The newest entry into the crowded American music festival market is Rock in Rio. The long-running festival, which has 30 years of history drawing more than seven million people to other cities around the world, made its United States debut in Las Vegas on May 15 and 16, drawing 82,000 attendees for a weekend of rock music including headliners No Doubt, Metallica, Maná, and Linkin Park. And that was just the festival’s first weekend of two—next weekend, gates will open again with a different lineup of pop musicians including Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars.
The festival grounds are located across from the new SLS Las Vegas, in a 40-acre, open-air venue dubbed the City of Rock. About 700 people worked to convert the construction site into a festival-ready space, at the cost of about $75 million.
A defining hallmark of Rock in Rio is its high-design architecture and style-minded look. Each stage has its own distinct design, and three so-called Rock Streets, built to look like colorful storefronts, offer entertainment and food inspired by global traditions. Even a zip line tower and speaker towers have curvilinear forms that match the visual focus.
“It has always been our dream to bring Rock in Rio to the U.S., and it is truly amazing to see this dream become a reality,” festival founder Roberto Medina said in a statement. “We’ve felt so welcomed during the process of creating the Las Vegas edition of the festival and are grateful to have celebrated the debut with such a great crowd. We look forward to doing it all over again next weekend.”
