Viva Las VeGrass to debut in October

What’s green and blue and runs for three days at the Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las Vegas?

No… it’s not a joke, but a new bluegrass festival hosted by the Southern Nevada Bluegrass Music Society, October 13-15, 2017. Viva Las VeGrass will offer all the atmosphere you expect from a bluegrass festival, with entertainment from top artists, rough camping for RVs and tenters, and all sorts of food and craft vendors, located just a short distance from the casinos and night life that have made Vegas a top worldwide travel destination.

It sounds like a perfect way for couples or families where only one half of the crew enjoys bluegrass to mix a festival with a Vegas vacation where everyone gets what they want. You can sit back in your lawn chair listening to some solid grass while they lay out by the pool or plop down in front of the slots. Or maybe you send them off to the fest to jam all night while you work the poker tables.

Shuttle service will be offered between the park and nearby hotels and casinos. The 7-acre concert area can handle a crowd up to 8,000 people, and the park also includes a 65,000 square-foot skate park, 3 dog parks, and many other amenities.

Viva Las VeGrass is also making much of their commitment to green living by using solar generators on site, along with compostable porta potties, recycling of festival waste, and an electric car show on site. Styrofoam containers will not be allowed in the park and a Re-use, Reduce, Recycle Art Show will be set up in addition to farm-to-table and environmentally-conscious food vendors.

Southern Nevada Bluegrass Music Society is very excited about this new event. Nevadans may recall their Logandale Festival, held from 1988 until 2009 about 50 miles north of Las Vegas, and they are delighted to be back in the festival business again as they celebrate their 43rd year as a regional bluegrass association.

Most of the bands appearing on the festival are from the southwestern US, but both the US Navy Band Country Current and Nu-Blu will be making the trip out west to perform as well.

Full festival details can be found online.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.