High noon hits differently in the desert, and we’re only partly talking about the hard seltzer. Out here, the midday sun’s a relentless, even-handed dealer of Vitamin D. So when the temperatures start to rise, Las Vegans don’t run for the hills. We head for the pools.

Ayu Dayclub has been a sort of island since Zouk Group opened it at Resorts World in 2021. It’s separated enough from the Strip to feel exotic—and its Bali aesthetic certainly helps—but what truly sets the 41,000-square-foot venue apart is its willingness to evolve with each pool season. In keeping with that theme, Ayu recently launched Beach House, a new Sunday party guaranteed to shake the palm trees of the daylife landscape.

“Ayu Beach House is a festival-like pool party concept that we came up with in the last few months,” says Matty Salazar, Zouk’s director of experiences. “We really wanted to create a brand that is consistent throughout the year and adaptable to everything that’s going on in town—festivals, sporting events, spring breaks.”

Nearly every Beach House bash keys into a specific vibe and theme, and Salazar says Zouk has partnered with several local promoters to host parties that should also attract daytime revelers who actually live here.

Opening weekends saw global hip-hop artists like A$AP Ferg, but this month Simp City hosted a localized R&B rager, and the hotly tipped Las Vegas Latin promoter Altura took over for a sexy, reggaeton day party.

Paired with Ayu’s lush backdrop of palm trees, piñatas, clear rippling waters and a throng of bikini-clad bodies grinding to Bad Bunny and “Gasolina,” the scene lived up to what Beach House is so obviously going for—immersion. Vacation isn’t necessarily a place; it’s a state of mind you embrace when you come to pool parties like this.

Doubling down on Beach House’s festival-oriented strategy, LA music collective Soulection will also host a special Lovers & Friends weekend party on May 7 featuring Bryson Tiller.

“It’s always upbeat, it’s always fresh, and it’s always new,” Salazar says of the parties, adding that Ayu will rotate in Zouk residents like Cash Cash and DJ Five from time to time, but the emphasis is on providing something for everyone. “We don’t want to get ourselves in that position where you don’t come here because we play certain music,” he says. “We want everyone to have a day and a time that we can kind of speak to them.”

Salazar says breaking newer artists into the Las Vegas market through the daylife scene is also a priority, given the flexibility Ayu offers.

“Being in nightlife, I feel like the daylife is a nice, breath of fresh air. Musically, I feel like you can get away with a little bit more than what you’re playing in the nightclubs,” he says. “Artists can be a little bit more creative. The new curated sets that these artists are pushing out there during the day are completely different from playing a dark room at night.”

With Beach House ongoing and Zouk Group continuing to evolve its programming, chances are high we’ll see a slew of new talent in town. “We’re working really hard on pushing the limitations of what’s being booked on the Strip,” Salazar says. “It’s going to be something that’s special, and it’s going to be something that might even change the landscape of what Vegas is used to.”

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