Everyone knows those boys in Styx would rather be a blue-collar man. But a few years ago, nobody would have figured them for a National Finals Rodeo week attraction.

But the classic rock band plays Luxor on Friday and Saturday, taking up two nights in a theater that almost surely would have gone to a country act in the past.

It's part of a slow change that finds many casinos mixing country with other genres or sitting out this year's rodeo altogether. What had become almost a parallel country festival in the early '90s has filtered down to acts with a direct appeal to rodeo fans.

"We've been seeing a change every year for the last three or four years," says Roy Jernigan, who booked talent into The Orleans, Gold Coast and Suncoast before his recent resignation to follow Michael Gaughan to the South Point.

"When you go to the rodeo, what do you hear? Rock 'n' roll and AC/DC," he notes. "Most of the Top 40 country hits are ballads. The rodeo crowd is tuning into aggressive country, Southern rock and comedy."

Hence, Jernigan loaded up on separate dates with the "Blue Collar" comedians -- Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy (the fourth, Ron White, is at Mandalay Bay) -- after past draws such as Randy Travis proved to be tougher sells in recent years.

Only the Las Vegas Hilton and Golden Nugget are going all in like the old days. "We just want to keep that level of quality there," the Hilton's Ken Ciancimino says of back-to-back shows by Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn and Vince Gill. He's predicting sellouts in the 1,700-seat theater.

Big & Rich personify the "mall country" trend that bypasses tradition in favor of cross-pollination with suburban rock and hip-hop. But Gill and Brooks & Dunn are more than capable of altering their set lists for rowdier crowds. More risky is the Golden Nugget's week of dependable old-school names from NFR weeks of yore: Randy Travis, Tanya Tucker and Clay Walker.

Some of it is just knowing where to look. The rodeo is usually in town about the same time as the 1,300 members of the International Association of Fairs & Expositions, who scout talent for their local fairs. In the past, record labels have subsidized showcase performances by breaking acts -- including a young Keith Urban in 1997 -- for the fair buyers.

That changed when the convention moved its home base from the Las Vegas Hilton to Paris Las Vegas, said Jim Tucker, president of the association. But a new stage sponsored by the Academy of Country Music will serve a similar role this year in introducing "baby acts" to rodeogoers in front of the Thomas & Mack Center. If you aren't yet familiar with the Skeeters, Heartland or Cowboy Crush, maybe someday you can say you saw them way back when. ...

Last weekend's return of Liza Minnelli to Luxor overshadowed the final performances of "Burn the Floor," a ballroom dance revue that had shared Luxor with weekend headliners.

"We have learned a lot in the past twelve weeks in Vegas, about our show and the market," and the revue is "wedged in the Vegas door," producer Harley Medcalf says via e-mail. He's hoping to bring it back next year "should we be able to create the right circumstances."

That's a bit cryptic, but it sounds like the door might be closed at Luxor. A new Criss Angel gift shop there doesn't discourage ongoing talk that the young magician will end up with the theater there.

A competing dance revue, "Simply Ballroom," remains downtown at the Golden Nugget. It returns Dec. 10, after yielding the newly remodeled theater to the aforementioned trio of National Finals Rodeo headliners. ...

The Beatles tribute "Fab Forever" hopes to be back at the Riviera by Dec. 26, though producer Jerry Peluso isn't sure where in the Riviera that might be.

The show opened Nov. 4 in the "Crazy Girls" showroom, but closed Nov. 12 after the wife and son of John Lennon impersonator Peter George were injured in a Los Angeles auto accident. George hasn't told Peluso whether he will be able to return.

Peluso nonetheless plans to reopen Dec. 26, the day the show would have returned from a three-week break if the accident had not occurred. Not decided is whether to go back into the "Crazy Girls" room or take a short run in the big showroom left vacant by the departure of "Splash."

Riviera officials have been tight-lipped about their "Splash" replacement, but outsiders have said the hotel favors an ice revue. ...

There's no stopping those Las Vegas Tenors. They just wrapped up their weekly Suncoast gig on Monday, but they're gearing up for a Christmas concert on Dec. 19 at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church.

"A Very Special Christmas Concert" will be a big show with an orchestra and special guests including Michaelina Bellamy and violinist Erika Syroid. Tickets are $20 at the church through Friday, then go up to $25.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.