Silk Sonic extends the Strip party through August

Silk Sonic is adding dates to its residency on the Strip. This is wonderful news for the act’s fans. It’s also a welcome development for Anderson .Paak, who now has more time to see even more shows in Las Vegas.

The 1970s-fashioned funk revival fronted by .Paak and Bruno Mars has expanded its engagement into this fall. The nine new dates run from Aug. 3-19. The duo’s dates already booked are Friday and Saturday, and also May 17, 20, 21, 25, 28 and 29.

The production regularly fills up Dolby Live at Park MGM, which is transformed into a giant “Soul Train” experience. Dress accordingly.

Silk Sonic is also performing at Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards show at MGM Grand Garden. We’ll take a return to “777,” the song the duo performed at the Grammy Awards show. Dust off the Elvis jumpsuits and ”Spin the wheel for me!” as they say.

.Paak has been a busy Las Vegas tourist throughout the Silk Sonic run, which has only built momentum since opening in February. He was at “O” Thursday, and has visited Shin Lim and “Love” at the Mirage, Carrot Top and “Fantasy” at Luxor, David Copperfield at MGM Grand, Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas (with Mars), and the Barbershop at the Cosmopolitan. Seriously, how have I not run into him yet?

Though Silk Sonic registered a “clean sweep” at the Grammys, .Paak says that is not his greatest achievement is quitting smoking. Really, he posted about it on Twitter. We’ll dance to that, too.

Sondheim, The Space, and you

“The Life of Stephen Sondheim” is the theme for an all-star Vegas show at The Space at 8 p.m. Thursday. The show is also live-streaming. All of the proceeds benefit The Actors Fund. Through the efforts of The Space founder Mark Shunock, The Actors Fund now has a presence in Las Vegas.

Established in 1882, The Actors Fund is headquartered in New York. Its closest office to Las Vegas is in L.A. The Actors Fund supports all levels of entertainment professionals. Under the Mondays Dark umbrella, Shunock helped raise $120,000 during an online telethon in April 2020. Since, about $1.6 million has been distributed to entertainment professionals throughout the state.

Among those scheduled to sing Thursday are Michelle Johnson, Katie Marie Jones, Anne Martinez, Caitlin Ary, Annett Verdoino, Nakaze Harris Cheryl Daro with Ayler Evan, Rachel Bell Carpenter, Amanda Kaiser, Luke Halferty, Kayla Wilkens, Phillip Officer, Brent Barrett, Colin Cahill and Chris Lash. Shunock is also tackling a Sondheim number, “Not a Day Goes By” from “Merrily We Roll Along.” Tickets are $30, at thespacelv.com, and the show is live-streaming, too.

Coming to Area15 …

A new restaurant concept (or what I like to call, a “restaurant”) is coming to Area15 near the end of the year. Call it Kestrel, from Corner Bar Management. Company founder Ryan Doherty refers to it as “cyberpunk dim sum.” On May 1, Corner Bar has sold back its Oddwood bar to Area15, a move Doherty explains was in the operating contract. And, a new exhibit is expected this year at Museum Fiasco, which will be overhauled for the change.

Wolverines unite

What you learn while covering the NFL draft in Vegas, Rich Eisen of NFL Network, and the D Las Vegas, Golden Gate and Circa co-owner Derek Stevens graduated a year apart from the University of Michigan. Stevens in 1989, Eisen in 1990. They’ve not yet met, but we expect they will. These Wolverine alumi share a passion for the gridiron.

Light us up

Light Nightclub has ramped up its headlining roster as Ludacris is performing Saturday night. Expect the actor and rap star to cover “Rollout (My Business),” “What’s Your Fantasy,” “Get Back,” and “Move B*tch” in his set. Light and outdoor party deck Daylight reopened in February, and have since presented Iggy Azalea and hip-hop star Plies on both of its stages.

Here’s a request

A fan entering “An Evening with Whitney Houston: The Hologram Concert” at Harrah’s Showroom last month asked if Whitney could sing “Happy Birthday to You” for a friend in attendance.

Sad to say, hologram Whitney cannot be programmed on the fly for specific messages. She doesn’t respond to shouts from the crowd, either.

Great Moments in Social Media

You might have noticed, or not, a video on Twitter and Instagram of yours truly alerting the public that Carrot Top’s personal assistant, Jeff Molitz, was heading to the gas station. Molitz had checked in, randomly (as is his wont) while I was at Mondays Dark, asking if I’d cut a video with that message.

It was Molitz’s way of responding to Carrot Top’s tour manager, Dan O’Leary, who always says, “I’ll alert the media,” whenever Molitz tells him he’s going someplace. We finally have that media alert.

Cool Hang Alert

Several years ago after a Liza Minnelli show at the then-Las Vegas Hilton, I met Minnelli at the post-show meet and greet. A few minutes later, she went off to her dressing room for her own show, a mini-concert by Vegas vocal group Fifth Avenue. Minnelli’s music director, Billy Stritch, had known of the ensemble and invited the guys in for a pop-up performance. She loved it.

Well, Fifth Avenue is returning to ticketed shows at 8 p.m. Friday at The Nevada Room. Catch column faves Jerry Jones, Rob Hyatt, Jeff Celentano and Bryce Robinson in harmonious splendor — for just $20. Go to vegasnevadarooms.com for further assistance.

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.