David Perrico’s Pop Strings held residency at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace for four years, and has also performed at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center for the past seven. Cozy venues, both. But the band expanded its horizons, to put it mildly, on Monday afternoon by playing Allegiant Stadium.

Perrico and his band performed a nearly hourlong set in the nearly empty stadium. Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis was among the handful of observers.

Davis and his team are using the empty-nest performances as a way to select a house band for Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium. Santa Fe & the Fat City Horns performed the same flavor of show in February. What we have learned, so far, is the Raiders brass likes brass. They appreciate Tower of Power-type power, they eat up the classic rock and Motown, string players, and diversity throughout the lineup.

The musicians also need to be proficient enough to back superstar guest stars. Carlos Santana has said he wants to play the stadium, for instance, and Slash is on the team’s wish list, too. There should be no concern there, as both acts that have played the stadium are loaded with A-plus players who have toured with international superstars, and also performed with such superstar residency headliners as Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart and Shania Twain.

But there is still ample work to do. No decision has been made, and we can’t rule out other live performances as the team settles on its band. We might see mix-and-match rosters, or expanded versions of existing bands. It’s all on the table, or in this case, on the gridiron.

As a music venue, Allegiant is a gorgeous facility, with the bands playing at the base of the Al Davis Memorial Torch and their larger-than-life images beaming around the stadium. But the 65,000-seat venue also presents unavoidable sound-mix challenges, with music and voices echoing around the facility when it’s devoid of a crowd. These concerns can be ironed out, of course, with repeat performances and extended sound checks.

That said, Perrico and his crew did a remarkable job of turning around a stadium performance in less than a week. The band leader was asked Wednesday if he could perform Monday. And he did.

“We were honored and thrilled to perform for Mark Davis and the Raiders staff,” Perrico said Tuesday. “The stadium is awesome.”

Perrico’s musicians were familiar to anyone who has caught Perrico’s shows at the Smith Center or Caesars, with Lily Arce, Noybel Gorgoy, Serena Henry and Fletch Walcott on vocals; Rocco Barbato on sax; Keith Nelson on bass; Steven Lee on guitar; Pepe Jimenez on drums; Otto Ehling on keys; and a string section of Crystal Yuan, Adrianna Thurber, Monique Olivas, Chandra Meilbalane, Zuzana Engererova and Sarah Chaffee.

That lineup bounded through a setlist conceived by Davis and his live-entertainment operations team. “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” “Shook Me All Night Long” and “Bad Romance” were among the tunes sampled. The band unleashed Bruno Mars and Earth Wind & Fire medleys.

And special commendation to Ehling, for performing the first keytar solo ever at Allegiant Stadium. He’s certainly put his UNLV Liberace Scholarship to good use.

The venue’s first ticketed show is crossover-EDM artist Illenium on Saturday. Garth Brooks’ production rodeo is next, on July 10. We can say, with great confidence, they’ll have tough acts to follow.

DAVID PERRICO and POP STRINGS ORCHESTRA are returning to The Smith Center this fall....SAVE THE DATES!

Sept 29: “Jazz & Strings” concert
Dec 18: Christmas concert 

Tickets on sale soon!

The tide is rolling in at the Smith Center, and Myron Martin is riding the boogie board.
Metaphorically, of course.

Myron’s Cabaret Jazz, named for the Smith Center’s president and visionary, is revving up for a September return. Several shows are coming back online this fall and leading into November.

The onsale list begins with duel R&B acts Spectrum and Radiance on Sept. 17. Vegas institutions Lon Bronson Band (Sept. 18) and David Perrico’s Strings (Sept. 29) lead the Vegas bands in Cab Jazz’s return. Las Vegas’ First Lady of Jazz, Michelle Johnson, headlines Sept. 26 (and back Dec. 19 for a Christmas matinee). Hawaiian vocal/music trio Kulaiwi slides into the developing schedule Sept. 18.

Bronson’s band has boomeranged around VegasVille since its late-night shows at Riviera in 1990. The act was the first Vegas big band ever to perform at Cab Jazz, and has logged at least 50 sellouts since debuting at the Smith Center in September 2013.

“What’s great to me is that we have local artists coming back onstage at the Smith Center,” Martin said Monday. “That makes me feel really good.”

Bronson is grateful to Martin and Smith Center booking exec Glenn Medas for providing the band “prime real estate.”

“I couldn’t be happier,” Bronson said Monday. “It’s so nice to call the best joint in town home.” Bronson also has dates Oct. 16, and Nov. 19.

Perrico, who has filled Cab Jazz at least 40 times since 2014, is also performing a Christmas-themed show Dec. 18.

“Everything about the Smith Center is first class,” Perrico said Monday. “We are looking forward.”
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Further out, it’s Oleta Adams (who sang the 1991 Gulf War anthem “Get Here”) on Oct. 2-1; jazz great Diane Schuur on Oct. 8-9; singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff on Oct. 15, John Pizzarelli Trio on Oct. 22-23; long-running Vegas headliner Earl Turner on Oct. 27; jazz-trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval on Oct. 5-6 (three shows, including two Saturday); Whitney Houston tribute artist Nicole Henry on Nov. 20; and Michael Cavanaugh of Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out” fame, on Nov. 27.

