Light may be one of the first Strip discotheques to reveal its full artist roster for 2015, but it’s so strong—and smart—that we wonder if any of its competitors could beat it. Here’s why:
1. Variety: Now that EDM is on the descent—don’t panic, Generation Foamstick, it’s not going anywhere—megaclub main rooms must now boast a diversity of sounds without falling back into the open-format doldrums, and Light Nightclub’s 2015 talent lineup does that ably. From different styles of hip-hop and house to mainstream bass music to one resident live performing act, it appeals to a larger group of clubbers than any of the existing club-resident rosters.
2. Disclosure: Not only a good move, but an unexpected one. Light first booked the English duo for a DJ set back in 2013 and will continue to feature the upstarts, likely motivated by the act’s well-regarded “Wild Life” club promo (featuring guest performers), its sold-out live show at Brooklyn Bowl last August, the American success of “Latch” (featuring vocalist Sam Smith) and the worldwide proliferation of its garage house update.
Extra flavor: DJ Mustard plays Light on Thursday night.
3. DJ Mustard: The hot LA producer/DJ, who played a few dates at Surrender last year, is the logical choice for a hip-hop residency. He kicks it off tonight during Light’s new promo, The Beat Thursday.
4. If those two aren’t big enough gets, Light has also snagged electronic-music veteran Fatboy Slim, who played one Life gig last year, and American EDM workhorse Morgan Page, whose 3D DJ concept might just work in a venue as big as Light, and who comes fresh from a three-year residency at Wynn/Encore (which also hands Black Eyed Pea principle Will.I.Am off to Light, though it appears to have finally taken Skrillex off of Light’s DJ roll call).
5. Sebastian Ingrosso: For a minute, it appeared that the producer/DJ’s December 30 gig at Life hinted at a defection from Light—especially since his former Swedish House Mafia bandmate Steve Angello had already kickstarted his residency there. Alas, ATM Artists, who makes the programming calls for Light and Daylight, kept its client at Mandalay Bay, as it has the third ex-SHM member, Axwell—opening up the possibility of another special Axwell-Ingrosso team-up in the booth.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis host and perform at 1 OAK on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, in the Mirage.
6. Three other notable re-signings: Turntable champ A-Trak, surging EDM practitioner Alesso and house/techno legend Carl Cox. (The rest: Baauer, Bassjackers, Clockwork, GTA, Henrix, Norman Doray, Sultan + Shepard, Stellar, Steve Powers and Tony Arzadon.)
7. Concerts: I suspect ATM Vice President of Brand Development and Entertainment Zee Zandi wasn’t going to let 1. Drai’s Nightclub try and own the nightclub-concert concept and 2. Surrender retain the most popular pop group from her hometown of Seattle. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are locked in at Light, their first live set there scheduled for January 22.
