produced (“The Ultimate Party,”

By Kiko Miyasato Photo by Christopher DeVargas Grooming by Sheena Zargari Puopolo

Zouk Nightclub is a hot spot for revelry and talent. Tiësto helps leads the charge.

Step inside the world of Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World Las Vegas, a world that visually and audibly delights with its innovative design, state-of-the-art technology and impressive roster of performers.

Zouk Group, a pioneering nightlife institution in Singapore, traveled halfway around the globe to bring its concept to the party people of Las Vegas. The result is a 36,000-square-foot, multiroom nightclub that fully immerses clubgoers. There are multiple bars and lounge areas, each with their own stunning design, but the real magnet that will pull guests in is the main room. It’s here that the stage is set for some of the world’s most-recognized DJs and musical artists while technology dazzles the dancefloor with Zouk’s unique lighting system known as the Mothership. Re-created from Zouk Nightclub in Singapore, the behemoth Mothership produces a kaleidoscope of LED colors and visuals as it floats above and around the dancefloor, moving to the music. Between the music pumping out of one of the most technologically advanced sound systems and the interactive lighting capabilities wired throughout, guests are in for a night of pure, out-of-this-world revelry.

Zouk has called upon top talent to bring the wicked beats to the nightclub, and that includes resident DJs and musical acts as well as special-event performances that include Zedd, DJ Snake, Nervo, Cash Cash, DJ Ruckus, Duke Dumont, G-Eazy, Jack Harlow, Madison Beer, Louis the Child and more. Leading the charge is resident superstar DJ and producer Tiësto (performing May 19), one of the godfathers of electronic dance music. With his decades-long success in the EDM world, he impressively commands the stage with his unique style and mash-up of beats flowing onto the dancefloor and keeping feet moving for hours. It’s an unforgettable experience.

We recently sat down and talked with Tiësto about his residency, as well as his upcoming Electric Daisy Carnival performance this weekend and his thoughts on life and career. (And if you’ve ever wanted to know more about Tiësto, we had him answer some fun questions that’ll help you get to know the man behind the name!)

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW RESIDENCY AT ZOUK NIGHTCLUB.

It’s been incredible. I was at Hakkasan for seven years—a long time. I was ready for a new challenge. I know Zouk from Singapore; I played that club many times. That’s the original Zouk. So when they came here to Las Vegas, I was very excited. They showed me all the plans, of the resort, of the nightclub, the pool party. I was like, “This is fresh, new.” The club has been booming. It’s packed every week. It’s incredible

because Vegas in general—the (EDM) scene has grown so much.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE EDM SCENE. DID YOU EVER EXPECT IT TO EXPLODE THE WAY IT HAS?

No; never. I remember I was (in Las Vegas) in 2007. I would play like three times a year in Vegas, and I would tell the promoters, “Man, I really love Vegas. I wish I could have a residency here one day. That would be amazing.” And they would say, “Yeah, that would be amazing, but that’s never going to happen.” And I was like, “Yeah, that’s never gonna happen.” Now it’s the DJs’ faces that are up on the outside of the hotel buildings. I never expected it. But I’m very happy that it happened.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR EARLY CAREER. WHEN IT ALL STARTED IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY, THE NETHERLANDS.

Dance music was always big in Holland. It was embraced right away. I lived in the south of Holland in Belgium, and the scene was really big. On the radio they played dance music. We had our own version of MTV called TMF, The Music Factory, and they played dance music all day. It was a very healthy scene. This was around 1992-’93. I was only 18-19 years old. I worked in the club; played for six hours and played everything from house, techno, trance—I always played all styles together. That’s when I decided to go with trance because I felt that music was really hot around 1995 and really enjoyed it. And I was like, “OK, I have to pick a sound and a style, and that’s why I moved to trance.”

YOU’VE ALWAYS CHANGED YOUR STYLE, CHANGED WITH THE TIMES OR BEEN AHEAD OF THE GAME. WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO CHANGE UP YOUR MUSICAL STYLE?

