Steven Adler, Slaughter, and Queensryche Rock the Lawn at Sunset Station!

Steven Adler, Slaughter, and Queensryche played Sunset Station Outdoor Amphitheater on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Although Sunset Station’s Club Madrid venue recently closed down, their outdoor amphitheater is still open for business, booking plenty of great shows! I’ve seen many a great rock show on this lawn, and with so many great Vegas rock venues closing down, it’s good to see we still get some entertainment going on here. July 19 saw the arrival of not one, not two, but three greats of classic hard rock!

Kicking off the evening was Steven Adler. Adler was the classic drummer for Guns N Roses, though his hard lifestyle ultimately resulted in his exile from the band circa 1990, during the sessions of the USE YOUR ILLUSION albums, at which time he was replaced by ex-Cult drummer Matt Sorum. Adler has endured several strokes and trips to rehab, but still goes out and rocks the world, having played with groups like Adler’s Appetite, but has also released recordings simply under the name Adler as well.

While I wasn’t familiar with any of the musicians Adler had playing with him, they were all certainly capable and up to the task. It was a brief set, considering mostly of tracks from the 1987 APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION album that unleashed GNR on the world back in 1987. The true standout musician of Adler’s band for the evening was vocalist Ari Kamen, who also sings in a Guns N Roses tribute band. He’s a pitch-perfect Axl Rose, and sang these songs perfectly. If Axl ever decides to retire but wants to keep GNR going, he could easily hire this guy and be set for life as the royalties pour in.

While the performers were great, there was a major flaw that worked against an otherwise positive gig: The songs were played far too slowly. If I had to guess I would say this is likely due to Adler’s condition following a rather turbulent lifestyle and being unable to play them at the original pace. I love Mr. Adler, but it may be time to consider retirement. He’s rocked the world and has nothing left to prove, and should take a well-deserved rest. That said, I give big credit to him for still taking to the stage after all he’s been through, and his band was top notch despite the needed slower paces of the songs as played.

Slaughter took the stage second. Originally conceived as a spin-off of the Vinnie Vincent Invasion, the band rocked the world with some hits on MTV just before the industry changed considerably. Original members (and former VVI members) Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum are still in the band. Following the death of guitarist Tim Kelly, guitarist Jeff Blando stepped in. Currently behind the drum stool for the band is Jordan Cannata, one of many men to fill the drum stool in place of classic drummer Blas Elias.

This lineup of Slaughter certainly delivers, but it’s no secret that Mark Slaughter does somewhat struggle when it comes to replicating the high notes and rapid delivery of the band’s glory days. Listening to him flubbing the chorus of “Mad About You” was painful, though most of the rest of the set fared better. Unsurprisingly, the fairly short set was limited to tracks from the band’s first two albums, STICK IT TO YA and THE WILD LIFE. There were a few missing cuts I would’ve loved to see added to the set including “Desperately,” “The Wild Life,” and “Shout it Out,” but the audience was certainly happy with the classic hits they got.

Rounding out the evening was Queensryche. Even though classic vocalist Geoff Tate left the band many years ago, ex-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre brought new life to the band, resurrecting them and giving them some of their best material in years. They continue to record albums and tour the world, and I was ecstatic to see they’d be headlining here at Sunset Station.

Of the three bands, Queensryche easily gave the best performance, which is hardly surprising. Todd La Torre’s vocals resurrect these classic anthems from the band at each show they do, and they were firing on all cylinders. The one problem with the band’s set is they played absolutely nothing past 1990. That means no tracks from the albums the band has recorded with La Torre as frontman. This was the one disappointment of their set, as those albums have some great cuts on them that deserve to be heard live. Still, this was by far the best of the three sets.

It’s good to see rock and roll alive well in Las Vegas, and hopefully these outdoor concerts at Sunset Station will continue well into the coming years (but let’s hope subsequent ones aren’t in the middle of July!)

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Addison Egelhoff for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2025 – All Rights Reserved.