Just look at that grand-opening weekend lineup: Marshmello on Thursday, Travis Scott and Skrillex on Friday, Cardi B and G-Eazy on Saturday and then Kaskade poolside Sunday before the Zac Brown Band caps off one of the biggest country music weekends of the year in Las Vegas. No matter your genre of choice, KAOS has you covered in a way we haven’t seen a nightclub/dayclub do it before.
One of the most innovative programming strokes at this exciting new venue is represented by the international superstar left out of that Saturday-night billing. Reggaeton favorite J Balvin is also a KAOS resident artist and a big part of opening weekend, best known for his ubiquitous 2017 hit “Mi Gente,” which famously topped the charts when Beyoncé jumped on the remix. The Colombian singer, songwriter, rapper and fashion figure actually has five No. 1s on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, and his 2018 album Vibras was the biggest streaming Latin album ever, establishing Balvin as a mainstream force in the U.S. Since then, he has teamed with fellow KAOS residents Cardi B and Bad Bunny for last year’s Hot 100 smash “I Like It” and earned a spot at next month’s Coachella festival.
Balvin has been performing regularly in Las Vegas since 2015-—and not just during Latin holiday weekends in May and September. The Strip has seen residency shows in big theaters and concert halls from the likes of Latin artists Carlos Santana, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin. But KAOS is the first club venue to add consistent live performances from current Latin mega-stars to its programming—even though reggaeton, Latin trap and other Latin dance music are played almost every night in almost every club here.
Balvin, who’ll be back at the Palms on April 26, is just one of a trio of urban Latin stars who will help bring an international audience to KAOS and be recognized and celebrated by more mainstream pop and dance music fans. Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican trap star who broke through in Las Vegas at the off-Strip Embassy Nightclub and then performed twice at the Strip’s house of hip-hop Drai’s Nightclub, will make his debut during F#%KIN’ KAOS Thursdays on April 25. And his countryman Ozuna, the artist with the most 1 billion-view videos on YouTube, will take the stage on April 28.
The KAOS calendar certainly contains a lot more Marshmello and Kaskade gigs than shows from these three hitmakers, but the club’s other live residents like Cardi B and G-Eazy are playing fewer dates, too. It’s all part of the plan for a Vegas club with one of the biggest music mixes yet.
CARDI B, J BALVIN & G-EAZY April 6, 10:30 p.m., $80+. KAOS, 702-739-5267.
