From the big bands of 1950s and '60s, the punk kids of the '80s, to the record-label darlings of the 2000s, there’s always been a Las Vegas music scene.
And to this day, local musicians remain a critical part of the city’s creative fabric. These days, you can hear pretty much all musical styles in the clubs and bars of the valley.
That doesn’t mean everyone thrives — especially when the Strip tends to overshadow everything. And how do writers hope to get noticed and gain a following when live music venues seem to emerge, then disappear, all too often?
From the perch of Amber Sampson, who covers music for Las Vegas Weekly, the local scene is quite healthy.
"I feel like there's tons of bands ... doing shows now than there ever were," she says. "I mean, on any given night, you can find a local show to go to. And also these these bands are very tenacious right now — like, a lot of these new ones. They're really working hard to get their names out. And they are really good."
One of those bands that has been doing just that for a decade is Mercy Music, led by singer-songwriter Brendan Scholz. Last year, the band played the 7,000-seat Bakkt Theater in Planet Hollywood, opening for alt-rockers Rise Against. And this year, the trio will tour Europe. In fact, the band has favored touring over concentrating on local shows, though it still does them intermittently.
Scholz, who has been playing music in Las Vegas since 2001, has seen several cycles of enthusiasm within its music scene. "Vegas is a weird, weird place," he says. "I've seen every iteration. I remember after The Killers blew really huge ... and there was a period of time where it seemed like every band was getting signed between '06 and, say, '09 — I mean, my band included, Lydia Vance, got a demo deal with Atlantic and, you know, it didn't pan out. It's most thriving when everyone was paying attention to it. ... And I've watched it kind of fall apart but then come back together again. The people that have been in it as long as I have, I think it's really sacred to them."
CoCo Jenkins, who is not only a prolific, multi-genre musician, but also owns and curates the popular event platform There's Nothing To Do in Vegas, encourages young musicians all the time, especially in her role as a music instructor. But she often has to forewarn them that getting paid in the local scene is a persistent frustation, especially at smaller venues — which also tend to limit both artists and audiences by not incorporating hip-hop into their schedules — and especially if they play their own music.
"It has been just a few bucks in a free beer for original music," she says. "There's certain artists I go to hear in the city, and I'll go pull up to their show and they're doing covers. Me, personally, I'm not trying to hear covers. I want to hear the music from your expression. So, yes, local artists can make it, but it's definitely very difficult. And if hotel-casinos and even smaller venues provided musicians with a decent budget, that would create and build the local music economy. There's no reason why we shouldn't be a match to — or a competitor to — maybe not LA or New York, but a place like Miami or Nashville or Atlanta. Like, there's no reason why we shouldn't have a comparable local music economy. [There's] so much money in the city."
One person trying to make a small difference in the live scene is Brian Moy, the figurehead and psychedelic rock enthusiast behind Dirty Rock & Roll Dance Party promotions — namely, actually ending shows on time. After receiving a complaint from a local musician about an opening band that started an hour late — and thus pushing the event far into the night — Moy thought about what he could do as a promoter to change that.
"That always stuck with me," he says." I realized that there were a lot of concerts, especially on a weekday ... [and] at certain venues or [with] promoters, that have a reputation for starting and ending late. And I realized that it actually affects the draw. ... That's why I've always been really specific about my show schedules. I try and publish the set times and schedules. I hear arguments [for] doing that or not doing that. But to me, [it's about] respect. ... It really means a lot to me that my shows have a reputation for starting and ending on time."
Guests: Amber Sampson, staff writer, Las Vegas Weekly; Coco Jenkins, bassist/cellist, Moon Ra band and owner, Nothing to Do in Vegas; Brian Moy, promoter, Dirty Rock & Roll Dance Party; Brendan Scholz, frontman, Mercy Music
