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Dutch DJ Fedde Le Grand is ready to transform his touring production

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Fedde Le Grand plays Marquee on August 17.
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Dutch house legend Fedde Le Grand has been spinning in Vegas clubs for more than a decade and happily acknowledges that the bold energy of the Strip scene has influenced his sound. You can hear it in a couple of his most recent tracks, from the disco guitars of “Hit the Club” to the neon-tinged electro-dancehall feel of “Flex."

“I think the whole scene has been very influenced by Vegas,” he says. “A lot of DJs, especially the guys that play there regularly, are always changing it up for the crowd and mixing in a little bit of everything, which is what [Vegas] is about. It makes you more creative and definitely gets you ready to make sure everyone has a good time.”

The recent resurgence of the classic house sound in Las Vegas venues has put the 40-year-old DJ and producer in a comfortable place whenever he’s in town for a residency gig at the Cosmopolitan’s Marquee Nightclub. “I’m super happy with that shift, because that’s where my roots lie, more vocal house music.”

Perhaps those good vibes will translate into Le Grand finally bringing his innovative live show to the States, maybe even somewhere in Las Vegas. The theatrical, large-scale production has only been seen in the Netherlands, but Le Grand is hoping to make some adjustments that will allow him to take it on the road. The concept was created when he began to approach it as he would a concert. He added dancers and guest singers to complement the festival-style visuals, then amped it up by starting the show earlier.

“The whole thing with this show is, it’s so elaborate and so big, just too big to be traveling around,” he says. “I didn’t want to downsize the show, so we’ve had to come up with creative ways to still be able to give everyone around the world a full show. I think we’ve almost cracked the code. The first show was around 100 people, and it’s hard to get that many people on a plane along with all the stuff we have to bring. But I think I figured it out. We’re going to be doing the first shows in Holland and traveling around Europe, and after that we’ll bring it to the States.”

FEDDE LE GRAND August 17, 10:30 p.m., $30-$50. Marquee, 702-333-9000.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of editor-at-large at Las Vegas Weekly magazine. ...

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