The local Las Vegas music scene is unique in that all of the DIY musicians and songwriters are battling against the million dollar shows that happen every night at the billion-dollar casinos with hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising budgets. It 's a David vs. Goliath situation 7 days a week.
I moved to the city from Southern California in 2008 during the stress-inducing American recession. The first thing I noticed was that the music scene was constantly mutating and open to all. This was something lacking in California with the oversaturation of artists, genres and venues at that time. Enjoying music, art, and performances of all kinds — sometimes at the same show — was a wild concept and it was quite enjoyable. Almost like the reptiles and bugs that have persevered in the Nevada desert despite the fallout from the atomic bombs dropped here in the '50s, the local music scene is consistently surviving despite the lack of regional or national support from venues, sponsors, and media. That in itself is so inspiring to me as an artist myself.
1
All Ages venues
While All Ages venues tend to come and go in the city of 21+ entertainment, the venues we do have for locals are perfect for bands of all types: The backyard at Evel Pie Pizza, Taverna Costera 's rooftop stage, Ferguson 's Downtown, Double Down Saloon, The Dive Bar, Brooklyn Bowl...there 's something for every type of music lover. If you know where to look on Instagram, secret house shows can also be found!
2
World famous festivals
Las Vegas is home to world famous festivals that have nothing to do with the strip like Punk Rock Bowling and Life Is Beautiful, both of which take over and integrate with all of Downtown Las Vegas over a period of 2-3 days.
3
Las Vegas arts district
Every First Friday of the month the Las Vegas arts district hosts an art walk with open galleries, food trucks, artist booths, and tons of bands and DJs around every corner.
4
Local labels
Local labels are prolific in that they release music from bands globally. Some fun examples: GC Records, Asteroid M Records, Squidhat Records, Friend 's House Records.
5
Sofar Sounds
Sofar Sounds, which is reimagining the live event experience through curated, intimate performances in 325 cities around the world has a robust Las Vegas chapter that has been going strong for many years.
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Listen to a full stream of Shahab Zargari's New Oddities here.
