Las Vegas continues to be one of the best entertainment hubs in the world. It is also the birthplace and the take-off site of some of the world’s most successful musicians and bands. Below is a list of five musicians and bands who kicked off their careers in Las Vegas.
Bands & Musicians Who Started Their Professional Careers in Vegas
1. Imagine Dragons
- Website: https://www.imaginedragonsmusic.com/
Imagine Dragons is a Las Vegas rock band founded in 2008. The band focus on different genres of rock music ranging from pop rock and arena rock to alternative rock. It is made up of four members: Dan Reynolds (lead singer), Wayne Sermon (guitarist), Ben McKee 9 bassist) and Daniel Platzman (drummer). Apart from the four members, the band has had other past members:
- Andrew Tolman
- Brittany Tolman
- Dave Lemke
- Andrew Beck
- Theresa Flaminio
- Aurora Florence
The Las Vegas band gained popularity while performing in their hometown, Sin City. During the Bite of Las Vegas Festival 2009, Imagine Dragons was called last minute to perform instead of the Train after the band’s front-man, Pat Monahan, developed health issues. The band performed in front of a crowd featuring more than 26,000 people. After getting a slice of the amazing Las Vegas spotlight, the band received great recognition locally and nationally. Some of the notable local accolades that the band received included:
- “Best CD of 2011” by Vegas SEVEN
- Las Vegas’ Newest Must See Live Act” by Las Vegas CityLife
- “Best Local Indie Band 2010” by Las Vegas Weekly
- Vegas Music Summit Headliner 2010
In 2011, Imagine Dragons signed a recording contract with Interscope Records and started working with Alex da Kid, an English Grammy Award-winning music producer. Imagine Dragon’s career was soon propelled to greater heights and received several music nominations and awards. In 2014 the band had 14 Billboard Music Awards nominations, including the sought-after Top Artist of the Year and a Milestone Award. Four years later, the band received 11 Billboard Music Awards nominations.
Imagine Dragons falls in the world’s best-selling music artists category, selling more than 75 million records globally, and in 2018 they were the most streamed band on Spotify. The band has won the following awards:
- American Music Awards (3)
- World Music Award (1)
- Billboard Music Awards (9)
- Grammy Award (1)
- MTV Video Music Award (1)
The band continues to notch amazing musical pieces worth Platinum and Gold records.
2. The Killers
- Website: https://www.thekillersmusic.com/#/
The Killers is an American band that has been in the industry for the last two decades, having been formed in 2001 by Dave Keuning (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, bass and keyboards). One of the band’s biggest challenges was finding long-term drummers and bass players, and it wasn’t until 2002 that Mark Stoermer (bass, guitar and backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr (drums, guitar and percussion) joined the band.
Past members of the band are Dell Neal, Matt Norcross and Brian Havens. The band’s music genre includes alternative rock, indie rock, post-punk revival, new wave, heartland rock and pop rock.
The Killers, made up of Keuning and Flowers, kicked off their music career by performing in various spots in Las Vegas, including the Cafe Espresso Roma in Las Vegas. They describe their music as a combination of “pop styles of British music and the lo-fi fuzz of modern indie rock.” The band continued performing in small gigs in Las Vegas before they intrigued Braden Merrick, an A&R representative of Warner Bros. Records. Braden Merrick helped the band kick off their career by taking them to Berkeley, California and connecting the band with Jeff Saltzman (former Green Day manager).
The Killers worked with Jeff Saltzman to produce various demos and send them to top recording labels globally. In 2003, the band signed a recording contort with the Independent label Lizard King Records, a British label. So far, The Killers have enjoyed immense success selling more than 10.8 million records in the US and more than 28 million records globally. They have performed in more than 50 countries across the globe. The Killers have released seven very successful studio albums, garnering the band several awards and nominations, including:
- Four-time winner of the Best International Band in the NME Awards
- Best International Band in the 2007 BRIT Award
- Best Rock Group in the 2006 MTV Europe Music Award
- Best Video in the 2006 Q Awards
The band received many nominations in their twenty years of musical careers, twenty-four NME Awards, seven Grammy Awards, and seven BRIT Awards.
3. Panic! At the Disco
- Website: https://panicatthedisco.com/
Panic! At the Disco was originally an American pop-rock band formed by childhood friends Brendon Urie, Spencer Smith, Ryan Ross and Brent Wilson. Currently, Panic! At the Disco is a solo project by Brendon Urie. The band was formed in 2004, and most of the songs and the first demos were recorded by the group while still in high school, including A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, their first debut album recorded in 2005. Hover the group gained immense popularity from their second single, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies“, in 2006.
Ross and Walker walked out of the Panic! At the Disco to form another band, the Young Veins. The two weren’t comfortable with the changes suggested by Urie and Smith. The duo continued releasing various singles and albums as the sole members of Panic! At the Disco. In 2015, Smith also departed from the band, leaving it to be a solo project run by Urie. Smith cited health and drug-related issues as the main reason for leaving the band unofficially. Other temporary members have been recorded in the past decade, including Jon Walker and Dallon Weekes.
