Wayne Newton has appeared at more Las Vegas sporting events than some athletes.
Mr. Las Vegas has sung the national anthem at the Thomas & Mack Center during the Jerry Tarkanian years. He’s served as honorary starter at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, performed a Vegas-fashioned medley before the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, been a celeb guest at the National Finals Rodeo, and cranked the siren for the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
Sunday, Newton is performing the national anthem, along with 43 guest stars. He’ll be joined by the Las Vegas Academy singers prior to the Raiders preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
It is Newton’s first appearance in a formal role at Allegiant Stadium. But a painting of him wearing a No. 20 Raider jersey is displayed inside the venue. (he’s wearing the white jersey, we guess looking for a road victory).
“It’s an honor to represent my home town whenever and however I can,” Newton said Saturday. “I’ve become an avid Raider fan, and also a fan of Mark Davis and his support of Las Vegas.”
The moment is a boon to the LVA choir, which has performed a few memorable shows of its own and picked up a dozen Grammy Awards over the years. LVA has backed Hugh Jackman, Barry Manilow, Foreigner, the “Star Wars” concert tour, Boston Brass, violin virtuoso André Rieu, members of the “Memphis” Broadway cast and the great producer/director Kenny Ortegea. The troupe also repped the city during the NFL Draft from Las Vegas in April.
During the 2021 season, several recording stars performed the anthem for Raiders games, among them Gladys Knight, Marie Osmond, Yolanda Adams, Tinashe and Journey’s Neal Schon, Brian Flores (Broadway star and son of Raiders legend Tom Flores), Montell Jordan and Tori Kelly have been among the national anthem singers.
Impress your friends, or not, by knowing this specific Strip connection between Knight and Newton: They have both headlined a residency show in a famous Vegas showroom, at different times. Answer at the end of this sentence … Tropicana Theater.
Band on the run
David Perrico and the Raiders House Band is performing on a new stage at Allegiant Stadium. The platform is raised about 2 to 3 feet. But the band stature over the past year has been lifted a lot higher than that.
“We were named the house band just about a week before preseason last year,” Perrico says. “Now we have more than 100 songs we can plug in. We have a good rapport with the Raider team, knowing what flows and works. It will continue to evolve.”
The band is performing “We Are Family” behind Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge, for the reunited Raiderettes celebrating the dance team’s 60th anniversary this weekend.
Similar to a QB scanning a playbook, Perrico is reviewing a list of “hot” songs to be played during the game. It’s a task, as Perrico charts eight or nine variations of each song to plug in when he’s prompted during the game. So you might hear 30 seconds of, say, “Hot For Teacher” by Van Halen during a break in the action. Perrico is also readying new selections from Bruno Mars, the “Jaws” theme and a sample of James Bond themes (the band also knows “YYZ” by Rush, so let’s get that cued up, too).
“This is a lot, it’s more than just a band that’s very good,” Perrico says. “The band has to be nimble to react to a cue. We’re the Raiders’ band, but the band itself is like a football team.”
If the team takes the field with 19 players. We’ve said from the start (and so have such Vegas music luminaries as Jerry Lopez of Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns) that the team’s investment in Las Vegas musicians is a victory for the entire entertainment community.
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