It’s just a natural progress for me. When I left trance music, I was bored of it; it all started sounding the same to me. I saw all these young DJs coming up in Holland— Afrojack, David Guetta—it was fresh, the music they were making,

Favorite cuisine? Asian Which album are you the proudest of? Kaleidoscope Would you

rather be on a beach or up in the mountains? Beach Favorite superhero? Batman Favorite magazines to read? Educational ones Favorite festivals you’ve performed? EDC Las Vegas

Favorite type of sandwich? Tuna Favorite moments in your career? Every year of my career has been an amazing

journey Tell us a couple of things people would be surprised to know about you? I make the best egg sandwiches and I am a very good stockbroker

Some of your favorite foods from your home country? Mostly the fried stuff like kroketten and frikandellen Where are

you currently living? In the USA Favorite TV shows to binge? Narcos Favorite fashion brands? Dolce & Gabbana and Balenciaga Any hobbies? Besides my music, not much—just a bit of tennis, soccer and hockey

Favorite candy? Licorice Favorite snack? Honey crisp apples

Favorite vacation spots? Italy What would be your spirit animal? Panther Last great movie you saw? Batman How did the name Tiësto come about? I wanted to have an Italian name, so I just made it up as a slang version of my real

name—Tijs What early EDM DJs did you dig? Swedish House

Mafia If you had one day left on earth, how would you spend it? With my wife and my daughter,

on the beach Favorite color? Green

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be? Peace in the world, everyone in the world to be happy and a healthy and a

clean earth Favorite actors? Matthew McConaughey

Best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Enjoy the current

moments What five words would describe you? Energetic, passionate, humble, funny, stubborn Favorite fast-

food spot? And what is your go-to order? McDonald’s. Filet-

O-Fish Some of your favorite cities to perform in? Buenos Aires Songs that really get you hyped when you hear them? My songs “Split” and “The

Business” Any rituals before taking the stage? Hang with people who are in a good

mood Musical artists that you really want to collaborate with that you haven’t yet? Kanye West and

Harry Styles Favorite movies of all time? No Country for Old

Men Favorite places to eat when in Las Vegas? Carbone and Wally’s. I also like Urth

Caffé. You’ve worked with a lot of charities. What are some of the ones you love to support? Children’s hospitals Your favorite DJs? Carl Cox and Vintage

Culture What’s your favorite holiday and why? Christmas, because it’s cozy and fun with family Any old songs

that you’ve always wanted to remix? “Keep on Loving You” Do

you miss anything about the early days of EDM or the “scene”? I miss Avicii What things do you always have to make sure you have when traveling? Gel and perfume!

and I wanted to be a part of that. I moved to Sweden in 2008 and met Avicii and some other guys, and they were just making such fun music. It worked out for me.

WHEN DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO COME TO THE U.S. AND GET INVOLVED IN THE SCENE HERE?

Around 2001. Paul Oakenfold was one of the biggest DJs here in like 1999-2000 and he really helped me a lot. He promoted my name a lot in the U.S. He told all the club owners, “You gotta book Tiësto; he’s gonna be the next big thing.” My first tour here was in 2000—it was my first club tour. Then in 2001, I did the big Area2 Tour with Moby, Carl Cox, John Digweed—that was a big tour for me. We played the whole country. And that’s when I was like, “Man, I love it here!”

ANY LESSONS YOU’VE LEARNED BEING IN THE INDUSTRY?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t stress about anything. Just really enjoy what you’re doing; enjoy the moments. If you worry too much about what can happen, you can hold yourself back. And if you listen too much to the crowds you can get lost as well, so you have to go with your own gut feeling. Keep following your heart and what you want to do.

ANY ADVICE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION?

Just love and embrace what you want to do and really don’t do it because you think you’re going to be famous. Just do what you love, then you become the biggest because you don’t have any boundaries. If I look back at Avicii, the melodies he used and the sounds he used were so untraditional, but that made him special and I see this with new, upcoming DJs—they’re coming up with stuff that’s new and fresh, which they really love to do.

ANY NEW PROJECTS IN THE WORKS?

My next single is almost finished. I’m trying to finish my album to come out this year, around September/ October. I’m going to release a couple nice real Tiësto bangers. I think one more big radio single.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING EDC PERFORMANCE.