Despite the many challenges the band has faced associated with the founding members leaving, it has gained immense success thanks to the Vegas good luck. Panic! At the Disco has won several notable music awards, including:
- 2018 Alternative Artist at the American Music Awards
- Four Billboard Music Awards
- 2019 Inspiration Award (awarded to Brendon Urie) by the GLSEN Annual Respect Awards
- Two iHeartRadio Music Awards (2019 Alternative Rock Song of the Year and Alternative Rock Album of the Year)
- Two MTV Europe Music Awards (2018 Best Alternative and 2019 Best Video)
- Three MTV Video Music Awards (2006 Video of the Year, 2019 Best Rock Video and 2019 Best Visual Effects)
- Two Teen Choice Awards (2019 Choice Rock Artist and Choice Rock Song)
- TMF Awards, 2006 Best Video International
- MTV Asia Awards, 2008 The Style Award
- Four Alternative Press Music Awards
- Rock Sound Awards, 2018 Artist of the Year
- Outer Critics Circle Awards, 2018 Outstanding New Score
- Rock Sound Readers Poll, 2015 Video of the Year
Panic! At the Disco continues to enjoy an impressive following and hosts frequent shows and tours globally.
4. Slaughter
- Website: https://www.slaughterusa.com
Slaughter is a Las Vegas glam metal band formed in 1988 by Mark Slaughter (lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist) and Dana Strum (bassist). The band was propelled into stardom in 1990 when they released their first album, Stick It to Ya, which featured various top singles like “Up All Night,” “Mad About You,” “Fly to the Angels,” and “Spend My Life.“.
The main genre of music played by the Slaughter is glam metal, heavy metal, hip-hop, rap, glam rock and hard rock, and it has worked in the following recording labels Chrysalis, CMC International, Victor and Capitol. Despite being founded by a duo, the band has recruited other members in the past, Blas Elias, Jeff “Blando” Bland, and past members (Tim Kelly and Zoltan Chaney).
The Las Vegas band has enjoyed a nurturing relationship with Sin City for over twenty years. Las Vegas has provided Slaughter with the best avenue for growth and success ever since the band started playing their first gigs in the city. Their first album had well-performing singles, and three of the singles featured in the Billboard Hot 100. Slaughter also recorded a song that was included in the film Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, titled “Shout It Out“; however it didn’t make it to the US Hot 100.
Slaughter has released five major singles in their musical career; Stick It to Ya (January 27, 1990), The Wild Life (April 21, 1992), Fear No Evil (May 2, 1995), Revolution (May 20, 1997) and Back to Reality (June 29, 1999). The band members have received the following nominations and awards in their professional music careers:
- 1990 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video (nomination)
- 1991 American Music Awards: Favorite Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Artist (award)
5. Ne-Yo
- Website: https://www.neyothegentleman.com/
Ne-Yo, celebrated in the music industry for being an amazing artist and songwriter, also got his professional musical foundation from Sin City. NE-Yo, whose actual name is Shaffer Chimere Smith, is an American songwriter, artist, dancer, record producer and actor.
Ne-Yo’s songwriting skills caught the attention of the top players in the music industry when he wrote Mario’s famous 2004 single hit, “Let Me Love You“. The immense success of the single resulted in him meeting up with Jay-Z, Def Jam’s president at that time.
What is the role of Las Vegas in the successful musical career of Ne-Yo? Ne-Yos parents, who were both musicians, separated when he was still a child, and his mother opted to move to Las Vegas with him. His mother enrolled him in the Las Vegas Academy, where his talent was greatly appreciated and noticed. He joined the Envy Band, and his stage name was GoGo. The band made several appearances in the industry, including in The Cut, a short MTV series that was hosted by TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. When the band disbanded in 2000, Ne-Yo continued to write songs for various top artists.
Ne-Yo kicked off his solo music career in 2006 after being signed by Def Jam. Over the years, Ne-Yo has grown to be one of the most successful RnB artists of all time and even has his recording studio Carrington House, in Atlanta, Georgia. He also has a recording company named Compound Entertainment, which has signed several notable artists like RaVaughn, Adrienne Bailon and Paula Campbell. In his music career, Ne-Yo has received plenty of nominations and has won several awards:
- 2 BET Awards (2007 and 2009 Best Male R&B Artist)
- 3 Grammy Awards (2008 Best Contemporary R&B Album, 2009 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and 2009 Best R&B Song)
- 2 MOBO Awards (2007 Best Song and Best R&B)
- 2 MTV Video Music Awards Japan (2007 Best New Artist Video and 2008 Best Male Video)
- 2 Soul Train Music Awards (2007 Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist and 2009 Best Collaboration)
So far, Ne-Yo has released nine studio albums, three compilation albums, 31 music videos, 41 singles, and more than 100 appearances. He has managed to sell more than 20 million records globally.