As prevalent as country music has become in Las Vegas over the last decade or so, it’s a bit of a surprise that it’s taken this long for a full-blown country-music festival to make its home in town. Vegas is host to awards shows (including the Academy of Country Music Awards) and a slew of country concerts and events surrounding the National Finals Rodeo every December, but Route 91 Harvest is the first stand-alone country-music festival to set up shop here.
In its first year, the festival is pulling out all the stops to attract country-music fans: Headliners Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean are three of the biggest stars in contemporary country, and they’ll each be closing out one of the festival’s three days (Oct. 3-5). Each day they’ll be joined by more performers, from country veterans like Dwight Yoakam and Neal McCoy, to current hitmakers like Dierks Bentley and Brantley Gilbert, to promising up-and-comers like Ashley Monroe and Sam Hunt.
From mid-afternoon until late at night, country fans will be able to see one great performer after another, and those who come for the popular stars may just end up discovering their new favorite artist in someone they’ve never heard of. With that kind of potential, Route 91 Harvest has the chance to establish an important new country-music institution in a city full of them.
MGM Resorts Village, 2 p.m. Oct. 3-5, starting at $169 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
