Rod Stewart announced in 2024 that he was done with large-scale world tours. He wrapped his record-setting 13-year, 200-show residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace that same year, a run so successful it became one of the venue’s longest-running and most acclaimed shows in its history. By every normal account, that should have been the closing chapter.
Instead, Stewart came back. “The Encore Shows” launched in 2025 and returned for a fresh run in 2026, with dates running May 27 through June 6 and six additional performances scheduled for August 18 through 29. At 81 years old, he is still selling out The Colosseum, still building a new setlist every single night, and still, by his own claim, capable of running the 100 meters in 18 seconds. Whether or not that last part is technically verifiable, the rest of it is not in question.
This is one of the most quietly remarkable runs happening in Las Vegas right now, precisely because it shouldn’t still be happening at all.
Fifteen Years and Counting
Stewart launched his original Colosseum residency, “Rod Stewart: The Hits.,” in 2011. “Next year will mark 15 years at The Colosseum, and I still get very excited each time I return,” he said ahead of the 2026 dates. “I love this theatre.”
That kind of statement, coming from someone who has performed at this level for over five decades, carries weight. Stewart has had every opportunity to walk away from Las Vegas entirely. Instead, after officially concluding the milestone 13-year run in 2024, he came back by what Caesars Entertainment described as popular demand, launching The Encore Shows in 2025 and continuing them into 2026.
The relationship between Stewart and the Colosseum has become one of the defining artist-venue partnerships in modern Las Vegas entertainment, on par with what Celine Dion built in the same room or what Adele achieved more recently. Few artists return to a single venue across a decade and a half. Fewer still do it while actively building new material into the show rather than simply repeating a fixed set.
What Makes The Encore Shows Different
The core distinction between Stewart’s original residency and the current Encore run is structural. According to a recent review from Las Vegas Magazine, Stewart builds a new setlist for every single performance. Most residency artists lock in a polished, repeatable show. Stewart treats every night at The Colosseum as its own event, pulling from more than 50 years of recorded music, deep cuts, the occasional legendary cover, and surprises that even longtime observers don’t see coming.
That means audiences walk in without knowing exactly what they are going to get, which is a rare quality in an industry built on predictable, optimized show structures. For an artist of Stewart’s stature, this isn’t risk-taking for its own sake. It is confidence built on five decades of material deep enough to draw from without ever feeling repetitive.
The production itself has been refreshed for this encore era. New staging elements support a show that still features his signature 12-piece band and full complement of backup vocalists. The fundamentals that made the original Colosseum run so beloved remain intact. The presentation around them has been updated for the room and the moment.
The Songbook That Built a Career
Stewart’s catalog spans rock, folk, soul, R&B, disco, and the Great American Songbook, with a recent expansion into swing through his 2024 album Swing Fever, a collaboration with Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. That album earned Stewart his 11th number one album in the UK, a list he shares with David Bowie, Taylor Swift, and U2.
The Encore Shows draw from across this entire range. Audiences can expect “Maggie May,” “You Wear It Well,” “Hot Legs,” “Broken Arrow,” “Infatuation,” “You’re in My Heart,” “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,” “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” “Rhythm of My Heart,” “Young Turks,” “Sailing,” “Tonight’s the Night,” and “Forever Young,” among the surprises and legendary covers Stewart weaves in depending on his mood for the night.
That range is the point. Few artists working today can move credibly between disco-era hits, folk-rock ballads, and Tin Pan Alley standards within a single 90-minute set. Stewart has spent his entire career refusing to be boxed into a single genre, and the Encore Shows let that refusal play out live, night after night, in whatever order feels right to him in the moment.
The Colosseum’s Acoustic and Visual Advantage
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace remains the most celebrated venue in Las Vegas, with an impressive legacy of superstar talent in an intimate, once-in-a-lifetime setting. Its 4,300-seat capacity and acoustic design, built originally to support Celine Dion’s vocal performances, continues to reward artists whose careers were built on the strength of a voice rather than studio processing.
For Stewart, whose famous raspy growl has carried him through every genre he has touched, the room provides exactly the kind of clarity and presence his performances require. TripAdvisor reviews of recent shows describe high-fidelity sound with strong bass, treble, and vocal balance regardless of seating section, a detail that matters significantly for a touring legend whose voice is the entire engine of the show.
The venue’s history adds its own layer of meaning to Stewart’s residency. Walking into a room previously occupied by Elton John, Adele, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion, and watching an artist who has called this room home for parts of fifteen years, creates a sense of occasion that touring shows in generic arenas cannot replicate.
