You can’t write the history of pop-influenced rock ’n’ roll without Elvis and the Fab Four, just as you can’t write the history of R&B without Aretha, Smokey, Stevie and James Brown, or the history of country music without Merle, Hank, Willie, Dolly and Johnny Cash. Likewise, when it comes to chronicling the pioneers of fist-in-the-air, in-your-face, crank-it-to-11 hard rock and heavy metal, you can’t get past the first paragraph—let alone the first page—without mentioning Deep Purple.
Along with British comrades Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple helped usher in the era of guitar-riff rock that would go on to influence such future legends as AC/DC, Van Halen and Metallica (among countless others). Amazingly, more than five decades, 20 studio albums and one long-overdue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction later, Deep Purple continues to share its unmistakable sound with the hard-rock masses, both through the recording studio (album No. 20, Infinite, was released in 2017) and onstage. In fact, the five-piece band—which includes longtime members Ian Paice, Roger Glover and Ian Gillan—recently kicked off an ambitious 33-show, 46-day North American tour that stops in Vegas at House of Blues this week. So rock on!
House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14, starting at $89.50 plus tax and fee, 18+. 702.632.7600
