REVERED LAS VEGAS ROCK BAND IMAGINE DRAGONS PREPARES TO LIGHT UP THE HOLIDAYS

Most bands go big on New Year’s Eve. Imagine Dragons is going intimate, opting for an audience of about 1,800 at The Venetian Theatre for Imagine Dragons: Live in Las Vegas. The band will be coming off a short rest after winding up the Loom World Tour in Japan, where stadium-sized crowds came out to hear new songs such as “Wake Up,” “Eyes Closed” and set opener “Fire in These Hills” laced among legacy hits “Enemy,” “Thunder” and “Believer.”

Whether ex-drummer Daniel Platzman, who amicably stepped away from the career pressures of being an Imagine Dragon in August, will be around for the special show remains to be seen. Founding member Andrew Tolman returned to the drum stool after Platzman first went on hiatus in 2023 and seemed to be enjoying himself, so he’s all warmed up and ready to go.

Officially, Imagine Dragons is a trio consisting of Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon and bassist Ben McKee, who should be well on his way to having a ZZ Top-length beard by Dec. 31 if he abstains from trimming. Expanding to a five-piece for an evening could make for an interesting footnote in rock history, but whether Tolman is invited to come back into the fold permanently and Imagine Dragons becomes a quartet for its next album remains to be seen. –Matt Kelemen

The Venetian, 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31, starting at $139.95 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com

Most bands go big on New Year’s Eve. Imagine Dragons is going intimate, opting for an audience of about 1,800 at The Venetian Theatre for Imagine Dragons: Live in Las Vegas. The band will be coming off a short rest after winding up the Loom World Tour in Japan, where stadium-sized crowds came out to hear new songs such as “Wake Up,” “Eyes Closed” and set opener “Fire in These Hills” laced among legacy hits “Enemy,” “Thunder” and “Believer.”

Whether ex-drummer Daniel Platzman, who amicably stepped away from the career pressures of being an Imagine Dragon in August, will be around for the special show remains to be seen. Founding member Andrew Tolman returned to the drum stool after Platzman first went on hiatus in 2023 and seemed to be enjoying himself, so he’s all warmed up and ready to go.

Officially, Imagine Dragons is a trio consisting of Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon and bassist Ben McKee, who should be well on his way to having a ZZ Top-length beard by Dec. 31 if he abstains from trimming. Expanding to a five-piece for an evening could make for an interesting footnote in rock history, but whether Tolman is invited to come back into the fold permanently and Imagine Dragons becomes a quartet for its next album remains to be seen. –Matt Kelemen

The Venetian, 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31, starting at $139.95 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com