LAS VEGAS (AP) — Music legend Stevie Wonder plans to headline in Sin City on New Year’s Eve, playing to a ballroom crowd at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and to thousands of revelers on the Las Vegas Strip by video.
Casino officials told The Associated Press the 25-time Grammy winner known for top hits including “Superstition” and “You are the Sunshine of My Life” will be its top performer one year after an exclusive grand opening bash that featured Jay-Z and Coldplay.
This year’s party is slightly more accessible than last year’s invite-only affair — a limited number of tickets start at $250 and include an open bar.
The New Year’s Eve show caps a year of entertainment at the Cosmopolitan that featured top acts including Adele, the Flaming Lips and Deadmau5.
Wonder’s concert will stream to partiers on the Las Vegas Strip, which will shut down to vehicle traffic and fill up with tourists.
Lisa Marchese, the Cosmopolitan’s chief marketing officer, said Wonder has proven over several decades of performing he can appeal to audiences young and old.
In June, the former child prodigy was honored at the Apollo in New York with induction into the Legends Hall of Fame, joining Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald.
But Wonder, who has seven Billboard No. 1 singles, got top billing in September at the Austin City Limits music festival, which featured dozens of acts including Coldplay, Kanye West and Arcade Fire.
“He’s gotten cool again in a whole different way with a young group of people who didn’t grow up with his music,” Marchese said. “He’s legendary, he’s an impresario, he’s contemporary but old school in this really unexpected way.”
Marchese said other acts and surprises would likely be added to the show, and other acts will perform throughout the property, including Mayer Hawthorne at a lounge on the casino floor.
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Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
