Grunge Nation Brings 90s Rock to the Tuscany’s Copa Room!

Grunge Nation played the Copa Room inside the Tuscany Hotel and Casino on Friday, September 19, 2025.

The Copa Room inside the Tuscany Hotel and Casino is one of the venues in Sin City that has stepped up following the closure of Count’s Vamp’d earlier this year, giving rock fans in Las Vegas a long-overdue dose of entertainment. On this Friday evening, audiences were transported back in time to the 1990s, when alternative rock had taken over the radio airwaves, in the form of a show by local tribute Grunge Nation.

Grunge Nation consists of Chris Iorio on Guitar, Merry Adin on Bass, Chas Cantrell on drums, and Chris James on lead vocals. These musicians are all veterans of the Vegas scene, and have certainly held their own with many bands over the years, so seeing them unite to keep 90s rock alive is certainly a good thing. This was my second time seeing Grunge Nation; I’d seen them nearly a year ago once before with their previous vocalist.

So much of the music scene in Las Vegas seems dedicated to keeping the 1980s alive. This is hardly surprising considering how many guys from that scene call Sin City home nowadays! But getting to see a band perform live covers of the 90s grunge songs I grew up hearing on the radio is definitely a breath of fresh air (though it definitely does make me feel old to know that the music I grew up with is now considered retro…)

Right from the get-go, these Vegas rockers were on point, with a live rock show performed to an enthusiastic audience in the Copa Room. This was a free show and an all-ages one on top of that, so it was good to see plenty of rock fans hit up the Tuscany on this Friday evening, with people sitting and standing in equal quantities. Vocalist Chris James was certainly great at encouraging crowd interaction. It was a vastly superior show to the last time I’d seen Grunge Nation; a former vocalist I’d seen singing for them had trouble remembering the lyrics and it was a pretty cringe-worthy experience. Mr. James certainly does a better job than his predecessor. That’s not to say there weren’t the occasional flubs here and there, but that’s part of a live rock and roll show. Give me a dirty, raw show any day of the week over an ultra-polished one with backing tracks that sounds just like the record.

The other members of the band were equally impressive. Bassist Merry Adin, certainly one of my favorite players in Vegas, has no shortage of experience in a wide variety of bands, and she was certainly up for the occasion, as was her fellow rhythm section member, drummer Chas Cantrell. Guitarist Chris Iorio has played with so many different bands in Sin City that I certainly can’t keep track of them all (and good luck to you if you’re trying to keep count!) One of the unexpected highlights of the evening was Iorio calling a 12-year-old guitar student of his to the stage to play on a track near the end of the first set. The young man certainly held his own!

It was a fantastic and diverse setlist, featuring bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Filter, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, to name a few. The audience was enthusiastic, singing along to every song, with plenty of fans rocking out by the stage amid it all.

Grunge Nation thoroughly rocked this Vegas audience at the Tuscany’s Copa Room, leaving them wanting more, and this 90s rocker is certainly enthused and geared up for the next gig, whenever and wherever that may be. Fans of 90s grunge rock who want to hear these songs done justice by a live band need look no further than Grunge Nation, and keep an eye on the Tuscany’s concert calendar for more great live music!