Wynn nightlife had been one of the lone holdouts regarding the release of its 2014 talent lineup, with a few of its DJs prematurely announcing their allegiance to the club cluster. Finally, the official roster(s) for XS, Surrender, Tryst and Encore Beach Club are available to the public.
The biggest difference between the Wynn lineup and, say, that of Hakkasan and Light nightclubs is the addition of live performers. Former Las Vegan Ne-Yo had already announced his Surrender residency, and yesterday's news that rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis will grace the Surrender and Encore Beach Club stages together this year comes a couple of weeks after Lewis' separate residency had been made official. Akon will also hit the mic at Surrender, which, with these bookings, distinguishes itself from big-brother club XS across the Wynn/Encore complex.
Also, street/urban artist Alec Monopoly will be doing live art creations for the four hot spots. The New York City-born artist is known for his frequent incorporation of Rich Uncle Pennybags, the mascot of the Monopoly board game. It remains to be seen whether Monopoly's socioeconomic commentary will figure into works he makes in front of Wynn's affluent bottle-service guests. Here's a possible teaser for the year ahead: Monopoly did a series of live art/DJ collaborations last year with Avicii, who returns to XS and Encore Beach Club for 2014.
Avicii is one of the biggest dance-music names on the roster. Other EDM titans include the previously announced Zedd, and returnees Steve Angello, David Guetta and Diplo. Skrillex, who plays XS tomorrow evening, remains non-exclusive, as he's also a Light resident.
Deorro, Paper Diamonds, Tommy Trash, Will Sparks and DJ Snake are among the newer Wynn exclusives.
Notable omissions from the list are Eric Prydz, who ends his Black Dice promo at XS (he also played Surrender and Encore Beach Club), and Porter Robinson, who revealed on his Facebook page this week his new residency at Marquee, the lone headliner-friendly Vegas club withholding its 2014 lineup. Robinson begins his Marquee stint on February 21. Also missing: Deadmau5, who has clearly decided against rejoining XS after ditching his multimillion-dollar Hakkasan residency. All three producer/DJs lean more progressive (take that as you will) than electro house. Hopefully the talent buyers at XS and Surrender discover some other talent unafraid of bucking EDM trends throughout the year.
Here's the complete roster:
Adrian Lux
Akon
Alec Monopoly
AN21
Avicii
Cazzette
David Guetta
Deniz Koyu
Deorro
Dillon Francis
Diplo
DJ Snake
Fedde le Grand
Grandtheft
Jermaine Dupri
Jusske
Lil Jon
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Madeon
Major Lazer
MAKJ
Manufactured Superstars
Martin Solveig
Max Vangeli
Morgan Page
Ne-Yo
Paper Diamond
Redfoo
RL Grime
Ryan Lewis
Skrillex
Steve Angello
TJR
Tommy Trash
will.i.am
Will Sparks
Wolfgang Gartner
Zedd