Route 91 Harvest was a country music festival in the United States that was held annually in Paradise, Nevada, from 2014 to 2017 in the Las Vegas Village, a 15-acre (6.1 ha) lot on Las Vegas Boulevard (former U.S. Route 91), directly across from the Luxor Las Vegas hotel and casino and diagonally across from the Mandalay Bay resort and casino.[2] The festival's promoters were Live Nation Entertainment and MGM Resorts International.[5]
| Route 91 Harvest | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Country music |
| Dates | Friday–Sunday (September–October)[1] |
| Location(s) | Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| Years active | 2014–2017[2] |
| Founders | Live Nation Entertainment MGM Resorts International |
| Attendance | 22,000 (2017)[3][4] |
| Website | rt91harvest |
No festival has been held since 2017, following a deadly mass shooting in which a gunman shot and killed 60 people and injured hundreds more from a window on the 32nd floor of the adjacent Mandalay Bay hotel. So far, no announcement has been made about the event being revived.
History
editThe following country music artists were the major acts in the respective years:[6]
- 2014: The inaugural festival featured Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
- 2015: Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Gary Allan, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Brett Eldredge
- 2016: Headliners included Luke Bryan, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town and Chris Young
- 2017: Major acts were Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen and Lee Brice
- Since 2018: No festival due to the 2017 shooting, and COVID-19 pandemic.
2017 shooting
editThe 2017 festival was the scene of a mass shooting in which 60 people were ultimately killed, making the incident the deadliest mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history.[7][8][9] The shooting began as singer Jason Aldean finished his sixth song on the final day of the festival and ended with gunman Stephen Paddock's suicide.
More than 1,000 shots were fired into the crowd as the shooting continued for over 10 minutes. More than 800 people were injured in the attack.[10] At the time, the event was attended by approximately 22,000 people.[11]
Aftermath
editFollowing the mass shooting, organizer Live Nation decided not to hold the 2018 Festival.[12] In December 2018, it was announced that the Festival might return in 2019, with it being held at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.[13] However, this event did not come to fruition.
A January 2020 article in Billboard magazine on the possibility of the return of the Route 91 Harvest Festival cited several significant challenges that would need to be overcome. These included finding a new venue for the festival, being able to successfully coordinate the booking of numerous performers and competing with existing residencies of country stars in other Las Vegas venues.[14]
In 2019, MGM planned to repurpose the Las Vegas Village as a community center which would host athletic events, and parking space for Allegiant Stadium,[15] but that did not happen. Instead, in 2022, MGM sold most of the village.[16]
References
edit- ^ Live Nation Entertainment (2017). "Route 91 Harvest". Live Nation Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Crosby, Rachel; Brean, Henry; Hassan, Anita; Munks, Jamie & Bekker, Jessie (October 2, 2017). "'It was a horror show': Mass shooting leaves at least 58 dead, 515 wounded on Las Vegas Strip". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Whitaker, Sterling (October 2, 2017). "What Is the Route 91 Harvest Festival?". Taste of Country. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- ^ Rothman, Michael (October 2, 2017). "What to know about the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival". ABC News. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- ^ Fadroski, Kelli (October 2, 2017). "Concert promoter Live Nation responds to the deadly shooting at its Route 91 Harvest festival". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Billboard. "Route 91 Harvest Festival: A Brief History of the Fest Targeted in Las Vegas Shooting". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ Housley, Adam; La Jeunesse, William; Gibson, Jake; Herridge, Catherine; Arroyo, Mike; Singman, Brooke; Fedschun, Travis (October 2, 2017). "Las Vegas shooting: At least 58 dead in massacre Trump calls 'act of pure evil'". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Lacanlale, Rio (August 24, 2020). "California woman declared 59th victim of 2017 massacre in Las Vegas". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Lacanlale, Rio (September 17, 2020). "Las Vegas woman becomes 60th victim of October 2017 mass shooting". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ Torres-Cortez, Ricardo (January 19, 2018). "Sheriff: Person of interest part of Strip shooting probe; Paddock had child porn". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "Suspect in Las Vegas shooting identified as Stephen Paddock". NBC News. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Mins, Taylor (December 10, 2018). "Route 91 Organizers Talk About Bringing Festival Back in 2019 During Promoter Panel on Artist Curated Events at XLIVE". Amplify. Prometheus Global Media, LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ Katsilometes, John (December 13, 2018). "Route 91 Harvest festival plans return to Las Vegas Strip". Las Vegas Review-Journal. News + Media Capital Group LLC. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "After Mass Shooting, Will the Route 91 Harvest Festival Ever Return to Las Vegas?". Billboard Magazine. Valence Media LLC. January 20, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
- ^ "Site of Las Vegas mass shooting to be transformed into community center". New York Daily News. September 5, 2019.
- ^ Katsilometes, John (December 30, 2022). "MGM Resorts sells most of Oct. 1 site to tribal interest". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.