A major Strip resort is launching a headlining series this weekend, and it is hiring the acts in-house. No outside booking partner — no AEG Presents or Live Nation Las Vegas, selling tickets outside of Ticketmaster and AXS support.
Are they nuts? Are they innovative? The folks at Resorts World Las Vegas insist the latter.
The hotel is kicking off its Resort World Live concert series with Mexican American rock icons Los Lobos at 8 p.m. Friday at the The Stage at Zouk. Tickets start at $69, including fees. Go to rwlasvegas.com for intel.
Value, variety and a seamless outreach program has inspired the Resorts World Live concept.
“The reason why we wanted to do this is to really make this a Resorts World-branded series,” RWLV Senior Vice President of Operations Josef Wagner said. “We want to drive the traffic to our platform. It is really our own, homegrown kind of way of saying, ‘Come to Resort World, spend some time with us, enjoy yourselves.’”
And hey, that includes complimentary parking for Nevada residents. Never a bad idea.
The shows are scheduled primarily for Zouk, which has a dazzling layout heretofore underutilized for non-DJ headliners. The roll-up doors will open to Ayu Dayclub when the weather cooperates.
Upcoming headliners in the hotel’s “America 250” celebration include Mitchell Tenpenny on June 27, Nate Smith on July 4 and Niko Moon on July 18. All of those shows are at 10 p.m.
Further out it’s 54 Ultra on Aug. 8, Chris Janson on Aug. 21, American HiFi on Aug. 22, The Wallflowers on Oct. 10, Big Head Todd & The Monsters on Oct. 24, and The Psychedelic Furs on Nov. 6. All of those shows start at 8 p.m.
Resorts World Vice President of Entertainment Drew Strozza, a day-one exec at the property, recruits and books the acts. The resort also runs its comedy series, Zazu Comedy Nights, out of Bar Zazu.
“We have expanded our in-house entertainment team, and they are doing a fantastic job,” Wagner said. “They have connections in the entertainment industry, and basically are underwriting these concepts on behalf of Resorts World. They are our own acts.”
The resort uses the UrVenue ticket site, the same platform used for Zouk’s tickets. The hotel has installed a concierge desk where ticket-holders can scan their tickets’ QR codes, then set a dinner reservation or see the schedule for upcoming shows.
What’s not being used is Resorts World Theatre, where AEG Presents is still the hotel’s exclusive booking partner.
To clarify its ongoing partnership with the resort, AEG issued the following statement:
“The launch of Resorts World Live is a separate initiative, focused on programming and producing shows in additional spaces across the property. A current lineup of Resorts World Theatre performances can be found on the Resorts World Las Vegas website.”
Of course, we remember the days when superstar headliners were announced as residency headliners in the theater, led by Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. That was five years ago. Currently, Resorts World is focused on one-off headliners across the property. In the the theater, upcoming one-offs include comic Lewis Tomlinson is June 11, Martin Lawrence on July 13, Ella Mai on July 24, The All-American Rejects on July 25 and Howard Jones on July 26.
The Rose Rooftop is a choice spot for performances — Imagine Dragons has played the space during its Tyler Robinson Foundation charity events — and will be open as a July 4 fireworks-viewing platform.
“Actually, when this started out, we thought about creating this series for Rose Rooftop,” Wagner said. “It’s such an iconic location overlooking the city.”
Last year’s fireworks show at Rose Rooftop “was the cradle that created the Resorts World Live series, it was the catalyst,” Wagner said. The vision moved to a venue where weather could be better managed.
“Look, we have all the bells and whistles already in Zouk and Ayu, and if we sell a fantastic amount of tickets, if we go beyond 2,000 let’s say, for Zouk, we can always open those doors to Ayu and make it indoor-outdoor,” Wagner said. “The flexibility of the space was a big piece. I think it makes sense.
It adds up to a cool little series.
”We are not trying to sell 5,000 tickets for Resorts World Live,” Wagner said. “We want to create niche of more intimate, more manageable kind of shows. And we want to utilize the Zouk space on a more regular basis outside of nightlife.”
Tease this …
Confidently feeling the Academy of Country Music Awards and American Music Awards shows will be in Vegas for a spell. At least four more years. Let’s get to that announcement, folks …
Cool Hang Alert
Did we say cool? Hot, actually. “Totally 80’s Pool Party” is upon us at The Strat on Saturday. Missing Persons, Naked Eyes, Prescott Niles’ The Knack and Bow Wow Wow headline at the resort’s Swim & Social Pool. Vegas rocker Patrick Vitagliano’s ’80s cover band The Bones opens. The party starts at 4 p.m. Tickets start at $43.60 for GA; go to thestrat.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykatson X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.