Pastel Project music fest debuting at Royal House

He calls the area a black hole, partly in jest, partly because he wants to fill said void.

"I've always personally had a nice little romance with this street," says Ryan Pardey, looking in the direction of Convention Center Drive from the lobby of The Royal House hotel, where he works as the entertainment director. "I think of us as a bridge, right here."

The bridge in question is meant to link the locals-centric downtown arts scene with tourist-heavy bustle of the Strip, which The Royal House is positioned directly in between.

And Pardey is looking to connect the two with rock 'n' roll, some dancing, a ferris wheel, a mini golf course and perhaps a food truck or two.

All will be present at the launch of the Pastel Project, a two-day music and arts fest that debuts today at The Royal House.

The all-day affair will feature such notable national acts as the Whigs, Le Butcherettes, CSS, the Album Leaf and more along with ace selection of Vegas bands, spread out over an outdoor and an indoor stage as well as performances by the pool (check out the full lineup at royalhouselv.com).

If all goes well, Pardey already has designs on another, more elaborate Pastel Project in the fall, with hopes of closing off a section of Convention Center Drive and bringing in big-name headliners with the goal of drawing 15,000 to 20,000 fans.

"This is the first big step," the bearded Vegas music lifer says, eyes brightening. "If this one goes all right, I'm looking forward to swinging big, over the fences, for September."

Of course, the debut of Pastel Project coincides with the latest installment of the Neon Reverb music fest, which mines a similar indie vein.

But Pardey doesn't view it as a competition, but rather a boon of bands for one weekend.

"I don't see a problem with it," Pardey says. "There's 12,000 bands playing in Austin, and people aren't bitching about South By Southwest, they're celebrating it. I think this will be a celebration.

"I like those guys. Those guys are my friends," he adds of the Neon Reverb organizers. "I'm looking to do the same thing that they're doing, and I think it's going to be a healthy thing. It's creating a gravitational pull together. It's going to be an exciting weekend for music lovers."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.