Mike Prevatt

1 week ago | knpr.org | Mike Prevatt

Elaine Wynn, who, with her ex-husband Steve Wynn, co-founded Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts, has died at age 82, according to the Elaine P. Wynn and Family Foundation. In a media release on Tuesday morning, the foundation noted her influence at the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore Resorts. "As the largest individual shareholder of Wynn Resorts, Ms. Wynn wielded significant influence, not just as an investor, but as a steward of a vision that transcended mere entertainment.

1 week ago | knpr.org | Mike Prevatt

Education gets a bad rap in Southern Nevada. However, one academic area in which we excel is music education, and a lot of the credit goes to the people who teach it. Oboist Stephen Caplan has taught at UNLV for 38 years, on top of performing around the world and with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. During that time, he has won accolades, shared stages with international superstars, and, most notably, tailored his teaching to include the physical and mental health of instrumentalists.

2 weeks ago | knpr.org | Mike Prevatt |Maicyn Udani

There is definitely a type of artist that appeals to the NPR crowd, and singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson is it. He doesn’t come by these parts often, so this is a treat, especially because his recent concerts have been clocking in at north of three hours. That’s almost as long as Killers of the Flower Moon, a movie he starred in. This exhibit will either delight or frustrate anyone who ever picked up an Etch a Sketch and tried to turn out something legible.

2 weeks ago | knpr.org | Mike Prevatt

The showmanship. The bottle juggling. The drink in your hand at the end. There’s something very Las Vegas about flair bartending. You’ve surely seen it on the Strip before … It’s wherethe bartender entertains you while mixing your drink. If you want to go back in time, think of Tom Cruise in 1988’s Cocktail. So it’s fitting that a Las Vegas filmmaker who was once a flair bartender herself has made a documentary about the art form.

4 weeks ago | knpr.org | Mike Prevatt

Spring is a busy time for the arts, especially as theater companies and universities pack their calendars before the usual May season ending. But it’s also a prolific time for the literary world, where not only events, but book releases, abound. “Springtime is kind of a bonanza for publishing,” says Drew Cohen, co-owner and buyer of The Writer’s Block bookstore in downtown Las Vegas. “Generally, a lot of the most hyped books come out at this season.