Las Vegas Events Center Hosts New Electronic Dance Music Series ZOOLOGY

Las Vegas Events Center Hosts New Electronic Dance Music Series ZOOLOGY

Party animals of Las Vegas: you’ve found a new habitat.

The Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC), a modern, 85,000 square foot outdoor venue located across from The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel, welcomes ravers to the jungle with new electronic dance music series “Zoology.” Crafted in partnership with Collective Zoo, a Las Vegas-based event and lifestyle media company with a focus on exceptional visual experiences, special effects and a community connected through music and art, the “Zoology” series blends EDM, performed by tireless DJs, with interactive performers and a colorful, animal-inspired aesthetic.

“Zoology” transforms the venue into a wild, neon-lit jungle featuring pastel colors and eye-popping rave lighting to create a provocative atmosphere, complete with aerial dancers, surreal animal-themed stilt walkers, and energetic character performers. On Friday evening, January 13, Zoology featured Ekali, Sleepy Tom, LZF and TSiMZ with the pulse-pounding EDM beats electrifying a collective of like-minded partygoers dancing and feeling the musical titillation.

“My favorite part of what I do is being able to transform into anything imaginable and sometimes unimagined,” says Saturn Reyes, a self-admitted “theatrically trained weirdo” with more than eight years dancing and performing experience. As a costumed, pink tutu-wearing teddy bear, Reyes playfully engages the crowd while frolicking freely and dancing the night away.

Character performers Saturn Reyes, Jenn Ranalli, and Neon B. Carter
Photo credit: Cameron Bonomolo

Reyes, who has performed at a handful of the world’s biggest EDM festivals, including in Las Vegas, Mexico and Puerto Rico, with appearances at musical festivals in Washington and Canada, shares that Collective Zoo’s appropriately titled Zoology series offers an experience unlike anything else in the world or Vegas, a city known for its non-stop parties.

“[There’s] a wild party animal vibe with a live show that is constantly evolving with new artists, live performances, dancing animals, unicorns, performers and an amazing stage setup,” she says, adding, “Plus, it’s 18 [and up].”

Inventive stilt walkers a giraffe and a unicorn graze freely
Photo credit: Cameron Bonomolo

The indoor event is heated - even Vegas gets chilly - with a convenient, round bar located just off the spacious dancing area. (For guests 21 and over, an open bar is offered within the first hour of the festivities). VIP lounges with reserved seating shoulder both sides of the venue, while a handful of retailers are on-hand to provide guests with party gear. Incorporated at the front of active, unremitting high-energy environment is the star of the show, the stage, which hosted Zwith Billy Kenny, Bixel Boys and Justin Jay in the first week of the Zoology series on January 6th.

Ceaseless, invigorating music and sensuous, glowing lighting (complete with accompanying laser show) are hallmarks of any respectable rave, and “Zoology” is Vegas at its wild best. Local DJ TSiMZ was spinning the night of the 13th, hyping up a ready-to-go crowd with a stream of pop and bass-heavy hits that segued easily into the next. Ekali, the night’s headliner, closed out the sophomore installment of “Zoology” with a rhythmic, pulsating soundtrack, satisfying the partygoer’s lust for energy, movement and dance.

Interchanging aerial dancers perform over the roundabout bar
Photo credit: Cameron Bonomolo

Beautiful hues of glowing pink purple and blue make for an alluring atmosphere
Photo credit: Cameron Bonomolo

Zoology at DLVEC on January 13th
Photo courtesy of The Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC)

Zoology at DLVEC on January 13th
Photo courtesy of The Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC)

Zoology at DLVEC on January 13th
Photo courtesy of The Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC)

With feel-it-in-your-chest music, a colorful, attractive environment, stimulating visuals and a band of vivacious character performers and dancers, Collective Zoo’s “Zoology” series at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center is a spirited blast - for non-fans and experienced ravers alike.


The “Zoology” series concludes Friday, January 20th, with Will Clarke and Shiba San (tickets are available from Ticketmaster, with the event kicking off at 8 pm and lasting until 1 am