Jonas Brothers rock a custom Vegas piano, hits in Strip premiere

The Jonas Brothers are still in their commercial and performance prime. But they have found their place among the top brothers acts over the course of entertainment history. They’re in there, somewhere, with the Jacksons, Osmonds, Everlys, even Righteous Brothers (who are not actually brothers, but they are righteous).

Count, too, The Brothers Johnson (“Stomp!”). You get the point.

The Jonas Brothers sold 17 million albums internationally before splitting up in 2013, returning to hit-making in 2019, with the top-selling “Happiness Begins,” their third straight Billboard No. 1 album, and first since the 2009 “Lines, Vines and Trying Times.”

In short, they are as popular as ever, no signs of abating.

Nick, Joe and Kevin, the performing Jonas Brothers, lit up Dolby Live over the weekend, clearing the first two of their five shows at Park MGM. They are back Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Follow the screams and you’ll find this show.

The Jonas family also opened their Nellie Southern Kitchen at MGM Grand. This eatery is named for Jonas Brothers’ father, Kevin Jonas Sr.’s, late grandmother. The family is from Belmont, N.C., and this is the first Nellie’s outpost in the west.

It all made for a very Jonas weekend in VegasVille. Friday’s show opened the series, of events, and the three pop stars thrilled a packed house at Dolby Live. This performance was a multifold experience.

The look … @jonasbrothers Dolby Live! opening … #jonasvegas @reviewjournal #RJNow @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/ArI72xS9Mp

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) June 4, 2022

Hardcore fans, so many of them young females, are immersed in every note, rejoicing at jump-along pop treasures “Burnin’ Up,” “That’s The Way We Roll,” and (the personal fave here), “Sucker.”

Others who are not so emotionally invested watch this idolatry take hold and say, “Wow. Good for them.”

The show is expertly produced, with some pyro effects, strobes, extensive use of the LED screens to follow the brothers around the stage, and also musically attentive. Nick and Kevin played guitar for the balance of the show.

The backing band, donning all-white suits, thumped through a performance that moved fast and felt short (though it clocked in at about 90 minutes). The show’s scoot-along pace was a good sign for frequent Vegas concert-goers who become restless halfway through.

This is a brothers’ act, naturally, but don’t perform a uniformed show. The brothers donned unalike outfits. Kevin in a green sweater and white T, Nick in a white jacket and a tie-dyed Grateful Dead-designed Lithuania T-shirt that, a throwback to that country’s 1992 Summer Olympics basketball team. Joe was far off the script, in a white vest and slacks with a sequined, arcing gold-maroon pattern across the front. Viva Joe Vegas, as it were.

For some Vegas panache, the guys decorated a stand-up piano with the types of stickers you’d see on the rear bumper of a ‘73 Chevy van. Rainbow-colored Vegas peace signs, Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign stickers, a few “LV” brands are stuck haphazardly on that instrument.

You forget how long the brothers have been making music, releasing their debut “It’s About Time” in 2006. They got a big break on the 2008 Disney Channel movie “Camp Rock,” and its 2010 follow-up,”Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.”

The guys referred to that longevity from the stage. A winded Nick said, “Some of these songs I wrote when I was 13 seem to move so fast now.” Kevin then called across the stage, “It means we’re getting old!”

OK. It’s all relative with these brothers. Talk to fellow Dolby Live headliners Aerosmith about working through the age thing. But the Jonas Brothers have matured (Kevin is 34, Joe 32, Nick 29), growing up under the spotlight. They wear their fame well, they are telegenic, energetic and artistically proficient. Five shows on the Strip every year or so feels right. Swing through, rock it, and grab a bite after. They know a good spot.

Your VegasVille Moment

The guy who looked like Lil Nas X partying with Diplo at XS Nightclub on Saturday night, was.

Meanwhile, at Drai’s

Rap star 2 Chainz surprised his wife, Kesha Ward, with a photo collage of their family as part of Ward’s birthday party Saturday at Drai’s Beachclub. The couple has been married four years, and together for a total of 16. Chainz headlined Friday night at Drai’s Live nightclub. The groundbreaking nightclub founded by Victor Drai and run today by his son, Dustin Drai, celebrates its 25th anniversary on June 25.

Cool Hang Alert

The ever-grooving, ’80s-’90s rock cover band Mr. $ Mrs. Smith plays 8 p.m.-12:30 p.m.Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday at Harrah’s outdoor Carnaval Court. Lyssa Lynne, Sham Lewis, Tasos Peltekis and Scott Teeple are in the Smith’s current lineup. Understand, this is a rock show. “We don’t do ballads,” Lynn says. They don’t do cover-charges, either.

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 Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.