Las Vegas has never had a shortage of live music. On any given night, you can hear everything from Elvis to Adele to Journey, sometimes without any of those actual people being anywhere near the building. That’s just how this town works.
by Staci Layne Wilson
What’s harder to find is a big showcase devoted entirely to Las Vegas musicians playing their own music, no impersonation skills required.
Frenzy Fest set out to fix that Monday night at Palms Casino Resort, packing in 20 local acts for 20-minute sets spread across three stages: KAOS, Palms Pool and Greene St. Kitchen. No tribute bands, no cover sets, just kickass original music, ricocheting from hard rock to funk, soul, pop and indie as audiences drifted around the property like they were crowd surfing. The Palms was packed, with impressive crowds all night and a genuine festival energy tying together three very different rooms.
I kicked things off with a familiar favorite: The Far Worst, fronted by powerhouse vocalist Bree Elizabeth. I’ve seen this female-fronted hard rock band plenty of times, including opening for Angel at Count’s Vamp’d, and they remain one of my favorite local discoveries. Their crunchy, contemporary sound fit the outdoor Palms Pool stage like it was built for them. (ICYMI, you can see them September 5 at The House of Blues, opening for Powerman 5000.)
From there, Frenzy Fest turned into a musical blind date, and I was here for it.
BADD JUJU was the night’s revelation. Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Eric "juju" Torres, the collective fuses funk, soul and rock into the kind of groove-heavy music that makes standing still with your arms crossed feel like a crime against humanity. Torres clearly agreed. He left the stage, waded into the crowd and eventually ended up dancing on tables. That’s commitment. (It’s also probably a stress test the lounge’s furniture didn’t sign up for.) The band was tight, funky and enormously entertaining, with real musicianship backing up the showmanship, so none of it ever felt like a gimmick. Easily one of my highlights of the whole festival.
I also enjoyed Dezi Marie & UNKNXWN, whose polished blend of pop, funk, soul and rock gave KAOS a different flavor entirely, while Michael DeLara featuring Robot Robot brought an eclectic, offbeat energy to the more intimate Greene St. Kitchen stage.
So, I caught those four acts in just under two hours, and it was obvious how hard it is to slap one tidy label on the Vegas original-music scene. Good luck trying.
That was really Frenzy Fest’s greatest strength. With short sets and staggered start times, you could sample bands you’d otherwise never stumble across, without committing your whole night to any single one. Musical tapas, basically, just a lot louder.
Even better, the whole thing had a purpose beyond introducing crowds to local talent. Admission was free, with a suggested $20 donation benefiting Positively Arts, the Las Vegas nonprofit that uses performing arts education, training, and mentorship to help young people build confidence and strength. Frenzy Fest was produced by Beyer Entertainment as a benefit for the organization, with donations also supporting the participating artists.
For a first-time festival built entirely around local, original music, Frenzy Fest was remarkably, beautifully alive and hitch-free. The Palms was buzzing, all three stages had distinct personalities, and the sheer range of talent made wandering room to room half the fun.
Our town already knows how to put on a show. Frenzy Fest was a great reminder that plenty of people who live here know how to write one too!