You’ll walk forever to ‘Rock in Rio’
If you haven’t heard, a gargantuan music fest called “Rock in Rio” is coming to Vegas on May 8-9 and May 15-16, starring Taylor Swift, John Legend, Deftones, Metallica, Mana, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Linkin Park, No Doubt, the Pretty Reckless, Sepultura, Bruno Mars, and Joss Stone.
So here’s the thing. This festival expects up to 85,000 people will take over that big, 40-acre space at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, right?
So how are you going to get there?
Oh, you’re going to walk your hiney off, my friend. You better shine your pedometer for this trek.
On Monday, the show’s local corporate partner, MGM, let us media know that “Rock in Rio” organizers have developed a plan! And the plan is …
“With no parking allowed in the area surrounding the venue, attendees are encouraged to arrive each day by the Las Vegas Monorail, shuttle or foot.”
Yay, feet!
But let’s be real. Every music festival has sucky arrival/exit options. I’ll go a step further and proclaim I have hated driving to, parking at, and driving away from every single concert I have ever gone to. Hated.
So we can all be cynical and complainy about how we’re going to arrive at “Rock in Rio,” but you might as well suck it up, revelers, for Taylor Swift and Metallica will make you sweat. Your feet. Your pits. Sweat. You’re going to have to deal with it.
Although, if you’re not going to “Rock in Rio,” and you dread the traffic it’s going to cause, complain away.
Monorail tickets cost $5-$22.
You can pick up pre-paid shuttle passes at MGM Resorts Village, the Downtown Events Center, or World Market Center.
Shuttles will drop people off way over at the Gold Lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center, where you will still have to walk a ways to get to the concert.
Sooo, I don’t know what to tell you. I’d just walk, if I were you, even if it’s from Summerlin, because, I mean, come on, these options do not sound pleasant.
Contact Doug Elfman at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
