After an extreme wait, Extreme Thing is back.
Ending a decadelong hiatus, the popular alternative music and action sports fest will return to celebrate its 25th anniversary on March 20 at Desert Breeze Events Center.
Last held in 2016, Extreme Thing has been brought back to life by longtime Clark County Events Director Brian Saliba, who retired in April after 25 years and who ran the event since its 2001 inception.
“About a year ago before I retired from Clark County, I had asked them if we could do one last 25th anniversary hurrah, kind of a going-away event to be my last as a county employee,” Saliba recalls. “At that point they said no. They weren’t going to push forward.
“So, when I retired, I went back and asked what their plan was,” he continues. “And their plan was not to be in the event business like that anymore. So I just kind of put in a courtesy request saying, ‘Can I do it privately on my own? I just need the facility. I’ll take the risk and do it on my own.’”
For 15 years, Extreme Thing was one of the local scene’s most anticipated annual events, a daylong, all-ages marathon of music and action sports headlined by punk, metal and emo notables like Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion, Rise Against, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Bring Me the Horizon and many others.
And then it all came to a sudden end.
“We never got a proper send-off; it was just kind of canceled abruptly,” Saliba notes. “So this is the 25th year, something special.”
Extreme Thing’s return will feature over a dozen bands on two stages — possibly three — its lineup a mix of old favorites and newer acts.
“It’s very nostalgic, but I want to have something the kids are gonna like, too,” Saliba says. “I’m trying to cater to two different generations.”
There will also be an array of action sports, with Sinn Bodhi’s Freak Show Wrestling and more.
Early bird tickets start at $50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at extremethinglv.com.
The first band will be announced on Sept. 15, with the full lineup to be revealed in the weeks that follow.
Saliba can’t yet say whether Extreme Thing will be able to return beyond 2027 — that all depends on how next year’s fest goes.
He’s here for it, though.
“I have a passion for it, and I love doing it,” Saliba says. “I want this to be successful, and I want the community to engage and embrace it.
“This is a homegrown, home-built local event,” he continues. “I don’t want to lose that feel.”
Contact Jason Bracelin at [email protected] or 702-383-0476. Follow @jasonbracelin76 on Instagram.