Keith Thompson will take the Composers Showcase back to Notoriety Live this week for a special anniversary event.
Published Friday, April 23, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Updated Friday, April 23, 2021 | 8:30 a.m.
This month marks the first anniversary of the TCS Entertainment Community Relief Fund, created by composer and producer Keith Thompson to assist local performing arts industry workers in need during the pandemic as an extension of the nonprofit Composers Showcase he co-founded in 2006. This week also marks the 15th anniversary of the Composers Showcase, a Las Vegas entertainment institution that allows artists the opportunity to present original material to a supportive audience, most recently and regularly at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center. While the Smith Center remains closed, TCS has taken up at Notoriety Live downtown at Neonopolis, and a huge anniversary show is set for April 27 at 7:30 p.m. to raise even more money for the community relief fund (it’s already tallied more than $150,000) and celebrate the longevity and resiliency of this unique event.
“A year ago, I could not have imagined that we would still be struggling just to survive now, a full year later, with some light at the end of the tunnel and no definite end in sight,” Thompson said in a statement. “Our Vegas performing arts family is so generous with their time, talent, passion and artistry, it has been a joy to make this effort to give back to this amazing community who have given so much to the Composers Showcase for many years. It has been an amazing journey, and I hope we can keep it going.”
Tuesday’s lineup at Notoriety includes Clint Holmes, Vita Corimbi-Drew, Chadwick Johnson, Dr. Mark Wherry, Enoch Augustus Scott, “Cocktail Cabaret” cast members Niki Scalera, Maren Wade, Eric Jordan Young and Ron Remke, plus Justin Young and Chloe Watson. Limited tickets are $26 and the livestream price is $20, available at notorietylive.com.
The local arts and entertainment community is coming together in another way this week to support for one of its own. “Love for Skye: The Gala Concert” is set for April 26 at 8 p.m. at the Space and $50 tickets are available at thespacelv.com. The show will raise funds to benefit singer Skye Dee Miles, who is dealing with financial stress and the sudden death of her mother. Miles is a regular at the Space, routinely donating her time and art to the Mondays Dark organization, and she was a resident performer at the Cosmopolitan’s Rose. Rabbit. Lie. until that venue’s recent closure. The benefit show is organized by her friends and fellow performers Jassen Allen, Mikalah Gordon, Michelle Johnson, Tanya Popovich and Lily Arce, and those who would like to help can also do so at loveforskye.com.
That’s just one of many shows coming up at the Space. The DLUX Puppets musical presentation of “Alice in Wonderland” hits the stage for two shows on Saturday; all-star classic rock tribute outfit Original Chaos returns to play the Eagles’ legendary “Hotel California” album front-to-back on April 30; as you know from listening to this week’s Sun on the Strip podcast, John Lloyd Young is taking requests and only requests on May 1; and the David Perrico Pop Strings Orchestra brings a tribute to Disney to the Space on May 2 featuring that dynamic big band backing vocalists Lily Arce, Fletch Walcott, Serena Henry, Noybel Gorgoy, Lorena Peril, Francesca Camus, Christine Shebeck, Autumn Grayce, Lauren Ashlee and Mark Shunock. Find all the ticket and livestream info right here.
Elsewhere this weekend, the Nevada Room is on track for its soft opening with Amanda King on Sunday while sister venue the Vegas Room — both are at Commercial Center on East Sahara — offers Brett Pruneau singing tonight and Ashley Fuller onstage Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The Bronx Wanderers are back in Vegas and playing the Italian American Club Sunday. Michael Monge is singing at the Piazza Lounge at the Tuscany. And this weekend’s Strip comeback show of note is the highly notable Penn & Teller at the Rio.
More big Strip shows were announced this week: Dave Chappelle and Friends is set for the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 2 and tickets are on sale today at 10 a.m. at axs.com; Los Angeles Azules joins the slate of major Latin artists returning to Las Vegas for Mexican Independence Day weekend as the band’s 40 Años Tour stops at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood on September 12; Styx has added a third show to its September run at the Venetian Theatre on September 24 after concerts on the 25th and 26th sold out; and Usher has tacked on six August shows to his new residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace that opens July 16. Those extra dates are August 4, 6, 7, 11, 13 and 14 and tickets will be on sale April 29.
The postponed St. Jude’s Rach for Children “There’s No Place Like Hope” gala is set for May 1, an in-person and virtual event to benefit the charity’s capital campaign to build the Healing Center, a one-of-a-kind residential treatment center for child victims of sex trafficking. It will be held at the Venetian Ballroom starting at 5 p.m., hosted by singer and model Jennifer Lier and that familiar boldface name, Clint Holmes, with additional entertainment provided by Social Cirkish. For tickets and information, visit stjudesranch.org.
A new comedy show is popping up downtown. “Don’t Tell Comedy” at the Yard at Fergusons Downtown is set to launch on May 23 with food and drinks complementing stand-up performances at the refurbished Fremont East motel. For more info, visit donttellcomedy.com.
