Fall Culture Guide 2024: Music

It’s just two of them — Meng Su and Yameng Wang. But it’s all you need. The pair of accomplished classical guitarists were separately teenage sensations in their China homeland and in Japan and Europe, where they competed. After they formed Beijing Guitar Duo, their success only grew, as international audiences were awed by the twosome’s complicated but precise fretwork and layering of chord progressions. Catch the Grammy-nominated duo at UNLV.

If you’ve never seen an opera combined with comedy — and then combined with fantasy — now’s your chance. Based somewhat on The Theatrical Illusion by Pierre Corneille, Opera Las Vegas’ staging of Again and Again and Again takes viewers to 18th century France through a turbulent story of romance, time, and parental love.

Shows start on Oct. 11.

The Love for Three Oranges will be an ongoing live installation at Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart. With combined themes of love and fantasy, Three Oranges was made to be presented for opera fans and newbies alike.

Note: Times vary; please check website for more information.

He’s the man behind the movie soundtrack bangers of the last 30 years. “Time” from Inception. “Cornfield Chase” from Interstellar. And “The Battle” from Gladiator. All of them can fill the largest of rooms, which partly explains why the German composer is following a September show at Resorts World Theater with a T-Mobile Arena performance a mere two weeks later.

But the other important quotient: the way those sweeping songs bring us right back to the movies they score — and where we were in our lives. Just ask anyone of Generations Y and Z their earliest musical memory. If they don’t say Zimmer’s “Circle of Life” from The Lion King, dinner’s on me.

Of course actor/singer Reeve Carney is the man to take on the entirety of the world’s most famous cult movie. He played handyman Riff Raff in the 2016 Fox movie re-imagining of the late-night institution. But he also played Orpheus in Hadestown and Spider-Man for three years in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

Beyond his Broadway bona fides, he’s also known from his many film and TV turns, including his role as Dorian Gray for Showtime’s Penny Dreadful. He’s been in Michael Jackson recordings, a Taylor Swift video, and U2 tours. And he’s on tap to portray Jeff Buckley for that singer-songwriter’s biopic. As such, we think he’s got this.

If you’re lounging around the house in your feels, rhythm and blues is the perfect accompaniment. But why not hear it live? You can do just that at Planet Hollywood, when neo-soul pioneer and singer-songwriter Maxwell, accompanied by Grammy-winning Jazmine Sullivan, bring their tour to the property’s PH Live (formerly Bakkt and several other names).

Fans will be able to not only sing their hearts out, but also witness a couple of exemplary artists who have helped shape R&B and soul music since the 1990s.

Name a musical genre — any musical genre — and Australia’s King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have adapted it. Stoner metal? Check. Jazz fusion? Yep. Synth-pop, hip-hop, acoustic folk, krautrock? All of the above. They have even dabbled (as in using it for three entire albums) in microtonal music influenced by Turkish psychedelic artists. How does a band not even 15 years old accomplish this sonic breadth? By spreading all that (and more) over 26 studio albums. Yes, 26. It’s no wonder the act’s setlists vary wildly and sometimes reach the three-hour mark. A KG show is a music festival unto itself.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Leonard Slatkin has had his hands on an instrument since he was a toddler. Growing up, he studied under acclaimed musicians and conducted countless symphonies. Come November, he’s appearing in his first concert with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, as not only its new artistic consultant, but also the program’s conductor. Slatkin will introduce himself to Las Vegas as he and the Phil perform Gershwin’s poetic “An American in Paris,” among other masterworks.

Chinese music mixed with progressive rock? That’s not something you hear every day. Two Julliard graduates comprise ArcoStrum, an award-winning duo that has mastered a variety of instruments — a majority belonging to the strings family. Watch these tight-knit musicians combine their chemistry and artistry to showcase their unique arrangements, bridging the Chinese and Western worlds.

The name should sound familiar to anyone who has ever wandered into a record store. Chris and Dan Brubeck are two of the four musical offspring of jazz legend Dave Brubeck. They carry on and even extend their father’s legacy through their dynamic live sets — rounded out by guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Chuck Lamb — incorporating jazz’s core tenets while experimenting with time signatures, the latter mostly through Chris’s work on bass and Dan’s behind the drum kit. It's a must-see for fans of improvisational jazz.

Show times: 5p and 8p.

Every December, the UNLV jazz program puts together a three-night festival that shows off their various ensembles — usually two or three a night. A great opportunity to see some new talent, considering UNLV has been churning out quality musicians for the last 15 years or so, and this jazz program has been heavily decorated with awards and acclaim in that time period.

And, lest you interpret the event’s name as proof that it’s just instrumental, it’s not. On Monday night, the Maryland Parkway & Harmon Avenue Vocal Ensembles perform, and on Tuesday, you can see the Studio Scarlett Jazz Vocal Ensemble. There’s also Latin jazz, contemporary jazz, jazz guitar, and big band performances.

Runs from Dec. 2-4

Anyma may be the least-recognized name drawing 100,000-plus fans to a concert venue this year. But the man born Matteo Milleri is hardly unknown to electronic music fans. He’s half of the beloved act Tale of Us and, as Anyma, the mastermind behind two Genesys albums. The Genesys stage of his career will come to a resounding conclusion this winter when the multidisciplinary artist plays a staggering six shows at Sphere, finally bringing a non-legacy headliner — and dance music — to the hi-tech venue. Anyma’s shows are known as much for trailblazing visuals as the music they accompany, and they’ll no doubt be kicked up several notches on that 160,000-square-foot screen.

Shows start Dec. 27.