The Honesty of an 81-Year-Old Rock Star
Stewart has not pretended the Encore Shows are anything other than what they are: a continuation born from genuine enjoyment rather than contractual obligation. “So come along and we’ll forget the world outside for a couple of hours at the Encore shows,” he said ahead of the 2026 run.
That kind of directness from an artist at this stage of his career changes the texture of the experience. Audiences are not watching someone go through motions to fulfill a legacy commitment. They are watching a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee who has explicitly stated that he is having too much fun to stop completely, and who has structured an entire show format around the idea that spontaneity remains possible even after 250 million records sold worldwide.
The contrast with his other 2026 activity sharpens this point. Stewart has also been touring globally with “One Last Time,” a box office hit that ranked among the Top 20 global concert tours of 2024 and continued through North America, Europe, and additional legs in South America. The Las Vegas dates exist alongside that larger touring commitment, suggesting less of a retirement and more of a recalibration toward the venues and formats he finds most rewarding.
Ticket Details and the Current Schedule
The May and June 2026 dates ran May 27, 29, 30, and June 2, 4, 6, all at 7:30 PM at The Colosseum. Six additional performances have been confirmed for August 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, and 29, 2026, also at 7:30 PM. Tickets start around $91 plus tax and fees, with premium seating commanding significantly more depending on availability.
Citi cardmembers received early presale access ahead of general on-sale for these dates, a pattern Caesars has used consistently across its major Colosseum residencies. Standard tickets are available through Ticketmaster and Caesars’ own booking channels.
The Colosseum’s location at the heart of Caesars Palace makes it easily accessible from most Strip hotels by foot or short rideshare. The venue’s reputation for smooth entry processes and comfortable seating consistently appears in audience reviews, reinforcing why repeat visits to see Stewart, or any major Colosseum residency, tend to be pleasant experiences regardless of the specific show.
Why This Matters Beyond the Setlist
Stewart’s continued presence at The Colosseum represents something larger than one artist’s individual choice to keep performing. It demonstrates that the Las Vegas residency model, often associated with artists either at the absolute peak of contemporary relevance or settling into late-career legacy runs, can also support something more fluid: an ongoing, evolving relationship between a legendary performer and a specific room, sustained by genuine enjoyment rather than any singular contractual arc.
Fifteen years at one venue is not common anywhere in live entertainment. The fact that Stewart is still actively building new elements into the show, rather than simply repeating what worked in 2011, speaks to an artistic restlessness that many performers half his age have already lost.
Key Takeaways
The Encore Shows continue Stewart’s 15-year relationship with The Colosseum, with confirmed 2026 dates in May, June, and August. This is an active, ongoing commitment rather than a single farewell engagement.
Every show features a different setlist. Repeat attendees, even those who have seen Stewart dozens of times before, can expect genuine variation rather than a fixed, repeated program.
The catalog spans five decades and multiple genres, giving the show a range that few contemporaries can match. Expect anything from disco-era hits to swing standards to folk ballads within a single performance.
Ticket prices starting around $91 represent solid value relative to other major Colosseum residencies, particularly given the unpredictable, audience-specific nature of each individual show.
Important Notes
Showtimes are consistently at 7:30 PM, with doors typically opening around 6:30 PM. Arriving with enough buffer to navigate Caesars Palace and find seating is advisable given the property’s scale.
Citi cardmember presales typically precede general on-sale by several days. Checking the Citi Entertainment program ahead of any future date announcements can provide earlier access to premium seating.
The show’s structure, with Stewart personally building each night’s setlist, means specific song guarantees are not possible. Fans hoping for particular deep cuts should manage expectations accordingly, though the breadth of his catalog makes most major hits a reasonably safe bet across any given night.
The Verdict
Rod Stewart’s Encore Shows succeed because they refuse the easy path of legacy-act complacency. An artist with nothing left to prove, who has already built one of the most celebrated residencies in Colosseum history, chose to come back and make the format harder for himself by building a new show every single night.
That choice, more than any individual costume change or production element, is what makes this worth attending. You are not watching a museum piece. You are watching a genuine rock and roll original who, at 81, still treats every Las Vegas night as an opportunity rather than an obligation.
For anyone who has wanted to see Stewart and assumed his Vegas era had concluded in 2024, the Encore Shows prove that assumption wrong in the best possible way. Catch the August dates while they remain, and don’t be surprised if more get added before the year is through.
Relevant Links:
– Rod Stewart Official Website: https://www.rodstewart.com/
– Caesars Palace Shows: https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/shows/rod-stewart
– Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com/rod-stewart-tickets/artist/736200
– Caesars Entertainment Newsroom: https://newsroom.caesars.com/
– Citi Entertainment Presale Program: https://www.citientertainment.com/
