Ariana Grande leads this week’s best bets for music in Las Vegas
Ariana Grande
She sings as if expelling a tornado from her lungs. Such is the bluster with which Ariana Grande is capable of performing. Sure, it can be a bit much at times, her voice soaring waywardly like a kite caught in a windstorm. But there’s no denying Grande’s vocal gifts, in which she luxuriates on latest album “Sweetener,” which spans from hip-pop to EDM to spit-shined R&B. See her at 10 p.m. Saturday at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Tickets start at $100; call 702-698-7475.
Goodie Mob
What you know about the Dirty South? That question, posed by this underrated Atlanta hip-hop troupe on its excellent 1995 debut, “Soul Food,” prefaced the Southern rap boom the group helped catalyze alongside running mates Outkast and others. Get a rare chance to see Goodie Mob live at 8 p.m. Saturday at Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq. Tickets start at $32; call 702-862-2695.
Living Colour
Not sure what’s more awesomely ridiculous, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid’s wild-eyed soloing or the lime-green bicycle shorts and matching top that frontman Corey Glover sported in the video for the breakout hit “Cult of Personality” in the late ’80s. Either way, these veteran rockers offer counterprogramming to all the high-dollar New Year’s Eve concerts with Vegas’ own Adelitas Way and Mike Xavier at 8 p.m. Monday at Brooklyn Bowl. Tickets start at $32; call 702-862-2695.
‘The Rap Up’
Hot 97.5 FM corrals some equally hot R&B and hip-hop up-and-comers via “The Rap Up,” featuring DaniLeigh, JR Castro, Flipp Dinero, Jonn Hart and Shafik, at 8 p.m. Friday at Vinyl at the Hard Rock Hotel. Tickets start at $25; call 702-693-5000.
Vince Neil
Motley Crue may be done as a touring act, but “Dr. Feelgood” has not lost his license. Frontman Vince Neil continues to perform plenty of the band’s hits. See him at 8 p.m. Friday at the Showroom at the Golden Nugget. Tickets start at $69; call 866-946-5336.
