Casey Curry / Invision
In this Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, photo, CeeLo Green poses for a portrait in Los Angeles.
Monday, Aug. 29, 2022 | 2 a.m.
A new concert-style residency show makes its debut at the Westgate International Theater this week, and the varied artists on the lineup represent different musical genres that are seldom celebrated in Las Vegas showrooms of this magnitude.
“BoomBox! A Vegas Residency on Shuffle” opens August 31, starring CeeLo Green, Tone Loc, Kid ‘N Play, J.J. Fad, Thea Austin of Snap and Eric B. It’s a cavalcade of hip-hop and dance music showcased in the room that Elvis Presley made famous and Barry Manilow calls home today.
Thea Austin of Snap will perform at "BoomBox" at Westgate Las Vegas.
“I think it’s going to be a magical experience to be in that historic theater, on the stage where all that wonderful magic was created through so many great performers, and all that energy is still there,” said Austin, a singer and songwriter best known for Snap’s 1992 international hit “Rhythm is a Dancer.” “These songs generate good feelings and that’s the thing Elvis did with his songs and performance. He was emotive and he was passionate, just like all of these artists.
“We just want to bring our best and we feel our audience will bring their best, so we’re set up for a good time.”
In addition to each “BoomBox” artist taking turns performing their respective hits, they’ll also join forces onstage and collaborate for special performances throughout the show, creating a sort of block party feel.
“Hip-hop makes up the majority of the show and it’s rarely ever represented on a Las Vegas showroom stage,” said Seth Yudof, whose new company Fan Rebellion is producing. “Our goal is to create a place for it here in Vegas and have a rotating roster of artists over time. All these artists have these enormous songs … and because of this production show environment, we can give a really high-end presentation to [the audience] can really get to experience each song the way you should.”
“BoomBox” hits the stage at 8 p.m. and continues Wednesdays through Sundays through September 4. It will return September 28 with performances on the books at Westgate through the end of the year, rotating in the International with Manilow’s residency. Ticket info can be found online at Ticketmaster or at westgateresorts.com.
Green, who has performed a few solo engagements at various Vegas venues in recent years, opens the show in a big way, Yudof said, keeping the energy high. The Atlanta-born singer and rapper is expected to roll out his biggest hits including “Crazy” [actually a Gnarls Barkley song] and “Forget You.” The duo of Kid ‘N Play will act as emcees, hosting the show and ushering other acts to the stage, while famed hip-hop DJ Eric B will help provide the overall soundtrack.
Austin, originally from Pittsburgh but a longtime Los Angeles resident, may not have as famous a name as other artists on the lineup, but “Rhythm is a Dancer” is a classic club track everyone recognizes as soon as its opening synth lines and beats kick in.
“It’s one of those songs that transcends. When I perform at Pride festivals, there are parents who bring their children and the kids celebrate as if it’s a song they know from right now,” she said. “It’s really an honor to be part of a song like that, especially since I had never written to dance music before.”
“Rhythm” was an epic dance club hit that has been remixed and sampled countless times, including in R&B singer Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell ‘Em” track a few years ago. “What an enormous club song from that era, and it’s so cool to put her in a light she and that song belong in,” Yudof said. He noted another “BoomBox” act with a mega-hit that holds special significance. “J.J. Fad’s ‘Supersonic’ was another enormous song, and the first gold record for Dr. Dre. The money from that record helped pay for [iconic rap group] N.W.A.’s first records, so that song holds a really important place in the history of it all.”
