LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather was among the early stars at T-Mobile Arena even before the venue opened.

This was during the arena’s groundbreaking ceremonies on May 1, 2014. Mayweather lumbered up, unbilled, in a very expensive rig: A Caterpillar construction tractor.

T-Mobile Arena formally opened April 6, 2016. The Killers and Wayne Newton, those tent posts of Vegas entertainment, were in that show. Yes, “Viva Las Vegas” was performed.

On T-Mobile’s 10th anniversary, we focus on our top 10 shows. We’re not delving into sporting events (no VGK or combat sports) or special events (all of the performances listed are after the Vegas Strong benefit show on Dec. 1, 2017). These are performances we actually attended (sadly we missed Imagine Dragons in September 2017, and the Guns N’ Roses reunion show on T-Mobile’s first weekend):

10: Pink, May 28, 2018: The first time I’d seen the superstar born Alecia Moore perform her aerial routine. I’d expected something of a soaring variety, maybe a majestic ballad. No. “So What” was the song, as acrobatically advanced as anything you’ll see in a Cirque show. I’m still holding out for a Sphere residency. But this show was head-over-heels amazing.

9. Stevie Nicks, March 18, 2023: This could have been a club show, the way Nicks pulled the crowd in close. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She dedicated “Landslide” to her departed friend Christine McVie, saying, “When you look at somebody that you love, in your own family or just a friend, and you know that you don’t pay enough attention to them sometimes, remember that sometimes doesn’t come again, someday.”

8. Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, New Edition, Jan. 30, 2026: Braxton was other-wordly in an angel-inspired gown for “Unbreak My Heart. The culmination was Boyz and NE with a full-throated spin of “Poison.” The crowd was delirious by then. I replayed a lot of this show on my phone and carried the happy vibe for days.

7. The Killers, Aug. 26, 2022: You have to have the Vegas rock band in the list. They packed the place with a predominantly locals’ crowd. Brandon Flowers’ forceful recitation of “Lean on Me” was a standout on this night.

6. U2, May 12, 2018: The first of two shows on the “Experience + Innocence Tour” stop. The Sphere residency that followed five years later has washed away many memories of this show. But it was a typically powerful U2 experience, Bono crying out via bullhorn, “This is not America!” to footage of white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia. In an intimate and theatrical show, the band took to a circular auxiliary stage for “Vertigo,” muscling through the song at close range.

5: Bruno Mars, Dec. 30, 2018: The New Year’s Eve weekend show, with Boyz II Men opening. Mars was as fiery as ever, though we prefer his Dolby Live production, with the phones-free crowd going absolutely nuts. But this was a great way to enter the NYE weekend, in the days when Mars still allowed phones in his shows. “Locked Out of Heaven” closed it, amid a storm of confetti.

4. Lady Gaga, July 16, 2025: The true spectacle, marked by Gaga’s deft adjustment to a sound snag. The audio cut during “Die With a Smile,” but the headliner covered, saying,“Every night after the show, I go over every second in my head,” Gaga told the crowd during the pause. “I go over every step that I took, and I go over and over it in my head to make it perfect for you because you deserve the best.” She then took to the piano for and acoustic run of “Vanish Into You.”

3. Bruce Springsteen, March 22, 2024: Springsteen roved the floor section, and ran into someone we know very well. Flavor Flav. They had never met before that night. Based on Flav’s necklace, it was an epic time.

2. Bon Jovi, March 17, 2018: Jon Bon Jovi shouted, “What could be better than a St. Patrick’s Day party in Las Vegas on a Saturday night!?” How about Vincent “Vincent John” Adinolfi’s band opening the show? The member of family act Bronx Wanderers had won a KKLZ 96.3-FM battle of the bands contest to open for the New Jersey rock legends. Adinolfi’s band tore through a 20-minute set of originals at T-Mobile, then played The Space afterward.

1. Metallica, Nov. 26, 2018: The show drew a full-capacity crowd ready to rock, and the band delivered. So did the cast of “X Rocks” at then-Bally’s (Horseshoe today). Comic Jim Breuer introduced the eight-member dance troupe, then blasted through some hard-rock karaoke (“Crazy Train” and ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” in the mix). To say the crowd was ready for Metallica would be the greatest understatement in the 10-year history of T-Mobile Arena.

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