This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If the Sundance Film Festival won't come to Las Vegas, then Las Vegas must go to the Sundance Film Festival.The epicenter of (non film-related) music and entertainment in Park City is 427 Main Street, formerly the building that housed Harry O's and now inhabited by venue Park City Live.In a first-of-its-kind collaboration of this scope, the luxury casino-hotel-resort brand Wynn Las Vegas is "taking over" Park City Live from Jan. 17 through Jan. 21.Wynn Las Vegas officials are tapping into its high-profile DJ talent pool at Encore Beach Club, Surrender, Tryst and XS nightclubs to bring a schedule of electronic dance music all weekend long, with a roster that looks like an International House of Pancakes, including Avicii (Sweden), Afrojack (Netherlands), 2Chainz (U.S.) and Cedric Gervais (France). Nero (England) headlined Jan. 17.Once Wynn Las Vegas moves out, Utah's own Neon Trees will headline Park City Live on Wednesday, Jan. 23. In addition, the most highly anticipated concert in the festival's history is Dave Grohl's Sound City Players (including Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Foo Fighters and all surviving members of Nirvana) performing Friday, Jan. 18.While the latter is not officially part of the Wynn Las Vegas partnership, the space will be decorated with the same design scheme that adorns Tryst and XS, from the drapery down to furniture.The idea for the partnership came from Kathyrn Burns, CEO of Park City Live. "Wynn has literally the No. 1 nightclubs in the U.S.," she said. "Our No. 1 goal was the Wynn ...They bring a lot of credibility."Ronn Nicolli, director of strategic marketing for XS and Tryst, said a team from Park City Live few to Las Vegas to pitch the collaboration. "It went a long way in establishing a partnership," Nicolli said. Establishing a presence and its brand to Park City during the Sundance Film Festival had been on Wynn officials' radar for several years, Nicolli said, and the recent "explosion" in popularity of electronic dance music made sense to move many of the elements of the exclusive clubs to Utah. "It will have some of the flair and flavor of Las Vegas," he said.Besides entertainment and interior decorating, Niccoli said patrons of Park City Live — which operates year-round as a venue — will notice a "heavy emphasis on floor service . One hundred-percent of the Wynn experience is our attention to detail for customer service."A signal to a different experience is that Wynn is bringing in its own door team from Las Vegas. Burns said past experiences with "unfriendly" door staff at 427 Main St. will be a thing of the past, including a welcoming atmosphere inside that is "not such a stuffy place."This isn't the first time a nightclub has established its brand at the venue. Several years, the Venetian Hotel & Casino's TAO Nightclub "took over" the space when different management ran the space. (TAO officials are returning to Park City this year, albeit at a different spot. The TAO Group aspires to present a pop-up nightlife experience at the Village at the Lift in Park City, with D.J. sets every night from Jan. 18 to Jan. 21, including rapper Nas performing with D.J. Politick on Saturday and celebrity D.J. Samantha Ronson spinning on Monday.)Burns hopes the weekend will launch the club into the minds of not just a global audiences but a local audience, as well. In February and March alone, Park City Live will be headlined by electronica act L.A. Riots, reggae ensemble The Green, bluegrassers The Infamous Stringdusters, singer-songwriter Martin Sexton, and the polyethnic Cajun slamgrass of Leftover Salmon. "We want to be more user-friendly," Burns said.
— Park City Live concertsWhere • 427 Main St., Park CityAll tickets available at SmithsTix.comDave Grohl's Sound City PlayersWhen • Friday, Jan. 18, 9 p.m.Tickets • Sold outAviciiWhen • Saturday, Jan. 19, 8 p.m.Tickets • $200AfrojackWhen • Sunday, Jan. 20, 10 p.m.Tickets • $1502 Chainz and Cedric GervaisWhen • Monday, Jan. 21, 9 p.m.Tickets • $50Neon TreesWhen •Wednesday, Jan. 23, 8 p.m.Tickets • $35
— David Burger