Bob Anderson, who returns to Las Vegas on March 23-24 to the South Point Hotel/Spa, and its wonderful Showroom, is a living link to one of the greatest periods of music ever given to the world and could well be called America’s Ambassador of Music.
It all began in 1973, when Anderson snuck into the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas and its famous showroom, the Congo Room, to watch a Nancy Sinatra rehearsal. During the rehearsal, her opening act, the Everly Brothers, got into an argument and left the show. Enter 23-year-old Bob Anderson, who approached the stage and told the musical conductor that he was a singer. With only a few hours until showtime and no opening act, Sinatra’s producer handed Anderson a microphone and let him prove himself. He did! Anderson replaced the Everly Brothers that night and played the entire two-week engagement: two-weeks that has led him to an amazing career and has taken him to the finest stages of the world.
Bob made his first national television appearance on The Merv Griffin show with Nancy Sinatra following the Sahara engagement. Griffin was so impressed with Anderson, that he invited the young singer to his 50th birthday celebration at his home in the Hollywood Hills, where he asked him to sing a couple of songs. After Griffin and his Hollywood elite guests listened to Anderson casually mimicking a few of his favorite recording stars, Griffin realized that he could imitate just about everyone’s favorite singer with uncanny accuracy. He realized Anderson needed an act if he was going to have a career in show business and he provided that tool. Merv said, “We found your act. You’re going to be The Singing Impressionist!”
Griffin spent the next day writing Anderson’s new act, and one week later, he had the young impressionists on stage in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. Griffin introduced Bob Anderson to the world as “The Singing Impressionist!” A short time later he was hired to perform for two-weeks at “The Top of the Dunes,” also in Las Vegas and the rest, as they say, is history. Those two weeks turned into 155 weeks of sold out performances.
Anderson soon became a regular on every national and international telethon, talk and variety show, with over 150 appearances including: Showtime, HBO, The Mike Douglas Show, David Letterman, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where Anderson made history, by being the only performer invited to the Tonight Show, twice in the same week.
In his show at the South Point, Anderson will not only be doing his famous impressions of the great singers he has become friends with over the years, but will be singing numerous songs as Bob Anderson, and will occasionally tell his story associated with that particular song: One might be about meeting Bobby Darin in Detroit when he was a young man, or the time he sat in a huge bathroom in Atlantic City with Sammy Davis, Jr., listening to his stories, and then watching him tap dance for nearly 20 minutes. It could be a story about meeting Sammy Cahn and performing his songs on Broadway at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
A sampling of the songs you will hear include: If I Ruled the World, I Get a Kick Out of You, I’m Going Places, Lost in the Stars, The Mood I’m In, I’ve Grown Accustom to Her Face, and I Remember You. In 2015, Anderson wrote and starred in the award-winning show, “FRANK…The Man, The Music” which had a successful 49 week run at The Palazzo Theater in Las Vegas. It quickly became the talk of the town and the must-see show. Media from around the world called the production the most authentic reenactment of a Frank Sinatra concert ever performed on a live stage.
Showtimes for both Friday and Saturday performances are set for 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range in price from $20.00 to $30.00 and may be obtained by calling 702-796-7111.
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Purple Reign, the world’s #1 Prince tribute show has announced that due to popular demand, it is adding two more weekly shows to its Las Vegas residency performance schedule at Tropicana Las Vegas. Starting April 3, the award-winning Prince tribute show will entertain audiences with its high-energy musical performance inside the Tropicana Theater six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday at 9 p.m.
“Purple Reign has electrified audiences since its debut at Tropicana Las Vegas just six months ago. Due to the production’s overwhelming popularity with audiences, we’ve decided to add two more shows to the weekly schedule and bring on the immense talent of Julian Stefoni,” said Aaron Rosenthal, vice president and general manager for Tropicana Las Vegas. “Meeting the demands of ticket buyers, Purple Reign will offer performances six nights a week headlined by renowned Prince tribute artists Stefoni and Jason Tenner, who originated the role.”
A multi-talented musician, singer, and dancer, Stefoni brings to the show his take on the bold and electrifying style of Prince, capturing the true essence of one of the most iconic entertainers to grace a stage. Audiences will never see the same show twice, as Stefoni and Tenner will dazzle guests with a high-energy stage show and the ultimate Prince tribute performance.
