Raiding The Rock Vault to be first show at new Rio venue

Raiding the Rock Vault is ready to rock in the Rio. Its return date is June 17. The rock musical is the first residency show in The Duomo entertainment venue and restaurant opening just off the casino floor.

Owned by Vegas attorney (and also rock musician) Tony Sgro and operated by Damian Costa and his Pompey Entertainment company, Duomo is a rock-designed, 300-seat live music venue with a 1980s-style arcade. There is a connected fast-casual Italian restaurant Cupola Café.

The menu was conceived by longtime Las Vegas chef Mimmo Ferraro, whose family founded Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant Wine & Bar. A center bar also is added to the mix, open separately from the ticketed shows in the venue. Costa plans to fill a full night of ticketed entertainment at The Doumo, with Rock Vault the anchor.

Renderings for “The Duomo,” set to open June 26 on casino floor of @RioVegas. Owner Tony Srgo w/ Damian Costa’s Pompey Entertainment partnering. A 300-seat music venue, Cupola Cafe from Mimmo Ferraro, vintage arcade. Toured it a few days ago. #CoolHang #RJNow @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/EI5sE9hmzu

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) April 19, 2022

The rock show will perform 8 p.m. Fridays through Mondays in the 300-seat club. Tickets range from $74-$129 (plus fees). Tickets are on sale Friday at Ticketmaster (raidingtherockvault.com/tickets). Dark since March 2020, Rock Vault will finally end a 28-month hiatus.

The show’s rotating lineup of rock stars and their affiliated bands/shows and halls of fame include:

Howard Leese [Guitar], Heart, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bad Company.

Hugh McDonald [Bass], Bon Jovi, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rowan Robertson [Lead Guitar], Dio.

Robin McAuley [Lead Vocals], MSG, Survivor.

Cian Coey [Lead Vocals], Meat Loaf, Dweezil Zappa.

Blas Elias [Drums], Slaughter, Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Michael T. Ross [Keyboards], Lita Ford, Missing Persons.

Phil Soussan [Bass], Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Last in Line.

Todd Kerns [Lead Vocals], Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

John Bisaha [Lead Vocals], The Babys.

Jay Schellen [Drums], Yes, Asia, Badfinger.

Doug Aldrich [Guitar], Whitesnake, Dio, The Dead Daisies.

Tony Franklin [Bass], The Firm, Whitesnake, Blue Murder.

Christian Brady [Lead Guitar], Hellyeah.

Z Maddox [Lead Guitar], “Rock of Ages.”

Jason Boyleston [Guitar], Paul Rodgers Band.

Megan Ruger [Lead Vocals], “The Voice.”

Paul Johnson [Lead Vocals], “Rock of Ages.”

Dan Grennes [Bass], Billie Joe Armstrong, Melissa Etheridge.

The production taps into such rock legends as Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Free, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Boston, Kansas, Aerosmith, Van Halen, AC/DC, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Heart, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, among others.

Entering its 10th year as a Vegas residency, the show’s popularity and sustainability are inarguable. RTRV ran from March 2013 to December 2014 at Hilton/LVH/Westgate, then moved to Tropicana Theater, then to Vinyl at Hard Rock Hotel (24 Oxford at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas today) in 2015, before relocating to the Rio in January 2020.

Rock Vault was long expected to be back at the Rio. The hotel never bothered to take down its promotional signage inside the hotel, even through the pandemic shutdown of entertainment. Those signs referenced its old second-level venue at Masquerade Tower, Club 172, which now is closed.

“We appreciate the many e-mails and requests for news received during the lockdown and look forward to welcoming all our guests and friends back to rock in The Duomo, an exciting new and expanded venue at the Rio,” Rock Vault producer Sir Harry Cowell said in a statement.

Closed since March 2020, Rock Vault is at once a band and a tribute show, having won that class in the Best of Las Vegas readers poll every year since 2014, the year after it opened at then-Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate). Rock Vault actually won the 2021 Best Of readers’ award after being dark an entire year in Las Vegas.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.