The Return of Live Music in Las Vegas
Photo by Unsplash user @mrthetrain
With the rapid roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, Las Vegas is slowly coming back to life. One of the most significant signs of the city’s resurrection is the return of live music. Jesse Pino, a local performer, recently played his first live show since the pandemic and talks about how it felt to be on stage again. Kayla Connick, a Music Therapist from Dynamic Music Therapy, speaks to the significance of the return of live music to the city and how music connects people.
Resurrecting Las Vegas
At the beginning of this month, capacity limits for businesses and events increased to 80% in Vegas. Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that Nevada will be back to 100% capacity at the beginning of June. With the CDC removing the mask mandate for vaccinated people, the city is starting to look, feel, and sound like itself again. One of the most hopeful signs of recovery is the return of live music.
Pino Performs Again
Jesse Pino at Fergusons Downtown. Photo by Christin Nelson taken on May 14th, 2021.
“It felt excellent,” says Jesse Pino while recalling how he felt during his first live performance since the onset of the pandemic. “It was sort of a teeter-totter at first, but by about the second set, I was like ‘ah, this is fine. I still got it. It’s still there.’”
Pino at a record store in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Corlene Byrd.
Pino has been playing shows in Las Vegas for more than a decade. Unbeknownst to him at the time, the singer-songwriter played what would be his last show before the pandemic in February 2020 at The Dive Bar. When the lockdowns came in March, Pino says, “It definitely took the rug out from under me, and I’m just like ‘ah, this really sucks.’ But there’s nothing you can do about it but wait.”
Pino at Fergusons Downtown in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Christin Nelson taken on May 14th, 2021.
About 15 months later, Pino shook the dust off his guitar, put on a polkadotted shirt, and embraced the stage once again at a Fergusons Downtown Event on Friday the 14th. Pino says that the people who attended the show “were pumped to see a live performer— at least that’s what I heard from some of their feedback,” he explains. “And the people that were really into it showed it. They were clapping along and cheering.”
The Shared Experience of Live Music
Kayla Connick, a board-certified and licensed music therapist, speaks to the richness of live music. “It’s funny because music is very personal, but also very shared,” she says. “And we grab on to it, and it becomes ‘my’ music, and it’s the ‘best’ music. But, especially at a live show, there’s just something about getting to share in the experience with others.”
Kayla Connick, a Music Therapist at Dynamic Music Therapy.
While elaborating on the sense of connectivity that’s generated by live music, Connick says, “There’s just something about getting to experience that moment with each other that’s powerful, and we can identify with the same things that we love about that music with someone else. It’s just kind of this electric feeling.”
“It’s a very human experience,” she explains. “They’re so many aspects of music that we connect to and then connect with each other.”
The Return of Live Shows
Speaking to the significance of the return of live shows in Vegas, Pino says, “I think it’s huge because Las Vegas is, you know, the entertainment capital of the world, so we’re like the show for every other state in the country. If the state was a person and wanted to go out for the night, they’d come to Las Vegas,” he explains.
“The pandemic [messed] us up,” Pino recalls. “So many shows were canceled. Live music was canceled. Shows on the strip were canceled. And those were all big parts of what our city has to offer. So I think it’s huge,” he continues, “especially when it can come back in full swing because it’s like the engine in the car is going to restart, and we can start cruising again.”
Connick believes that having live music in the city again is crucial to restoring hope for the future. “I’m already very hopeful because I am seeing the return of live music. And you know, COVID is still a real thing, and we’re not 100% certain about the future, but I’m already really really hopeful,” she explains. “I think we need it. I think it’s vital.”
Live Music Encapsulates Human Connection
On June 1st, the state of Nevada will be operating at 100% capacity again. Americans are emerging from the era of lockdowns and quarantines and are slowly returning to life as it once was. One way in which community members can reconnect with each other is by attending live shows again. As Connick explains, “Live music encapsulates human connection— whether you feel connected to the artist or the singer or a therapist or to the crowd.”
“We need that connection,” she says. “It’s not just a luxury; it’s a necessity.”
