The first day of Neon City Festival – the first-of-its-kind music, art and culinary event in Downtown Las Vegas – took over the city with headliners Neon Trees and TroyBoi on Friday, Nov. 22.
The inaugural free-for-all-ages event lit up the night sky with an electric experience for thousands of festivalgoers featuring performances, food and beverage offerings, immersive art installations, fireworks and more.
Day one of Neon City Festival included:
- Performances alongside Neon Trees and TroyBoi, including Dr. Fresch, Pepe Orro, Lovelytheband, American Mile, Charlotte Sands, Cassadee Pope, 408, No Proof, Bubba Sparxx, Pertinence, Landon Cube and Kaleido.
- Art activations curated by Area15, including neon-lit artwork by Aliume at Wink World: Portals Into the Infinite; an immersive activation by Illuminarium; and a photo opportunity with an art car creation from Las Vegas artist Henry Chang.
Guests also received a sneak peek of Area15: Superplastic’s “Dopeameme: The Dopeameme Institute for Pleasure Research” and “The John Wick Experience.”
- Pop-up shops and booths, including Recycled Propaganda, photographer Tristan Shearer, Essence Permanent Jewelry, confidence coach Sara Godbout, Reapers Grip, 6k Industries, Krystal Kartel, House of Bills, Mooncraft Gifts, Pinup Ally and more.
- Food vendors, many local, including taco trucks, empanada carts, sushi stands and the Omaha Steaks Culinary Experience at DLVEC with an all-you-can-eat tasting with whiskey-grilled steaks, filet mignon burgers and shrimp ceviche.
And there was a daily fireworks show from the top of The Plaza. Day two of the festival featured sets by Seven Lions, The All-American Rejects, Krewella, Plain White T’s, Lit, 24hrs and more, and the final day included Allison Wonderland, The Kruse Brothers, Twista and more.
Created by Downtown Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens – with support from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority – and overseen by appointed Neon City Festival CEO Jeff Victor, Neon City Festival was conceived to show appreciation for Las Vegas locals and visitors.
Neon City Festival’s founders include Stevens (Circa, Golden Gate, The D Las Vegas, Downtown Las Vegas Events Center), LVCVA, Steve Thompson (Boyd Gaming: Fremont, California, Main Street Station), Terry Caudill (Binion’s Gambling Hall, 4 Queens), Chris Latil (Golden Nugget), Jonathan Jossel (Plaza), Blake Sartini Jr. (The Strat), Andrew Simon (Fremont Street Experience), Joe Woody (El Cortez) and Eric Buksa (Downtown Grand).
