No outdoor festival in ACM Awards’ 2017 lineup
The Academy of Country Music’s Party for a Cause charity festival is all partied out at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.
The annual three-day event that complements the ACM Awards Show — being held April 2 at T-Mobile Arena — will not be back on the parcel on the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue. MGM Resorts Senior Vice President of Entertainment Chris Baldizan confirmed that reality Thursday afternoon.
The ACM Board of Directors has voted to halt the performance at the Festival Grounds. No announcement about the future of the Party for a Cause has yet been issued, but Baldizan did note that the shows are expected to move into a variety of venues around town — such as the Park Theater at Monte Carlo, the Mizuya Lounge at Mandalay Bay, the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms and the Foundry at SLS. Last year’s three-day event at the Festival Grounds was headlined by country stars Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney and drew between 15,000 and 20,000 fans each night.
Still, the event did not turn a profit — it often takes outdoor festivals two or three years, minimum, to make money — and officials were reportedly eager to investigate options among the many Las Vegas entertainment venues. The Festival Grounds have no programming scheduled, but MGM Resorts has hired Daren Libonati, a veteran Vegas entertainment booker and organizer, to head up a new outdoor operations team.
“It’s a bummer, because ‘Party for a Cause’ was a good event that we could have grown at the Festival Grounds,” Baldizan says. “But we’re not giving up. We’re still in the game.”
COMEDY FESTIVAL’S STAGES SET
Some time ago, Las Vegas was host to a comedy festival on the Strip. It was actually titled “The Comedy Festival,” and it was held in multiple venues — including the Colosseum — at Caesars Palace.
Rife with potential and big stars (Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and the reunited Cheech & Chong), the event was held from 2005-09 before announcing a yearlong “hiatus.”
It never returned.
But the void in comedy-festival activity in Las Vegas is finally being filled by the “Crapshoot Comedy Festival,” set for May 18-20 at a half-dozen venues on and around Fremont East.
The comedians committed to the event have amassed more than 30 million followers across social media and have appeared regularly on Comedy Central, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” Those in the initial lineup: Fahim Anwar, Joel Kim Booster, Byron Bowers, Matt Braunger, Kurt Braunohler, Chris Cubas, Corinne Fisher, Krystyna Hutchinson, Sabrina Jalees, Morgan Murphy, Aparna Nancherla, Mark Normand, Chris Porter, Adam Ray, Ryan Sickler, Beth Stelling, Jesus Trej, Liza Treyge, Brad WilliamsandJenny Zigrino.
More names are to be announced, as is the specific schedule, as organizers are booking upward of 30 comics and podcast shows.
The “Crapshoot” venues are the new Zappos Chambers (housed in the Zappos building in the old Las Vegas City Council Chambers), Fiesta Room at El Cortez, Beauty Bar, Fremont Country Club, Commonwealth and Inspire Theater.
Organizers are envisioning the type of downtown, walkaround appeal achieved by the annual Life Is Beautiful festival.
“We see a great topography of restaurants and bars, with venues that lend themselves to comedy,” says event founder Paul J. Chamberlain, who also developed the Maui Comedy Festival and has relocated to Las Vegas to roll the bones with “Crapshoot.” “We want to show diversity, and have showcases where the comics are all different, not just what a bunch of tall white guys with beards, which you see sometimes at these festivals.”
Comic showcases will be arranged similar to a traditional comedy-club lineup: Host, featured comic, headliner. Shows are planned for 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and midnight. Single-night tickets are between $20 and $50, with three-night passes going for $179 (The Ace), $299 (The VIP) and $999 (The Whale).
“We want a bunch of intimate, theater-type experiences,” Chamberlain says. “We want something accessible, that you can walk to, and has something for everyone.”
WILLIE’S ILL
The “Willie Nelson & Family” shows Saturday and Sunday at the Venetian Theater have been cancelled and not rescheduled, it was announced Thursday. Nelson is reportedly ill. The Feb. 1, 3 and 4 dates are still on.
VINCE ON THE FARM
Odd interview context: When Vince Neil called Wednesday to talk of his time on “The New Celebrity Apprentice,” he was at his 22-acre property in Nashville. “Oh, yeah. I have tractors. I have four horses,” said Neil, taking a break from his 100-show tour schedule this year. “It’s great.”
INTENSE JASSEN ACTION
For a cool hang with someone at the top of his game, hit Jassen Allen’s “With Love” tribute to Luther Vandross, featuring the “Not So Background Singers” honoring Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Natalie Cole and Etta James. The show is 8 p.m. Friday at The Space (tickets are $25, $45 and $55). Allen is one of these major, undiscovered talents in VegasVille. You’ll walk away going, “Whoa.”
WHO WAS WHERE
Wednesday at Britney Spears’ “Piece of Me” show at Axis theater: singer-songwriter Tinashe, who joined Spears for their new single, “Slumber Party,” just added to the show. Also in the mix, from Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules,” Stassi Schroeder, Ariana Madix, Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute, Scheana Shay and Katie Maloney-Schwartz. They hit the show to celebrate Cartwright’s 27th birthday. Also Wednesday, Tommy Hilfiger (the actual person, not the brand) at the opening party of Zuma at The Cosmopolitan.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