EDC is always special to me. I’ve done it every year since it moved to Las Vegas; that was the start for me. It’s been incredible. I love the stage there—it’s so massive, but it still feels intimate in a way. Everyone’s there appreciating the music. Because I’ve been in the business for so long, nowadays I’m going back to my roots, where before I was the trance DJ. I’m going back to how I used to play in the clubs for six hours, where I’m playing a little bit of everything. I’ve been doing that

at Zouk, too. I play house, techno, trance, pop music in a Tiësto remix— it’s really nice to play like that. My EDC set will be like that. Main stage, Saturday night, midnight—crowds want to hear a bit of everything. I’m going to play some old EDM classics, a couple of trance records, house records, big Tiësto bangers, remixes.

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, DO YOU STILL GET BUTTERFLIES WHEN YOU STEP ONSTAGE?

Yeah. And I think the year off with COVID, it humbled me in the sense that I really missed DJing, when you go onstage, and the crowd appreciates what you do. You play your first track, and the crowd goes crazy. It’s a feeling that you can never replace with anything else. I’m addicted to that feeling. It never gets old.

Carlos Santana’s long history of collaboration leads to incredible shows

By Matt Kelemen

Photo by Roberto Finizio

Much has been written about Carlos Santana’s guitar sound. It’s instantly recognizable to several generations and has graced hits every decade since 1969 when his eponymous band Santana released its debut album and made an iconic appearance at Woodstock that would be preserved on film. He pioneered a singing, stinging sustained electric tone channeled through Gibson (and later PRS) guitars, and phrasing that seemed conjured more than picked. Thomas are in the supporting cast, with Steve Winwood providing vocals in a cover of “Whiter Shade of Pale.” Former Fifth Harmony member Brooke also contributed vocals to Santana’s latest single “Yo Estaré,” the Spanish version of album track “Break.” An overt family reference on Blessings is “Song for Cindy,” a dreamy musical portrait of his wife and favorite drummer Cindy Blackman Santana. The song, co-produced with Narada Michael Walden, is Santana’s best example of melodic tone on the album. It’s brief, fueled by passion and power, and exemplifies his effective use of wah pedal to set his six-string runs ablaze. Blessings features compositions from Santana’s children, with Salvador Santana contributing rhythm heavy “Rumbalero” and Stella Santana co-writing ballad “Breathing Underwater” with Avi Snow and MVCA as well as contributing vocals. Thomas, a chart-success godsend to Santana, is back for sly, bombastic “Move,” and an argument can be made that Santana’s fluid, flurrying style is a precurHouse of Blues sor to the supercharged at Mandalay Bay playing of Hammett, who 702.632.7600 makes his second guest appearance on a Santana

Santana refers to “the album with “America for value of one note” in an Sale.” The Metallica guitarist October 2020 edition of Rick pulls the diverse album in a Rubin’s Broken Record podcast, heavy direction with help from Death where he describes playing in bands led by Angel singer Mark Osegueda. his violinist father. It’s easy to imagine a Santana has cited many musical inspiraviolin replacing the guitar tone in Santana’s tions as well as political ones that informed version of “Black Magic Woman” and make his creative spirit. John Coltrane, B.B. the connection to Santana’s years soaking King, and activist Dolores Huerta are a few up his father’s playing. It’s been a family names he speaks of with reverence, but Jimi affair for him since day one, continuing with Hendrix rises above all. The late guitar god his 26th album, Blessing and Miracles. is paid tribute on the “Ghost of Future Pull”

The album, released in October, is a return instrumentals that open and close Blessings, to radio-ready pop for the 74-year-old mu- which seem to pay homage to the Jimi sician after following his muse in an esoteric Hendrix Experience song “Third Stone from direction for 2019’s Rubin-produced Africa the Sun.” After a lifetime of playing, Santana Speaks. Ally Brooke, Chris Stapleton, Corey still sounds spirited, inspired and ever more Glover, Kirk Hammett, Chick Corea, and Rob conscious of the value of one note.

The Doobie Brothers bring many eras of hits together for their 50th anniversary

They started out playing boogie for bikers before charting the course for what would become known as “yacht rock.” Now the Doobie Brothers have granted a ’70s music fan’s wish by bringing the signature vocalists from both eras together for a 50th anniversary tour. As an indication of demand, Michael McDonald and Tom Johnston are sharing the stage at Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood Resort for an extended run.

This had long seemed improbable. McDonald had no reason to divert from his successful solo career. Johnston had overcome the decline in health that led to his leaving the band in the mid-’70s and resumed touring with the Doobies in 1987. There was no animosity between the singers, so all that really seemed to matter was if McDonald wanted to help celebrate the golden anniversary of the group that made him famous.

