Las Vegas is mostly known as a home of gambling, but it has a rich musical tradition. Aside from the fact that Elvis Presley had an 837-show streak at the International and Las Vegas Hilton from 1969 to 1976, the Western Hemisphere’s gambling capital has been the spawning ground for a number of well-regarded acts across all genres.
The Killers are one of Vegas’ foremost exports, and they share company with Panic! at the Disco, Ne-Yo, and the internationally known go-to band for film/video game trailer music, Imagine Dragons (seriously, how did they manage to help advertise Murder on the Orient Express???).
A riche musical landscape
More recently, the city has become host to a new wave of electronic music. The flagship version of Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) festival has been held in Vegas for the past seven years. While some huge names have residencies in Vegas, we want to take a slightly deeper dive and look at some of the less well-known names in electronic music.
It’s important to note that some of these DJs or groups are very highly regarded within their field, even if that hasn’t translated to massive worldwide record sales or streaming numbers. It’s hard to get to Vegas any other way, to be honest. And even though there are lots of other distractions in Vegas, such as the numerous casinos, or the hundreds of games with promotions, like roulette and baccarat, that you can play on online sites from the comfort of your own home, these DJs definitely warrant a visit to Vegas entirely on their own merits.
Arty
Artem Stoliarov, or Arty, hails from Russia, but has found a home for his sound stateside without ever quite becoming a household name. This, despite him having produced remixes for OneRepublic, London Grammar and Halsey. His progressive house sound is informed by his love of video games and he’s a smart guy, too, boasting a computer science degree. In Vegas, he’s been found at Drai’s Nightclub.
Getter
When Skrillex burst onto the scene in 2011 with a brain-melting series of dubstep bangers, he burst the door behind which his sound had been hiding right off its hinges. One of those in his footsteps is Getter (real name Tanner Petulla), who is now signed to Skrillex’s OWSLA label. Getter is known to younger listeners as the originator of a meme. But he also has his own trade in crunching basslines (for one, Head Splitter puts its money where its mouth is). His stints at Vegas have been at XS, Surrender and Intrigue.
Jauz
Sam Vogel, AKA Jauz, certainly doesn’t lack for ambition: while he started out as an undeniable acolyte of the balls-to-the-wall Skrillex sound, his debut album The Wise and the Wicked, which was released last month, is 23 tracks long and boasts a wide range of influences, from brostep to deep house, and has many features including British rapper Example and DJ Snake. He has played at Hakkasan and Omnia, as well as Jewel and Wet Republic. They’re big name venues, to be sure, but Jauz is yet to break into the big leagues properly.
Vegas is full of talent across the musical spectrum, but when it comes to the electronic side of things, we’re spoiled for choice. Go and see the big names if you want to, but leave time for these lesser-known acts. Night or day (Vegas literally never stops partying), you’ll find something to whet your appetite and diversify your EDM palette.
