“It’s fun to do everything”: From amphitheaters to Vegas, Maroon 5 likes switching it up

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Maroon 5 will kick off a short tour of the East Coast with Maren Morris on Friday, followed by appearances at two festivals in July. In September, they’ll return to Las Vegas to resume their residency at the Dolby Live theater at Park MGM. All this going back and forth between “regular” shows and their Vegas production keeps things fresh, says guitarist James Valentine.

“It’s nice to have a change,” he tells ABC Audio. “And we get to play in front of all kinds of different audiences, and it’s fun to do everything.”

During their dates with Maren, Maroon 5 will be playing to audiences of 20,000 or more fans. In Vegas, they perform in much smaller surroundings: the Dolby Live theater only seats 5,200 people. That means that Adam Levine can do a show while walking through the audience, with James backing him up on guitar.

“It’s great to go out and hear 30,000 people screaming. That’s a beautiful sound,” notes James. “But, you know, in a smaller venue like (the Dolby), especially when we get to walk out in the crowd, there is something that it definitely is more intimate that you exchange with the audience — we really love that, too.” 

To mix things up even further, Maroon 5 is also headlining two festivals this summer. They’re playing the Milwaukee Summerfest July 5 and Ottawa Bluesfest in Ontario July 7.

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