A&E

Emerge pushes back its conference launch to spring 2018

Image

"We experienced a horrific tragedy in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, and in light of that we had to adjust course,” Rehan Choudhry says, explaining why his Emerge Impact + Music Conference has postponed its inaugural edition from this fall to spring 2018. “I have no doubt in my mind that this is the event that we need to be launching and Vegas is absolutely the city we need to do it in, but we’re refocusing our efforts on helping with the recovery locally and then launching when Las Vegas will be in the best position to receive it.”

Emerge, which had planned to bring 100 rising music acts, 30 speakers and a roster of big-name curators like The Killers, Imagine Dragons and Kaskade to venues on and near the Strip from November 16-18, will instead debut next year. Choudhry says the host sites—Brooklyn Bowl, the Hard Rock Hotel and others—will remain the same, as will the curators, and that many of the original acts will participate despite the revised dates. “The scope of the event has not changed at all,” he says. “A percentage of the artists will stay onboard, and then we’ll fill any gaps we have over the next couple of months.”

Choudhry says all ticket holders will automatically be issued refunds and will then be given priority to buy passes for the new dates when they go on sale.

Meanwhile, Choudhry says, during its original November weekend Emerge will host a concert at Brooklyn Bowl benefitting victims of the Route 91 Harvest shooting. Details for that event—including the date and participating artists—will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

As for whether concerns over safety played a part in his decision to postpone, Choudhry says: “I have a tremendous faith that the city and county, Metro and all of our casino partners are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of guests. I believe than when Emerge launches it’ll be a safe and secure event.”

Share
Photo of Spencer Patterson

Spencer Patterson

Get more Spencer Patterson
Top of Story