Gryffin, the multitalented DJ, producer and musician also known as Dan Griffith, has emerged as one of the most consistent performers among Wynn Nightlife residents. It seems as if he’s manning the decks at XS or Encore Beach Club every weekend, and that’s intentional.
“I did one show [early] in 2020 as a warmup, then COVID hit,” he says from his home in the desert resort city of La Quinta, California, 250 miles from the Strip. “That one random show was like a welcome-to-the-team, hangout type of event, and then I really got started at Wynn last summer and had a really good experience, and it just kept growing from there.”
His versatile, melodic-house leanings are a natural fit for summertime parties at Wynn’s megaclubs, and he’s back at XS July 8, 15 and 30, and at EBC July 24 and August 21, 27 and 31.
Gryffin says he’s enjoying the club performances as much as the party-ready crowds. “Megaclubs are just a very different beast for me, because I play a lot of other music,” the San Francisco-born artist says. “It’s different from festivals and headlining stuff where I play exclusively my own music, and I have a live show where I play guitar and piano and have a band. So it’s fun to have these very different experiences, because it never feels stale.”
Gryffin has been dropping steady singles this year leading up to his sophomore album release in late summer or early fall, a collection called Alive that finds the 34-year-old musician collaborating with artists from various genres and experimenting with his sound. There’s the title track with Swedish singer-songwriter Calle Lehman, a bit bubblier than big, emotional ballad “You Were Loved” with OneRepublic hitmaker Ryan Tedder.
“It was definitely weird making music without having the experience of performing in front of fans and seeing what they were reacting to and vibing with,” he says of his creative process during the pandemic. “I think I got more experimental and creative with the music over the last couple of years and really had the time to sit with stuff and think about how I can push my sound further than where I had been on [2019’s] Gravity album.”
Gryffin sounds excited to share more new sounds at club gigs and through a headlining tour scheduled to begin in late August, aligned with the Alive release. Gryffin unveiled the latest version of his touring show while headlining Day 1 of Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, last month, and the album and production will take him through “a really heavy touring schedule” next year.
And he’s not ruling out a different style of performance in Las Vegas. “I haven’t had extensive discussions about that yet, but [Wynn] has some stuff going on next year with other artists curating experiences outside of the weekly megaclub stuff,” he says. “It might not be something I would do every weekend, but having a couple exclusive dates to do that stuff sounds really fun, to bring Vegas that different side of these projects.”
GRYFFIN July 8, 10:30 p.m., $30-$50+. XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.
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