Erik Kabik/Courtesy Big Blues Bender
The Big Blues Bender returns to Westgate Las Vegas August 25-28.
Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 | 2 a.m.
If you want to see 86-year-old blues legend Buddy Guy performing live in Las Vegas, better grab some tickets to the 8th annual Big Blues Bender weekend festival running August 25-28 at Westgate Las Vegas. Rumor has it Guy is getting set to announce his farewell tour, so you might get another chance to him play guitar and captivate the crowd in Sin City.
And he’s just one of the dozens artists playing the Bender this year. Also on the lineup: Little Feat, Larkin Poe, Tab Benoit, Shemekia Copeland, Mike Zito, Victor Wainwright & The Train, Jimmy Hall, Southern Avenue, Damon Fowler, Albert Castiglia, Johnny Sansone, Monkeyjunk, Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band and a lot more. And the event’s annual “One” performance series, which always brings together different performers to play together under a special theme, is called “One for the Queens” this time around, a tribute to the women of blues, soul and R&B music.
Unique, fan-friendly experiences like these are what makes the Bender such a special and significant event in the Las Vegas entertainment landscape. It’s also a true takeover, with live performances scheduled at five different venues at Westgate throughout the weekend and most guests coming from out of town also staying at the historic off-Strip resort. All-inclusive ticket packages and a limited amount of four-day passes are available at bigbluesbender.com.
“The folks that come to this event are super sweet, super kind, and super thankful to have the experience,” said AJ Gross, founder and CEO and a longtime force in the Las Vegas music scene as a promoter and venue operator. “A lot of them think this is the best festival in the world. People look for different things at music festivals but the people that come to our event are coming for great music, a boatload of artists and certain comforts we provide.”
Those comforts have always been co-provided by the hosting Vegas casino resort, differentiating the Bender from outdoor music festivals. It started at the Riviera on the Strip, moved to the Plaza downtown and then the Hard Rock Hotel for a year, then skipped the COVID year of 2020 before coming back strong at Westgate in 2021.
Blues fans will be bouncing back and forth between their onsite accommodations, the Westgate International Theater, the Westgate Cabaret, outdoor concerts at the resort pool, late-night jams at the I-Bar casino lounge and a new venue fashioned from a ballroom space that will have a variety of seating options.
“You have all those stages, all your food and drinks, all just an elevator ride away,” Gross said. “During most of the day, there are at least three venues going. And you have about 100 great musicians onsite at any given time, and those guys are not looking to go to bed early, so you get all these powerhouse musicians jamming out in the lounge at two to five in the morning.”
