Rock Vegas: Live Music Explodes in the Neon Desert

By: Pat Christenson

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

There is no book like Rock Vegas. No city has had its live music history told, probably because there is no story like Las Vegas’. As recently as the early ’90s, Las Vegas was considered the place where headlining rock and roll bands went to die. Despite its reputation as the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” the city was all but devoid of major touring acts, as the paradoxically conservative instincts of the casino bosses and city fathers made it difficult for cutting-edge bands, especially rock ’n’ rollers, to gain a foothold. Then the floodgates opened. Rock Vegas chronicles the contemporary history of concert bands, venues, promoters, and marketers, as seen through the eyes of one of the live-music industry’s most prominent participants. As the director of Thomas and Mack Center and president of Las Vegas Events, author Pat Christenson has been an integral part of more than 500 live-music events over 35 years. In these pages, Christenson shines a spotlight on the live music industry and circumstances that made this revolution possible, with an emphasis on the behind-the-scenes innovation that let Vegas rock and opened the door for the greatest live-music explosion in American-entertainment history. “It was my goal to not just write a book about how the Las Vegas’ live music scene evolved, but to provide a vehicle to educate event management professionals on how all these apply to every market”, said Christenson.