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Las Vegan Bailey Munoz is the champion.
Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 | 10:30 a.m.
On Monday night, Rose.Rabbit.Lie. dancer and Las Vegas Academy graduate Bailey “Bailrok” Munoz was named champion of the 16th season of Fox’s hit competition show “So You Think You Can Dance.” Munoz has been performing at the Cosmopolitan supper club for more than five years. He will perform and speak to students at LVA on Friday, September 20 in a special assembly for the entire student body in the Performing Arts Center and he’ll be dancing at the Smith Center with the SYTYCD tour on November 22.
I finally made it back to the Sahara this week to check out new resident show “Blanc de Blanc” (check back Monday at LasVegasSun.com for my review) and I had a great time, but not as great as the group in front of me that climbed into a hot tub midway through the show. Yes, that happened. I was so enthralled by the acrobatic acts and sexy, charismatic cast that I completely missed Vanessa Hudgens, who caught the show with a small group of friends. No hot tub action for them.
Two nights later, I hit the grand opening performance of “Atomic Saloon Show” at the Grand Canal Shoppes inside the Venetian, also attended by cast members of Spiegelworld’s other Vegas shows “Absinthe” and “Opium,” the appropriately dressed cast of “X Country,” director Cal McCrystal, Spiegelworld boss Ross Mollison and so many local entertainers and entertainment executives, I lost track of them all. “Atomic” has already sold many more advance tickets than the opening periods of any previous Spiegelworld show, fortifying the opinion that this was the right time to launch a third production on the Strip. The intimate and unique venue, seating about 230 and located on the third floor just above the Palazzo Waterfall Atrium, plays a big role. After Wednesday night’s powerhouse performance, the party raged on into the wee hours with quickie performances by the Vegas Golden Knights Drumbots and a newly discovered juggling act. Mollison also introduced Ake Blomqvist from the disco-themed “We Are Here,” teasing a delighted audience by saying it was coming soon.
Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas at the DLVEC.
More Spiegelworld: “Absinthe” roller-skating duo Billy and Emily England appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on September 18, performing a signature extreme skating act and wowing the audience and the host. Another “Absinthe” performer, Kasey Wilson (she plays the part of Wanda Widdles) will take on a new role in the first-ever Murder Mystery Trivia Night from Pop Quiz Cabaret at downtown’s Cornish Pasty Co. on September 24. The interactive fun starts at 7:30 p.m.
RuPaul is wasting no time in getting all Vegas’d up and ready to launch “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live” in January. He hit the Strip to catch Donny & Marie Tuesday night at the Flamingo showroom and posed for a pic with the duo after the show. Marie Osmond posted a social media message of thanks and “the best of luck taking over” in 2020 as the new drag spectacular based on RuPaul’s TV show will take up residency in the Flamingo showroom after the Osmonds wrap up their longtime run in November. Last week, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis met with Donny & Marie and watched the show, on September 10.
Carlos Santana continues his residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay this weekend, fresh off his surprise appearance at Saturday’s Bite of Las Vegas event at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center alongside Rob Thomas. Santana and wife Cindy Blackman Santana set the crowd on fire when they joined Thomas for a performance of their 20-year-old smash hit “Smooth.”
Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club at the Linq Promenade has extended the limited engagement of “Original Bad Girl of Comedy” Luenell. Originally scheduled for eight shows in August and September, Luenell has added 14 gigs from October through January 5, at 10 p.m. on Sunday nights. This is the first residency at the club, which is open for laughs on Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday.
Maybe we should start calling September music month in Las Vegas. The Life Is Beautiful and iHeartRadio festivals are back this weekend, bringing an incredible roster of dynamic and diverse artists downtown and to the Strip, respectively, but the city just hosted three mammoth days of music over Mexican Independence Day weekend. Live Nation Las Vegas announced that its local concerts on September 13-15 featuring Latin legends like Luis Miguel, Marco Antonio Solis, Maná, Maluma, Gloria Trevi and Alejandro Fernandez were performed in front of more than 78,500 fans.
More for LIB: Cirque du Soleil will return to the sprawling music festival on Friday night when 11 aerialists and dancers from various shows will perform with rock band Walk the Moon. Their Cirque-aided set is set for the Downtown Stage at 7:35 p.m. The Blue Man Group will also take the Life Is Beautiful stage on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. for its own performance.
