Weezer, Ice Cube, Marshmello to headline NFL Draft Concert Series

Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 years ago

Rapper Ice Cube flashes his Raiders t-shirt at the NFL football game between the Oakland Raider ... — Rapper Ice Cube flashes his Raiders t-shirt at the NFL football game between the Oakland Raiders against the San Diego Chargers, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 in Oakland, Calif.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Rapper Ice Cube performs during a NASCAR exhibition auto race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Too Short, center left, and Ice Cube perform during halftime at an NFL game between the Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens at Allegiant Stadium on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Rivers Cuomo of Weezer performs onstage during the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 17, 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Marshmello, right, on the red carpet before the start of the 2022 Grammy Awards on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena , in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

Veteran rock band Weezer, rap legend Ice Cube and superstar DJ Marshmello are the headlining acts for the NFL Draft Concert Series at Draft Theater on the Strip. The venue is just behind High Roller and Linq Promenade at Caesars Forum.

Weezer is set to take the stage following the Round 1 selections on April 28. The band recently released “SZNA,” a four-EP project, and is set to tour Europe on its “Hella Mega” tour, which sold out across the country in 2021.

Ice Cube, co-founder of the groundbreaking rap group NWA and a lifelong Las Vegas Raiders fan, is set to headline following Round 3 on April 29. The musician also is an actor, director, producer, civil rights advocate and co-founder of the Big 3 professional 3-on-3 basketball league. He currently is on a U.S. tour, and performed along with Too Short at halftime of the Sept. 13 Raiders-Baltimore Ravens game at Allegiant Stadium.

A frequent Vegas nightclub and dayclub star, Marshmello will close the Series on April 30, following Round 7. Prior to his appearance, he is releasing a new song, “Tokischa.”

Seth Dudowsky, head of music for the NFL who books the acts, wanted to establish “three major areas of representation of the Las Vegas residency scene” in selecting the three night’s headliners.

“That’s how we ended up with with Weezer, who’s just a fantastic rock band that really aligns with a lot of the core draft audience that we know is going to be coming,” Dudowsky said in a phone chat. “We have Ice Cube the most iconic Raiders fan there is, really representing the Las Vegas Raiders and what they add to the city. And then on Saturday, with Marshmello, have one of the biggest names in the Vegas residency scene, and really representative of that internationally known, world-famous DJ that is synonymous with the Las Vegas nightlife.”

General fan viewing is free with NFL.com/OnePass registration. Viewing is on a first-come, first-served basis, and is standing room only. Performances also will be streamed in full on NFL.com, in the NFL app and live on NFL Facebook and YouTube pages each night. Portions of the performances also will be televised across NFL Network and ESPN.

Weezer performs after Mat Franco’s 4:50 p.m. appearance at the Draft Theater. Criss Angel is onstage at 4 p.m. April 29, preceding Ice Cube. Blue Man Group, Piff the Magic Dragon, Terry Fator and acts from “Absinthe” precede Marshmallow at 1:30 p.m. April 30. David Perrico and the Raiders House Band performs between acts each afternoon and evening at Draft Theater.

The schedule at Red Carpet Stage at Bellagio Fountains: On April 28 it’s the Las Vegas Academy Singers, “Absinthe,” members of Jabbawockeez, and “Mad Apple” cast members appear beginning at 4:45 p.m. On April 29 it’s “America’s Got Talent” champ Kodi Lee, Fator and Blue Man Group beginning at 5 p.m. On April 30, it’s Patti Pennington and the House of Blues Gospel Choir, Eldorado High School’s Madrigal Singers, Wy Mac and the Aerial Angels of Trapeze Las Vegas. That activity begins at 11 a.m.

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.