All-star Vegas awards show coming to Suncoast

The Dream Awards are Sunday night, but they are also for all time. The awards that honor those in the entertainment and media community span decades.

The show is set for 7 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.) at Suncoast Showroom (tickets start at $49.95, available at ticketmaster.com or any Boyd Gaming property).

Presented by Chicago producer Mable Buckner of Harrison Entertainment Group, the Dream Awards shine a light on those who cleared a path for entertainers and industry professionals to prosper in this city.

The night of awards and entertainment was a dream of Buckner’s late husband, Jimmy Payton, the the first black entertainment director on the Strip in his days at the Aladdin in the ’90s.

Payton also brought the iconic R&B act The Next Movement to Las Vegas from Chicago, where Buckner and Payton lived until Payton’s death of cancer in 2015.

“The Dream Awards are really something that my husband wanted to do,” Buckner says. “Late at night he would say to me, ‘If I was well, I would go back to Las Vegas and honor people who paved the way for other artists in Las Vegas.’”

Established in 2017, the Dream Award cast a broad net. The honorees, and those appearing in the production, reflects their range.

The list of recipients: Recording stars Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.; broadcast trailblazer Jayne Kennedy; song-and-dance legend Ben Vereen; hit-making singer Melba Moore; acclaimed actor Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear from “Starsky & Hutch”), Marshall Thompson of The Chi-Lites; venerable Vegas crooner and variety-show host Dennis Bono; Gerald Alston of the Manhattans; Bill Brown of Ray, Goodman and Brown; “The First Lady of Motown” Claudette Robinson The Miracles;“Las Vegas’ First Lady of Jazz” Michelle Johnson; KTNV Channel 13 broadcaster Tricia Kean; KCEP Power 88.1-FM’s Craig Knight; popular Vegas performer Avana Christie; and 45-year entertainment management vet Jaki Baskow.

Kelly Clinton-Holmes and Earl Turner will host. Presenters include NFL icon and actor Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, singer Ray Parker Jr., Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie, Frankie Scinta, Sherry Gordy, JJ Snyder, Renee Kean, Frank Woodbeck and Kathy Spehar.

The listed performers include Next Movement, Sonny Charles, Rita Lim, Naomi Mauro, Cookie Watson, Dakota Horvath, William Jordan, Melvia “Chick” Rogers, Darcus Loretta Holloway, Copeland Davis, Freddie Empire and Lady S. Mariano Longo of Wayne Newton’s show at the Flamingo, is music director.

This is where we say, the show will be long. Be glad Suncoast is open 24/7. But the cause is just, with a portion of proceeds going to Las Vegas Academy. As we say, suit up and show up.

“I want to honor my husband as well as a lot of deserving people in Las Vegas,” Buckner says. “He wanted a great show, and if he were here he would make sure everybody dressed up, because he was known for dressing up.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.