He agreed before plans were put on pandemic hold. In the ensuing time Johnston, founding member Patrick Simmons and McDonald-era multi-instrumentalist John McFee hit the studio to record the latest Doobies album Liberté, which was released last year. Johnston and Simmons also prepared the band’s autobiography, alternating chapters as they told the tale of The Doobie Brothers. (Long Train Runnin’ was set to be released three days before the beginning of the Las Vegas engagement.)

Johnston and fingerstyle guitarist Simmons co-founded the band in 1970, becoming popular on Northern California’s live circuit and a favorite of the Hells Angels. The name, inspired by slang for a cannabis joint, was meant to be permanent but was locked in for good when The Doobie Brothers were discovered by Warner Bros. A&R rep Ted Templeman.

The band developed the early sound with Templeman, who would nurture Van Halen with Doobies engineer Donn Landee, adding rustic touches of country and gospel influences on songs such as “Listen to the Music” and “Jesus Is Just Alright” from 1972’s Toulouse Street. Bassist Tiran Porter, an ex-bandmate of Simmons, brought his baritone to the mix and completed the classic vocal harmony sound of the Doobies’ early period.

Hits such as “China Grove” and “Black Water” led to phenomenal success, but Johnston was eventually sidelined by a stomach ulcer condition that had plagued him since high school. Enter Steely Dan studio musicians Jeff Baxter on guitar and Michael McDonald on keyboards and vocals, and a new direction largely characterized by McDonald’s blue-eyed soul sound. “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “What a Fool Believes” and “Minute by Minute” set the stage for soft rock, but Act 2 of the Doobies’ career ended in 1982, with Johnston joining the band for “China Grove” at their final concert.

By 1987, Johnston was healthy enough to rejoin the band, minus McDonald, and the Doobies have been back ever since. Simmons and McFee are master musicians, the harmonies are on point, and being able to catch Johnston and McDonald trading off lead vocals live in concert is a buzz any classic rock fan would want to catch.

By Brock Radke

Ryan McCarthy is vice president of marketing and sales at BASE Entertainment, a company that has facilitated some of the most successful shows in the history of the Las Vegas Strip and continues to bring new entertainment options to the city all the time. A veteran of the live events industry, he’s managed arenas and convention centers, promoted national tours, and helped grow the UFC into the sports entertainment powerhouse it is today. He’s also helped develop major Vegas residency shows from the likes of Lady Gaga, Aerosmith and Janet Jackson, and after a brief time away, he’s returned to contribute something new to the ongoing evolution of the entertainment capital of the world.

You kind of forget about those shows from back in the day and what this company has been able to accomplish over time, all the great shows they’ve provided to Las Vegas. The catalog is so deep.

They’re all so different, and you have to market them differently. We have great partners we work with, great producers, cast and crew, and there’s more (new shows) coming. It’s been fascinating to see how the industry continues to evolve itself and produce great shows for people to see in Las Vegas.

You know, Criss is Criss, and his creativity and drive to provide entertainment and create memories for the people that come to his shows, all credit goes to him. He’s got such a great marketing mind and outlook to have two shows on the same night in the same theater, which hasn’t been done by a single person before. It’s a testament to him and what his team is able to accomplish. And those two shows are very similar but drastically different. For him to take everything happening in his brain and bring it to life, stories from his childhood and why he wanted to be an entertainer and put those onstage, it’s cool to see this more personal touch (in AMYSTIKA).

It’s really a tribute to her and to her fans, a show where they can come and enjoy hearing her voice. It really takes people back, and people walk out of there in tears. It’s so nostalgic. The technology is awesome but having it in that theater (at Harrah’s) really offers … the opportunity for people to afford multiple shows in the market and … consume some different entertainment.

When I was an events manager, I was taking care of people when they were at the facility. Somebody had already gotten them there. When I became a marketing person, I’m that guy going out trying to get you to come see the show. What’s so rewarding about this business, that we sometimes forget, is that we have that opportunity to touch people. If this show is the one thing you wanted to see and you got to see it, and I provided that opportunity for you, to see you walk away telling stories just makes us feel good. At the end of the day, we are helping to create memories that last a lifetime.

WITH SPECIAL GUEST COLIN CLOUD