Denise Truscello / Getty Images for Dolby Live at Park MGM
Usher performs on opening night of his residency, July 15, 2022, at Dolby Live at Park MGM.
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 | 2 a.m.
One of the city’s all-time top destinations for country music is ready to expand. Stoney’s North Forty is set to return to Santa Fe Station in northwest Las Vegas in late summer, a 13,000-square-foot from the Porchlight Hospitality Group that also operates Stoney’s Rockin’ Country at Town Square. A previous version of Stoney’s closed at the Santa Fe 15 years ago, and the new version will of course include a stage for live music, a mechanical bull and a 2,300-square-foot outdoor area with a fireplace and interactive games.
Two of Las Vegas’ favorite musical shows have new homes. “Hitzville The Show” starring Jin Jin Reeves, the only Motown tribute production in town licensed by the Motown Museum, is taking up residency at the Duomo at the Rio. Featuring the beloved music of Tina Turner, the Temptations, Aretha Franklin, the Four Tops and more, it hits the stage at 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets start at $40 are available at hitzvilletheshow.com. And “Raiding the Rock Vault,” the unique classic rock sensation that features singers and band members from the actual bands that made these metal and rock tunes so iconic, will slide over to Hard Rock Live at center Strip starting on April 22. Until then, it’ll continue on at the Duomo, where its final performance is currently scheduled for April 11. Find tickets at raidingtherockvault.com.
The headliners have been adding dates to their Las Vegas Strip residency shows lately, and this week, it’s Usher’s turn. The R&B superstar who started his first show at Caesars Palace and now calls Dolby Live at Park MGM home will be back for 15 more performances in June and October, adding to his already busy slate this month stretching into the summer. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com/ushervegas.
There were tons of other concert announcements this week, including: Mix 94.1’s Spring Fling concert starring Jason Mraz and Dean Lewis his the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on April 29; country fave Dustin Lynch visits the Sandbar Stage at Red Rock Resort April 29; indie rock outfit Caamp lands at Brooklyn Bowl on May 26; David Foster and his musical friends return to Encore Theater June 23-24; comedian Theo Von adds another summer date to his run at Encore Theater on July 7; Grammy winners Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit lands an Encore Theater date on July 16; Seattle band The Head and The Heart will play the Theater at Virgin on Aug. 12; rapper/country artist Jelly Roll’s huge new tour with Chase Rice and Struggle Jennings grabs a spot at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 1; and a co-headlining tour with The Revivalists and Band of Horses will take the stage at the Theater at Virgin on Sept. 6.
A handful of performers from “Thunder From Down Under,” the long-running male revue institution at Excalibur, will star in a new HGTV reality show starting this summer. “Flip the Strip” will feature dancers by night, construction guys by day Ben Cleary, Liam Black, Dan Paterson and Malik Wills-Martin as they team with interior designer Kelly Stone to turn different homeowners’ renovation dreams into reality. “The minute we found out that these guys in Australia's ‘Thunder From Down Under’ were working as renovators by day, we knew we had to put them on HGTV,” says Loren Ruch, the network’s head of content. The series is set to premiere in late summer and you can check out hgtv.com for updates.
