Nina DiGregorio is the rare violinist who has mastered Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and also Van Halen’s “Eruption.”
The fiery Las Vegas musician explains her inspiration.
“At about 13 years old, I saw a video of Jimi Hendrix playing at Woodstock,” DiGregorio says. “I said, ‘I wanna do that with my violin. That kind of started the whole thing.”
A classically trained musician with the heart of a rocker, DiGregorio brings “Femmes of Rock Symphonic” to Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available at thesmithcenter.com.
DiGregorio founded her Bella Electric Strings roster in 2006. She turned the rock-strings format in and has previously staged nearly two dozen sold-out “Femmes of Rock” shows at Myron’s. This is the production’s first swing through the big room.
The front woman is up for the task.
DiGregorio has toured versions of the show at performing arts centers and theaters across the country. She’s big in Biloxi, having headlined that city’s Hard Rock Hotel last week.
DiGregorio is accustomed to stages large and small, on and off the Strip. We met her at a gig at a Roadrunner tavern about two decades ago. The format was all-request, where songs were listed on a menu alongside the price to hear them (“Free Bird” was listed at $100, a premium rate to hear the anthem by Lynyrd Skynyrd, for whom the “Femmes” have opened in Nashville).
In various projects and performances, DiGregorio has backed David Foster, The Killers, Stevie Wonder, Deep Purple, Andrea Bocelli, Earth, Wind & Fire, Shakira, Johnny Mathis, and Wayne Newton, among others.
Foster featured DiGregorio as a soloist during a “David Foster and Friends” PBS concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The “Femmes” lineup has opened for Cheap Trick, Bad Company, Ted Nugent and Kansas.
More recently, DiGregorio produced an amazing video of “Eruption,” recorded at Reynolds Hall in 2024. DiGregorio flew through Eddie Van Halen’s famous 1-minute, 42-second solo, which leads into the Van Halen cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me.”
As DiGregorio’s husband and fellow rock-orchestral frontman Brody Dolyniuk said, he thought he overheard the original Van Halen recording when Di Gregorio perfected the piece in their Las Vegas home studio. The resulting TikTok video has amassed about 4 million views. The clip has drawn 1.6 million views on YouTube. DiGregorio is playing it for the first time since the video session on Saturday.
And, Rush’s Alex Lifeson jumped on DiGregorio’s Facebook page to praise her and Dolyniuk’s posted cover of “Limelight,” saying, “You know what I think, terrific response for your terrific effort.”
Saturday’s “Femmes of Rock” show will feature such DiGregorio favorites as (of course) Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen and several other classic rock icons. The production is the most expansive and adventurous project ever for DiGregorio.
“We will have lasers,” DiGregorio promises.
A native of Buffalo (and an ardent Bills fan), DiGregorio and fellow string virtuoso Christina Levi and Sarah Chaffee are backed by guitarist Richard Belgard, bassist Mike Powers, drummer Jeff Tortora and the Bella Strings Orchestra. A horn and woodwinds section is led by the great music director/conductor/trumpet master Lon Bronson.
Among the show’s special guests are electric-violin pioneer Mark Wood, founding member and original string master of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Wood is an Emmy Award-winning composer who invented the Viper violin, a favorite among electric-string players.
Dolyniuk, founder of the touring “Symphonic Rockshow” and Vegas cover-band Yellow Brick Road, is co-producing and a vocal guest. He joins Jessenia Paz and Sage Waters. Orlando “Paco” Santos is the guest percussionist. Michael Licata, the Vegas entertainment pro who has presented Phat Cat Swinger at South Point Showroom, guests on drums.
Bronson will preside over the party, directing the musicians, likely with a glass of red wine nearby. If there was ever a show worthy of toasting at The Smith Center, it’s this one.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
What: “Femmes of Rock Symphonic.”
Where: Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets: Starting at $58.70 (including fees).
Information: TheSmithCenter.com