The Golden Nugget has been on a roll lately, with its 52 Fridays Concert Series bringing legends of rock to the Golden Nugget Showroom. This Friday finds Grand Funk Railroad coming to downtown Las Vegas to help you party down, with bassist Mel Schacher and drummer Don Brewer celebrating 51 years on the road on their Some Kind of Wonderful tour. The founding members are joined by ex-.38 Special singer Max Carl, former Robert Palmer keyboardist Tim Cashion and guitarist Bruce Kulick, best known for blistering lead work with Kiss in that band’s makeup-less ’80s.
GFR blazed a trail that Kiss would follow, being one of the first bands to exclusively tour arenas once technology allowed rock bands to effectively play venues with five-figure attendance levels. Formed in Flint, Mich., as a trio with Mark Farner on lead guitar and vocals, the band scored big in 1970 with the majestic, wistful “Closer to Home (I’m Your Captain)” and 1973 album We’re an American Band. The album’s title cut remains a sonic artifact detailing life on the road for an early ’70s rock band.
Golden Nugget, 8 p.m. Feb. 21, starting at $59 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000
