seats, and a 60% LED display on the inside. With full coverage on the outside as well, each light has 48 different color diodes, leading to 256,000,000 color combinations across the whole of the Sphere.

‘The Music Never Stopped’

So, with the Sphere finally open, there was the whole reason for my interest in it, Dead & Company. The revival project was inspired by the classic Grateful Dead of the 1960s, with original members such as Bob Weir and Mickey Hart bringing the past of the band towards the present. New members like Oteil Burbridge and the 2000s rock idol John Mayer and others rounding out the members of the Grateful Dead that have passed or are no longer touring.

They’ve toured the United States and Canada since 2016, and their “Final Tour” in the summer of 2023 was meant to be their love letter to the open road. For many, there was always hope inside the group to find a place to just play, and have fans come to them, in a place where their hippie imagery would shine. The Sphere truly did meet these benchmarks.

“Dead Forever” as I saw it, with a handful of friends of mine from JCU, was nothing if not electric. The video feeds and music were amplified to 11 with the roaring of roughly 19,000 plus fans since there was standing room below the seating for up to 2,000 to 3,000 VIPs – right up on the bandstand.

In all honestly – pictures and video do “Dead Forever” and the Sphere far more justice than words. Simply, the Sphere was a transformative experience. In the words of Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter, “Once in a while, you see the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right” and the lights were shining on me, and Deadheads young and old at the Sphere. I hope to see that light again soon, especially as rumors of another show this spring are almost confirmed.

Until then, I can just daydream about the music and remember special nights under the Stars and inside the Sphere.