LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As Clark County lifts all COVID-related restrictions and many businesses return to full capacity and normal operations, the Fremont Street Experience didn't waste a second kicking the party into high gear bringing three live music acts to play simultaneously at 12:01 a.m. June 1.
Hundreds of people crowded under the Viva Vision canopy to watch Alter Ego, Spandex Nation, and Zowie Bowie make history as the first acts to perform live on the stages in nearly 15 months.
"This is the real Vegas down here," Bowie said before returning to his familiar place overlooking the crowd.
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Bowie had performed twice a week for eleven years on Fremont Street before the pandemic.
"The fact that we've all been sitting on the couch for about 14 months while Vegas laid dormant was a very unusual thing because, in my opinion, Vegas wasn't meant to close," he said.
That closure affected every worker in the entertainment industry, and Alter Ego lead singer Rich Embry said everyone was excited to get back to doing the jobs they love.
"The stagehands, the lighting crew, the staff, Fremont Street in general," he said. "This show, this return, is more important to us than any first show we've ever played."
President of the Fremont Street Experience Andrew Simon said he recognized how important the return of live music was to Downtown Las Vegas, and was ramping up hiring in kind.
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He said there are positions open from senior management to front-line workers open with incentives to bring people in to apply.
"This is an unbelievable night that all of us have been waiting for," Simon said. "The city, the employees, the bands - putting everyone back to work."
Simon said free music would continue at the Fremont Street Experience daily through the end of the year.
