Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

MGM Resorts Village is the playground for iHeartRadio Music Festival

Miley Cyrus-The Lot-The Village

John Katsilometes

Miley Cyrus performs for a crowd of about 23,000 at the Lot during the Village showcase for iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.

2013 iHeartRadio: The Village

Miley Cyrus dances in the Village across from the Luxor during the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. Launch slideshow »

The officials who book, stage and manage events at MGM Resorts Village have hit the “over,” thrice over.

They oversize, overcommunicate, overemphasize. Maybe they’ll stop short of overkill, or not.

“We have a massive stage because we want to make a big statement. We have a lot of space. Our goal is to program as much as possible in that space,” says MGM Resorts Senior Vice President of Entertainment Chris Baldizan, as his company preps for the second daylong iHeartRadio Music Festival outdoor concert at the Village. “We’re emphasizing that this is a big event for people who love live music who maybe can’t get into the shows at MGM Grand Garden Arena.”

The Village at the Village (an unofficial but accurate title) is a string of unlike but popular acts that begins rolling out at 11 a.m. Saturday and doesn’t cease playing until 6 p.m. A crowd of 15,000 to 20,000 is expected. The lineup: Iggy Azalea, Neon Trees, 5 Seconds of Summer, Kacey Musgraves, Childish Gambino, Magic!, The Pretty Reckless, Jake Miller, Nico & Vinz, Meghan Trainor, Lil Jon and Fences.

That festival, with food and drink vendors and even a water slide set up around and in the center of the 15-acre parcel, comes at a core ticket price of $49 (hit Ticketmaster for info). It’s a very good value for those who find they are priced out of most of the top shows in Las Vegas, but as in all of the more recent outdoor mass-gathering events in and around Las Vegas, planning is paramount.

As Baldizan reminds, fans are not going to be able to park at the entrance of the Village at the Village and saunter in. There is a vast self-parking lot on the east end of the property, an unpaved lot off Giles Street, and free shuttle service is provided from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. by all the MGM Resorts closest to the Village — Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York-New York and MGM Grand are all toting fans to and from the Village (for a look at the map -- in full color! -- hit the MGM Resorts Village link here).

“As a city, we are learning more about how to experience these outdoor events,” Baldizan says. “You do have to plan ahead and understand this is not a pure VIP experience. This is a fun experience, outside with a lot to enjoy throughout the day.”

Nonetheless, the staging of this spectacle is particularly impressive.

“We have massive staging,” Baldizan says. “Maybe more than we really need, actually.”

We’ll be the judge of that. Unlike a year ago, when acts alternated on two stages — one facing the Strip and one facing east with Mandalay Bay as the backdrop — this year, a single stage is used for the entire festival.

When asked how large that stage is, Baldizan chuckled and said, “Gigantic.” It’s called the Sam 150 mobile stage, one of only two being used anywhere, 130 feet wide and 50 feet tall. It is set up facing east, with the backdrop again of Mandalay Bay. A year ago, fans shot photos freely with their camera phones in that direction, giving MGM Resorts and iHeart a healthy dose of exposure across social media. The second stage from a year ago has been deemed redundant and dropped.

The Village is going to be a buzzing facility throughout the fall and is one component of MGM Resorts’ overarching strategy to present a higher volume of outdoor entertainment options over the next couple of years. Among them: the 44-acre MGM Resorts Festival Grounds, a partnership among MGM Resorts, Cirque du Soleil and Ron Burkle of Yucaipa Companies (whose holdings include Fresh & Easy and Aloha Airlines) that opens with Rock in Rio in May; and The Park at MGM Resorts Arena, an eight-acre complementary entertainment and retail space that opens, as does the arena, in the spring of 2016.

As those venues are still being conceived, the Village already is fast apace with events. Upcoming next weekend is the Boulevard Brew Fest, with Kings of Leon headlining (and The Janks opening, if you’re interested in a great emerging act); On Oct. 3-5, it’s the Route 91 Harvest country music experience, headlined by Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Brantley Gilbert. On Oct. 10-11, it’s the Wine Amplified Festival, a production of Rock ‘n Roll Wine with Train and Blink-182 headlining.

It’s a lot — for what was formerly known as the Lot and is now, from here forward, to be the Village.

“We are geared to making this a great experience,” Baldizan says. “People who live here will learn about it and know that it’s unique and right on the Strip.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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