Rock in Rio, the legendary music festival celebrating its 30th anniversary, has announced additional artists for the lineup of its first stateside edition, taking place May 8-9 and May 15-16 in Las Vegas. Over four days, the City of Rock, an open air venue located on The Las Vegas Strip, will welcome some of the biggest names in music including Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Metallica, Linkin Park, No Doubt, Maná, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J, among others. Tickets for the festival go on sale January 20 at RockInRio.com/Tickets.
During a press event hosted at the Village Studios in Los Angeles, where Charli XCX performed an acoustic set of some of her hits, the festival’s organization announced the lineup additions. New additions to the first weekend, dedicated to rock music, include The Pretty Reckless and Hollywood Undead on the Main Stage, as well as Foster the People, Gary Clark Jr, Bleachers, Saints of Valory and Of Mice & Men on the Sunset Stage. They join previously announced Main Stage performers No Doubt, Metallica, Linkin Park and Maná, and Sunset Stage artists Deftones, Sepultura (featuring Steve Vai) and Coheed and Cambria.
The second weekend, May 15-16, will feature a pop-centric lineup with Sam Smith, Echosmith, Empire of the Sun and Ivete Sangalo added on the Main Stage, and Charli XCX, Tove Lo, Magic!, James Bay and Mikky Ekko added on the Sunset Stage. Previously announced performers for the second weekend include Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran on the Main Stage, as well as John Legend and Joss Stone on the Sunset Stage. Performances on the Main Stage and Sunset Stage will alternate timing, allowing audiences to see every artist on the lineup.
May 8
Main Stage: No Doubt, Maná, The Pretty Reckless
Sunset Stage: Foster the People, Gary Clark Jr, Bleachers, Saints of Valory
May 9
Main Stage: Metallica, Linkin Park, Rise Against, Hollywood Undead
Sunset Stage: Deftones, Sepultura (feat. Steve Vai), Coheed and Cambria, Of Mice & Men
May 15
Main Stage: Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Echosmith, Ivete Sangalo
Sunset Stage: Jessie J, Charli XCX, Tove Lo, James Bay
May 16
Main Stage: Bruno Mars, Sam Smith, Empire of the Sun
Sunset Stage: John Legend, Joss Stone, Magic!, Mikky Ekko
The City of Rock in Las Vegas will also feature three Rock Streets – themed streets that will welcome attendees to experience an entirely new and exciting kind of music festival and to enjoy the eclectic cultures of the U.S., the UK and Brazil.
Each street has 20 houses filled with shops and restaurants, along with a stage where bands and artists will perform throughout the day. Street artists and performers will also transform the street into their own stage, interacting and connecting with the audience in an intimate environment.
Rock Street USA will capture the sights and sounds of New Orleans alongside iconic American imagery such as an antique Cadillac and a traditional diner. The Rock Street USA stage will put street dance front and center, presenting dozens of different dance styles throughout each weekend and pairing guest crews from LA and Las Vegas with the official crew for epic dance battles.
Rock Street UK will deliver the charm of London’s Camden Town and Ireland’s Grafton Street with houses inspired by traditional English and Irish pubs and shops. On the Rock Street UK stage, Terra Celta will entertain with Celtic-inspired music and cover band Stone the Beetles will perform new and original arrangements of hits from rock icons The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
The warm and colorful culture of Brazil will come alive in Rock Street Brazil, capturing the picturesque visual of Brazilian architecture and featuring some of the most charismatic figures of Brazilian culture. To complete the atmosphere, the Rock Street Brazil stage will feature performances from acts representing a wide variety of Brazilian music styles including Spok Frevo Orquestra, Bossa Cuca Nova, Leo Gandelman, Marcos Valle, Simoninha, Toni Garrido and Pepeu Gomes.
The City of Rock, a permanent open-air concert venue, will be located on The Strip near the corner of Sahara Avenue and spread out over 40 acres. With a capacity of 85,000 people per day, the venue will also include a ferris wheel and a 64 foot high zip line that stretches 600 feet across in front of the Main Stage, which is 262 feet long in itself. The venue also includes a VIP area that can accommodate up to 4000 people, featuring air conditioning, an all-inclusive buffet and open bar (certain premium liquors available for additional purchase) and a unique view of the City of Rock.
Doors for the City of Rock open at 3 PM and close at 2 AM with Rock Street performances starting at 3:30 PM and continuing throughout the entire day. Sunset Stage performances will also begin at 3:30 PM with the first Main Stage artist performing at 5:30 PM each day.
TICKET SALES STARTS IN JANUARY
Tickets for the upcoming Rock in Rio USA festival in Las Vegas in May will go on sale on January 20 at rockinrio.com/tickets with General Admission weekend passes available for $298* and VIP daily passes available for $498*. To secure your spot for Rock in Rio USA, visit rockinrio.com/tickets and choose your preferred section (General Admission or VIP), customers in the USA and Canada will have their wristbands shipped to them and international customers will pick-up their passes at will call. Wristbands will be shipped beginning in April 2015. Inside the venue, all purchases, concessions and merchandise, will be cashless using RFID wristband technology
For tickets purchased online through January 31 on Ticketmaster.com, there is an option for a 3 payment installment plan; 34% due at time of purchase, 33% due on February 5 and 33% due on March 5. For tickets purchased from February 1 through February 28, there will be a 2 payment installment plan; 50% will be due at the time of purchase and 50% due on March 5.
General Admission and VIP passes provide access to more than 10 hours of music and entertainment each day, as well as all attractions inside the venue. Re-entry is allowed – wristbands must be scanned upon exit at the gate in order to re-enter that same day. In addition to general venue access, VIP ticket buyers will also have access to the VIP area, an air-conditioned tent with an all-inclusive buffet and open bar (certain premium liquors available for additional purchase). Rock in Rio USA Festival is open to All Ages; Children 16 and under are required to be accompanied by parent or guardian to enter the venue.
Rock in Rio: 30 years of music historY
In addition to the excitement surrounding the first U.S. edition of Rock in Rio, the festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015. The event started big, breaking records from the first edition: in 1985 1.38.000 million people gathered at the first City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro, to watch iconic artists like Queen, AC/DC, James Taylor, George Benson, Ozzy Osbourne, Yes and Rod Stewart over the course of 10 days. The venue, specifically built for the event, was named City of Rock and was filled with shops and restaurants. Also unique was founder Roberto Medina’s idea that the public was what really set live shows apart, and therefore they should be illuminated, and not only the artist performing.
Over the years, Rock in Rio has grown into a global phenomenon and has been staged in three countries: Brazil, Portugal and Spain. With more than 7.4 million people attending in 14 editions, more than 1270 artists have performed in 85 days of event. Over the past editions, more than 148,000 jobs have been created and more than 1 billion people have watched the concerts worldwide.
For more information, visit www.RockinRio.com. Get the latest updates via Rock in Rio’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/RockInRioUSA) and Twitter feed (Twitter.com/rockinriousa). For tickets for Rock in Rio USA, visit: rockinrio.com/tickets