It’s a wave of activity for a facility that last hosted a show March 12, 2020, with pop-opera star Giada Valenti. There is also some buzz about a possible all-star show of Vegas favorites at Reynolds Hall, as a way to formally throw open the doors to live entertainment at Smith Center. More on that vision, later.

David Perrico was honored to write this arrangement for Las Vegas Music Oasis...watch the video, with Lily Arce on vocals, above.

“In Case You Don’t Live Forever”
Lily Arce: vocal
Zuzana Engererova: cello
Otto Ehling: piano
Video by Sebastien Theve
Produced by Zuzana Engererova/Las Vegas Music Oasis 4/6/21

David Perrico and Pop Strings Orchestra are excited to be back at THE SPACE on May 2nd, Matinee Show at 4pm PT (7pm ET). Hosted by Feven Kay, the show will pay tribute to the music of DISNEY and feature vocalists Lily Arce, Fletch Walcott, Serena Henry, Noybel Gorgoy, Lorena Peril, Francesca Camus, Christine Shebeck, Autumn Grayce, Lauren Ashlee, Mark Shunock. This is the PERFECT show for the whole family to watch via LIVE STREAM (tickets are only $20 per household/device). There will also be a limited number of IN-PERSON tickets available (2 drink minimum) for $39. Tickets for BOTH options are available via the button below...

Had some fun in the studio the other day with talented photographer Sébastien Theve! Download the hi-res version of this image on our PRESS KIT page, or via the button below...

​Photo Credit: ​Sébastien Theve, The STudio Las Vegas  http://www.thestudio-vegas.com

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -- David Perrico Pop Strings Orchestra is performing a special concert in honor of Black History Month. MORE spoke with David about the event happening on Friday, Feb. 26 at The Space. The event will be hosted by FOX5’s Feven Kay. He also spoke about hoping to return to Caesars Palace’s Cleopatra's Barge when more restrictions are lifted. The livestream pay per view concert is at 6 p.m. and $20. You can buy tickets here: www.thespacelv.com

WFMJ | Channel 21 | Youngstown, OH
​Topic: Upcoming LIVE STREAM Performance at The Space in Las Vegas

By John Katsilometes Las Vegas Review-Journal
February 24, 2021 - 6:11 pm

David Perrico prefers a late-night lounge show at a Vegas resort to a digital concert on a Vegas laptop. But until his Pop Strings Orchestra can return to the stage, Perrico is back online, one more time. Perrico’s band is performing a livestream concert out of The Space at 6 p.m. Friday. It’s Perrico’s second such effort. It might be his last, too. “We decided to do it one more time,” said Perrico, whose band also performed out of The Space on Jan. 22. “It’s great to get everyone back together after not playing for a year, but it’s also costly to produce and it’s hard to basically beg someone someone to pay $20 to watch you online.” OK, we’ll do it: Check out this band by clicking to the livestream ticket portal at thespacelv.com.

Vocalists Lily Arce, Fletch Wolcott, Serena Henry and Noybel Gorgoy are at the front of joining Perrico’s 16-member orchestra. Hosted by Fox 5’s Feven Kay, Friday’s show is honoring Black History Month, with a healthy complement of James Brown, Motown, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Perrico has essentially re-charted an entire set list for this single show. He’d be wise to save those charts. His should be a coveted band when pandemic restrictions are lifted, as a ready-made and proven winner on the Strip and elsewhere.

Pop Strings has headed up slamming, late-night, weekend shows at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace for four years. Perrico, a premier trumpet player and music director, also performed a midnight show at Westgate Cabaret, on the cusp of the statewide shutdown in March 2020. Those shows have been swinging, no-cover jam sessions hearkening to the city’s golden lounge era.

But the the Barge is not an expressly no-cover venue. It’s a more like a small showroom. The venue has hosted superstars Wayne Newton and Dionne Warwick, and also the psychic Thomas John. All have indicated, either directly or through representatives, that they want back onstage.

Also in the mix is the under-development Stabile Productions burlesque revue starring ex-“Absinthe” star Melody Sweets, which would also be a late-night production. Perrico says he’s not heard from any Caesars Entertainment rep about his future at the Barge, but he’s willing to play the full scale, to use a music term. I suspect we’ll be back at the Barge. I haven’t heard anything to the contrary,” Perrico said. “But nothing is confirmed, and we haven’t even touched on that topic. I will say that we have played successfully to packed houses for four years. We could go on at midnight or 1 a.m., as far as I’m concerned.” Not to disparage the digital scene, but that would be a kickin’ gig. Check your laptops at the door.

In honor of Black History Month, David Perrico and Pop Strings Orchestra will present another LIVE STREAM pay-per-view concert, featuring the music of Motown, R&B, Jazz, Blues and Soul. The show will be hosted by Feven Kay and will be filmed & streamed LIVE from THE SPACE on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. (PST.) Streaming tickets are just $23.50 per household and are available via Stellar Ticketing.