When you have a music festival calendar as blessedly abundant as Las Vegas’, you’re bound to have some overlap. That bears out every second-to-last weekend in September, with Life is Beautiful taking over the streets of Downtown Las Vegas and the iHeartRadio Music Festival holding court on the Strip. The focal point of the latter event, now in its eighth year, takes place September 21 and 22 in T-Mobile Arena, featuring artist-of-the-moment Childish Gambino, Vegas-shy crooner Sam Smith, the human musical-chair game that is Fleetwood Mac, and home-bred acts Imagine Dragons and Panic! At the Disco. But the Daytime Stage complement, held Saturday at Las Vegas Festival Grounds, could be the more interesting iHeartRadio event. Here’s why:
1. It’s time for live music to return to outdoor Strip spots again. If music fans have second-guessed their attendance at urban music festivals after the October 1 shooting, that’s understandable. The Daytime Stage event—formerly held at the now-closed Las Vegas Village, also the site of Route 91 Harvest Festival—will still be exposed to its surroundings. But so was May’s Punk Rock Bowling weekender and many other open-air events that have transpired at various metropolitan locales in the past 11 months without incident. The Strip remains a magical backdrop for concerts and music festivals. With security more beefed up than ever, let’s not abdicate our unique infrastructure—or sacrifice our right to celebratory gatherings.
2. New venue, who dis? Las Vegas Festival Grounds has seen about as much action as an awkward teenager. Rock in Rio christened the Circus Circus-adjacent space in 2015, ACM’s Party for a Cause followed in 2016 and, corporate events aside, that’s it—which is a shame. Besides its unique location, the 35-acre venue boasts a spacious layout, turf and a tree-laden island for weary festivalgoers, and permanent restroom facilities. It deserves to be cleared of its cobwebs.
3. The discovery zone. While the big-sis event down the street at T-Mobile will focus on the hit-heavy mini-sets by superstars, the Daytime Stage’s primary purpose is highlighting songs you’re likely not sick of hearing yet, from artists you can see cheaply before they break big. And if you still crave familiar sounds, fret not—fresh-faced Spotify favorites like Logic, Dua Lipa, 5 Seconds of Summer and Lil Uzi Vert top the 17-act bill.
4. The Vegas debut of Greta Van Fleet. Hopes are high for this Michigan quartet, which has been riding the buzz train thanks to its unabashed re-creation of 1970s rock and reputation for incendiary live shows. With its debut long-player Anthem of the Peaceful Army out next month, Greta Van Fleet’s first-ever Vegas appearance aims to be momentous.
5. Every color of the pop rainbow. From the electro-R&B of Bazzi and the throwback soul of Leon Bridges to the unique rock/rap hybridization of Grandson and the country-flavored comedy of Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots, everyone’s pop preferences are covered—at a venue that thankfully isn’t.
Daytime Stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival September 22, 11 a.m., $39, Las Vegas Festival Grounds, 702-632-7589.
