Las Vegas Shows

The camera stands in the middle of the audience, at head height, which is the only place this works from. Above and around, illuminated floats hang from the ceiling on rails - carnival shapes in blue and white, strung with lights, moving over the top of the crowd. Ahead is a raised stage with performers on it and an ornate structure behind them. The audience is packed in on every side, faces lit from below by the show and from behind by slot machines; the ceiling above is dark, which makes the floats read like they are flying. Turn all the way round and you get the whole thing - stage, floats, crowd and casino - which is more or less impossible to photograph in one frame.

With everything from intimate cabarets to poolside concerts and giant arenas, Las Vegas has all types of entertainment venues and something for all tastes. Most every big-name performer in music and comedy have played Las Vegas stages, many for extended runs. On any given night in Vegas, you might find a country music superstar playing to a crowd of 4,000 fans, a comedy legend reliving the good old days, and up-and-comers delighting crowds in smaller clubs.

Las Vegas Shows History The tradition of live entertainment stretches back to early days of the boomtown in the desert. In the first decades of Las Vegas history, people stayed in dude ranches, the forerunners of the modern hotels—drawn by the promise of quick divorces and gambling. When the Hoover Dam was constructed in the 1930s, workers flocked to Vegas in search of fun and entertainment of all sorts. After World War II, resorts begin to spring up—one bigger than the next.

By 1960, Frank Sinatra gathered his friends for fun and some drinks, eventually forming the Rat Pack and making Las Vegas a place of legends. Elvis, one of Vegas’s most iconic performers, first arrived in 1956 at the age of 21. He played Las Vegas shows many times over the years, eventually returning in 1969 for an extended run. Elvis has never really left the building, as interpreters and marriage chapel attendants carry on his jump-suited legacy. In the years following, all types of performers set up for long runs in Las Vegas, including divas like Cher, Celine Dion, and Bette Midler. The top names in comedy play in Sin City, and the roster of shows includes about any type of entertainment you could dream of—everyone from burlesque and show girls to family friendly Cirque du Soleil shows.

Rio Hotel One of the best examples of the best Las Vegas hotel and casinos, Rio Hotel really rocks into gear once the sun sets. The first all-suite Las Vegas hotel, the Rio has hosted the top names of entertainment ever since it opened in 1990. When the Masquerade Show in the Sky opened in 1997, the Rio ushered in a new era of free Las Vegas shows. Today, its Entertainment Court offers a mix of shows and events to suit all types of Vegas visitors. Magic greats Penn & Teller bring their mix of comedy and amazing feats to the stage, not far from where the Platters and other kings of doo-wop sing their old favorites. Another club hosts Show in the Sky, a carnival show straight from Brazil, which happens steps away from the Chippendale's dance club.