My introduction to Kool & The Gang was in 1977—the year I first listened to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. They had but one song on that monstrously successful album, “Open Sesame,” but it quickly became one I returned to again and again. From its opening gong to its deep funk groove and its One Thousand and One Nights-themed lyrics, this is a song designed to get you on your feet and swaying like no one’s watching. 

This song perfectly encapsulated two things: The wackiness, anything-goes vibe of the disco era; and Kool & the Gang’s ability to take any material and turn it into an instant classic. There’s a reason we’re still hearing this group’s vast array of hits across all platforms (TV, movies, commercials and more)—their sense of fun and propulsive beats is timeless. And they will be bringing that everlasting party to a variety of dates at Westgate Las Vegas until late 2024.

Just like me in 1977, generations of listeners will be familiar with Kool & The Gang for reasons of their own: Maybe you first heard them in the ’80s during the movie Jumping Jack Flash (“Misled”); maybe your first exposure was in the ’90s during the opening scenes of Pulp Fiction (“Jungle Boogie”); maybe you comedy fans first got the Kool kraving from Legally Blonde in 2001 (“Get Down On It”); or maybe you younger tykes first danced to their music in 2012 during the opening scenes of Wreck-It Ralph (“Celebration”). And odds are all those different age groups will be in the aisles of the International Theater, exchanging high fives when the group launches into “Ladies Night.”

What’s that? Not a big movie fan? And not really into the “classics”? Well, odds are you’ve been a fan of the band’s sound and not even known it. Kool & Kompany have been sampled in more songs than we have space to list here, from “Summer Madness” (sampled in “You Know How We Do It” by Ice Cube) to “N.T.” (sampled in “N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas).

Westgate Las Vegas, westgatelasvegas.com

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