Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/260044
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK HOTTEST TICKET T he shock t hat a nyone might have felt in seeing how well count r y music plays in L a s Vega s ha s long since wor n of f. W hen t he Entertainment Capital of the World hosts what is arguably the most mainstream of all American popular music, the only question is one of scale: How big can the party get? Residencies by country institutions like Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have already settled in among the Strip's prem ier musica l product ions. L a st yea r ma rked a decade since t he Academy of Country Music moved its annual awards show to Vegas from Los Angeles, and what was once a one-night event has expanded into a marathon blowout officially billed "The Week Vegas Goes Country." This year the transformation happens the first week of April, starting with the two-day, outdoor ACM Party for a Cause Festival, the inaugural event for t he bra nd-new, open-a ir shop -a nd-play dist r ict t he L inq. At Friday's Outnumber Hunger Live! concert, the main stage will welcome the country-pop power trio Rascal Flatts and up-and-comers Thomas R hett a nd The Cadillac Three, while at Saturday's event , presented by the charity ACM Lifting Lives, anthemic romancer Keith Urban will be joined by Joe Nichols, Jerrod Niemann, and Chris Young. The party builds to Sunday night, when the ACM Awards will be broad- cast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with the ACM Fan Jam going on simultaneously at Mandalay Bay Events Center. If it's not obvious from the name, the Fan Jam is a tricked-out viewing party: After the awards and other special live performances unfold on-screen, the party-stoking host duo, Florida Georgia Line—whose hit "Cruise" was recently certified country's top-selling digital song of all time—will play in person. With the ACM Awards rapidly approaching the 50 -year mark, it's easy to forget that the Academy of Country Music began as an underdog. The country performers of Nashville had the Country Music Association in their corner, and overlooked West Coast acts—like Bakersfield, California, scene-makers Buck Owens and Merle Haggard—decided they needed an organization of their own. Nowadays, country music's regional idiosyncrasies have mostly faded, with radio playlists all over the nation rotating through the same acts and Saddle Up VEGAS GOES COUNTRY THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL FOR THE ANNUAL ACM AWARDS. BY JEWLY HIGHT 72 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM Culture PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES 072-073_V_SC_HT_CountryAwards_Spring14.indd 72 2/10/14 5:17 PM