The show, presented by Reign Entertainment Productions, Inc., in partnership with Red Mercury Entertainment, captures the imagination and seamlessly recreates the blistering performances and raw energy of Prince, returning guests to the era that made “The Artist” an international superstar. Featuring a tribute by Morris Day and The Time, along with Vanity 6, this show is a must-see for Purple Rain movie fans and all live music fans alike.
Purple Reign has risen to international acclaim, and on Nov. 17, 2008 the group became the first ever tribute/impersonator act to appear as the musical guest on Late Show with David Letterman. Purple Reign has won multiple awards as “Best Tribute Act” and “Best Impersonator” in Las Vegas. Ticket prices start at $49.99 (excluding tax and fees) and can be purchased at the Tropicana box office, calling 800-829-9034 or online at www.troplv.com and Ticketmaster.com.
It doesn’t have to be Tuesday to celebrate tacos! Clark County Parks and Recreation presents the inaugural Tacos and Tamales Festival taking place Saturday, March 31 from noon until 8 p.m. at Sunset Park, featuring a wide array of food offerings, micro beer, tequila tasting, live music, Lucha Libre wrestling exhibitions, carnival rides, and kids’ activities. Admission and parking into the event is free and open to all ages. The Tacos and Tamales Festival will feature dozens of local restaurants and food trucks highlighting their taco and tamale creations from the traditional to multicultural fusion to the insane! Additionally, the event will also feature a Vegan Village, an exclusively vegan and vegetarian area with some of the valley’s most popular plant-based vendors from Las Vegas and Southern California, offering their vegan-spin on traditional Mexican cuisine.
Tantalize your taste buds in the Tequila Tasting and Beer Garden, just steps away from the food festival. The tasting experience will feature an array of brands sampling cocktails, shots, pairings, and more. Tickets to the Tequila Tasting and Beer Garden are $25 per person and available now and can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tequila-tasting-experience-tickets-43081246167. The tasting experience is produced by Live to Give and benefits Create a Change Now, a local charity who strives to fight childhood obesity through gardening, chef demos, and in-class curriculum.
Live entertainment on the Findlay Chevrolet Stage will include La Banda Skalavera, The Tiki Bandits, Los Ataskados, Claudine Castro, Edgar Guerrero, and Gravidad. Lucha Libre Las Vegas will be highlighting the talents of some of their biggest and most exciting stars, such as Rey Horus, TJ Mariachi, Loco Bestia 666, Black Danger, and more. Those interested in the Tacos and Tamales Festival can contact 702-455-8200 or visit www.tacosandtamaleslv.com. For more information on Clark County Parks and Recreation, visit www.clarkcountynv.org/parks
Official entries from across the United States, host country Mexico and several other countries from around the globe continue to arrive as racers pre-run the course and teams tweak their racing machines while finalizing their strategies for next month’s launch of the new season at the 32nd annual SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico. The popular event will be Round 1 of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship.
Over 250 entries in Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads are expected in the race. Many of the sport’s top stars are among the first 170 official entries as of today from 24 U.S. States along with the additional countries of host Mexico, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand. Featuring the longest course in race history of 319 miles, the race will start and finish for the second straight year, and just the second time in race history, on the Malecon beach walk along the edge of the water in the heart of town. The event will be held April 4-8 in San Felipe, the peaceful fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif.
The year of 2018 also marks the 50th anniversary celebration of the legendary BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 to be held the end of May and beginning of June.
While the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division is in the center of the spotlight at this point, many of the other classes already have significant numbers of racers entered promising another exciting and challenging season opener in many classes for the SCORE World Desert Championship.
The other Pro car, truck and UTV classes with double-figure entries so far are the unlimited Class 1 with 12 entries, Trophy Truck Spec with 11, Class 10 (13) and Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 16 entries. The leading Pro motorcycle class in terms of entries is Pro Moto Ironman with 10 entries of racers who will attempt to complete the race while riding solo. Among the Sportsman classes, Sportsman motorcycle has the most entries to date with 12 racers so far. A dozen of the 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship season class champions are entered so far. Leading the car, truck and UTV champions already among the field is ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, Tecate, Mexico, in SCORE Trophy Truck. Also entered already are SCORE TT Legend season champ Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va., Class 1 champion Brian Wilson, Lakewood, Calif., Broc Dickerson, Brawley, Calif. (Class 10), Roberto Romo, Mexicali, Mexico (Class 1/2-1600), Rafael Aguirre, Monterrey, Mexico (SCORE Lites), Dan Chamlee, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Class 7) and Dennis Hollenbeck, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11).
Entries are being accepted on the SCORE website under Race Info at www.SCOREInternational.com.