The history of Fontainebleau is one of classic design and iconic moments. The enduring anthem “My Way” was famously born at the Miami resort. Paul Anka was inspired to pen the lyrics after dining with a disconsolate Frank Sinatra at the hotel.
“He was talking about quitting and resting, and I couldn’t believe it,” Anka said just before performing at the hotel’s opening in December 2023. “He was doing one more album, and I’d never written a song for him.”
Anka actually wrote the ballad for everyone.
“My Way” is still the vision at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Recording superstar Marc Anthony, a well-known Sinatra fan and scholar, has titled his BleauLive Theater residency “Las Vegas … My Way.” Anthony is due to return from July 24 to Aug. 1.
Tuxedoed and telegenic, the Latin superstar runs his own hits with vintage Vegas flair. Anthony also dropped by the resort’s chic Nowhere lounge after bowing out of the theater. This is a custom, only-at-Fontainebleau twin bill.
“Marc has another band that has been booked every time he is here, and typically plays the after-party whenever he has a show at the theater,” Fedor Banuchi, Fontainebleau’s senior vice president of entertainment, said in a recent state-of-FBLV phone chat. “Marc attends them all. It’s a large band, upwards of 12 to 14 pieces, and they really bring it home.”
Venue versatility
In an exclusive booking partnership, the 3,800-seat BleauLive has hosted a healthy mix of touring acts and residency headliners. Madison Beer packed the place with millennial and Gen Z fans on June 13 on her “Locket” tour. It was her first show at the resort.
Beer’s show followed The Kid Laroi on June 11, and “The Generations Tour” (The Human League, Soft Cell, Alison Moyet) June 12. The shows faced ticket-buying competition from the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup Final playoff games on June 11, and Athletics games at Las Vegas Ballpark on all those dates.
Venue operators and booking execs are getting used to fighting for attention. But BleauLive sold well through all those dates.
“There is no other city on Earth that does what Las Vegas does, week after week after week,” Banuchi said. “Vegas is alive with big sporting events, every big DJ, every big headliner, all at the same time. That said, we had three concerts, and they were all pretty much sold out and successful.
“There is enough tourism here; it’s not a zero-sum game when these events are in town.”
Range rovers
BleauLive’s dexterity covers such legacy headliners as Billy Idol (five shows Aug. 28 to Sept. 5) and Keith Urban (back Oct. 16 and 17). Both have played multiple residencies on and off the Strip.
The venue has spanned the left-right political spectrum. Jack White headlines Oct. 2. Brantley Gilbert played the room in July.
Coming in, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso on July 18. This will be the Strip premiere for the Argentine duo, also known as Catriel and Ulises Guerriero. They specialize in hip-hop, electronic music and experimental trap (Southern hip-hop). Regal rockers The Guess Who (Aug. 15) and dance master Derek Hough’s touring show (Aug. 16) lead into Idol’s return.
“It’s different strokes for different folks, right?” Banuchi said. “We’re in the people business, so we have to try to book things that people want to see. We like the legendary headliners. But we have to stay top of mind and be cutting edge with some of the youth, because those are the customers of tomorrow.”
Reading the room
The “Mind2Mind” show features the stylish mentalism couple James Harrington and Mariana Liani. Fontainebleau is presenting the show in the similarly chic 86-seat Azul Lounge. The close-up show runs Thursdays to Sundays through Sept. 27, with two shows on Fridays and Saturdays.
Harrington and Liani impressed in a preview show a couple of weeks ago, bringing Fontainebleau Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Soffer and his friend and NFL legend (and Hall of Excellence investor) Tom Brady to the stage for a mind-reading bit.
Soffer and Fontainebleau President Maurice Wooden are known to be magic fans. Harrington and Liani had long been seeking an inroad to the Strip, having headlined at Dubai’s Meyana Auditorium inside the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. They have reached millions on “America’s Got Talent,” including an appearance this past Tuesday, in which they received four “yes” votes from the judges to advance to the Deliberations round. They have also appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent” and “Masters of Illusion.”
The married couple has also become a highly sought-after corporate act. They have a strong ally in The Magician of The Magician’s Study parlor show at Park MGM (this is the mind-blowing artist in the giant rabbit head).
Azul had not been utilized as a ticketed venue until The Magician and resort officials reviewed possible spaces for the duo.
“We’re able to make decisions very quickly in that space, because there’s no bureaucracy to go through. This is our first foray into this concept, but they do have a fanbase, people who have seen them on TV and are intrinsic fans,” Banuchi said. “Then obviously, we have our hotel guests and casino customers. I think it’s like a second stop when somebody’s in town and they’re looking for something else to do while they’re here.”
The moving parts
Azul is also taking on the national “Don’t Tell Comedy” series, where it premiered Saturday night. “Don’t Tell” pops up in various Las Vegas locations. The series has previously played the Nowhere Lounge.
And Nowhere is where you can find live music along with a game of pool (on a single table near the entrance; this is no pool hall). The comfy venue is booked nightly. Las Vegas native and “American Idol” Season 4 finalist Mikalah Gordon and the Midnight Bleau band headline through July 5.
Nowhere is open 8 p.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. No cover, in a mod venue that still owns a hint of classic Vegas.
You sense that even when you call Fontainebleau.
“If you get put on hold, there’s a custom Paul Anka song that plays while you wait,” Banuchi said. “I’m not kidding.” He isn’t. The song is “Rendezvous: Life at Fontainebleau.” It’s big and brassy with a lotta swing and fits this place just right.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.