Bruno Mars extends Las Vegas Strip run

His funk is uptown. His show is on the Strip.

Bruno Mars has booked six more shows at his favorite Vegas venue, Dolby Live at Park MGM. The added dates, announced Wednesday morning are May 24, 27-27 and 31; and June 2-3. Tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Friday Pacific time at ticketmaster.com.

Flashback to #SamHunt’s performance Sept. 30, 2017 at Route 91 Harvest. He’s headlining two shows ⁦@ResortsWorldLV⁩ April 21-22 … #RJNnow ⁦@reviewjournal⁩ pic.twitter.com/ud3RkPUTbu

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) February 15, 2023

Mars opened his open-ended series at Park MGM on New Year’s Eve weekend 2016. He has since appeared solo and also in Silk Sonic alongside the omnipotent Anderson .Paak.

Both productions have been under “phone-free” or “lock up your phones” protocol. This has inspired Mars to sing his greatest unrecorded song, “I Took Your Phones Away.”

Hunt is on at RWLV

Sam Hunt is premiering at Resorts World Theatre on April 21-22, hotel officials announced Wednesday morning. Tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Pacific time Thursday at AXS.com. “House Party” and “Body Like a Back Road,” are among Hunt’s hits. The star country artist headlined the second night of the last Route 91 Festival on the Strip on Sept. 30, 2017.

A rockin’ DJ

Bonafide guitar god DJ Ashba plays The Portal at Area15 on Friday night. Doors at 9:30 p.m., show at 11 p.m. The room’s 360-degree projection mapping and Ashba’s wildly inventive playing style should be a blast.

I met Mr. Ashba when he played with the version of Guns N’ Roses that held a residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel about a decade ago. He’s always worth the trip. Go to area15.com/events/ashba/ for tickets, intel and a great shot of the musician.

Cool Hang Alert

Pepe Jimenez’s Groove Culture plays Gatsby’s Supper Club at Gambit Henderson at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.) Thursday. This cracking outfit is Bill Zappia on keys, Charles McNeal on sax, John Belzaguy on bass, Jimmy Macintosh on guitar and Chiqui Garcia on percussion. A-plus players across the boards; Latin fusion “without the borders” the vibe. Go to gambithenderson.com to reserve.

PodKats! Episodes

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.