The Time Has Come Again… The Eighth VEGAS ROCKS! Music Awards!

The 8th VEGAS ROCKS! Music Awards took place at the Orleans Hotel and Casino Showroom on Sunday, September 20, 2026.

Las Vegas has an incredible music scene; this has been true for decades now. Many publications, both print and internet based, have attempted to chronicle the scene over the years, but perhaps none of them as noteworthy and known as VEGAS ROCKS!, which Sally Steele started in 2004. In many ways, it was the glue that held the rock scene together, covering local, national, and international talent alike. I myself wrote for the magazine for many years, and even after moving on to other publications, remained a fan, whether looking at the photos from some of the best local photographers or just reading the stories from Sally’s musician days. There are many things I miss on this music scene, and being able to pick up the latest issue of the (printed) magazine is certainly one of them, though VEGAS ROCKS! is alive and well as an internet-based magazine these days.

In 2010, Sally took things to the next level by introducing the VEGAS ROCKS! Music Awards (VRMAs for short) which awarded many of those bands and music industry personnel who may have been neglected by other institutions, including the Grammys and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (this could be a subject for an entirely different article, but we won’t go there today). The sheer amount of talent that these events attracted spoke for itself, and it’s definitely bittersweet seeing how many of Sally’s honorees at these events have since passed on, again, in many cases never getting recognition from any of those other institutions. The VRMAs have taken place at several venues across the valley, including the former Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate), the former Hard Rock Hotel (now Virgin), the Eastside Cannery (which has since been demolished), and Sam’s Town (the latter being the site of the last ceremony, which took place in January 2024). The 8th ceremony took place Sunday, September 20, 2026, at the Showroom in the Orleans Casino.

The Orleans Casino opened in the late 1990s, and I have had the luxury of seeing a handful of shows in there over the years, including the Everly Brothers, Alice Cooper, and Creedence Clearwater Revisited. It’s a great room, small and intimate, in which there’s not a bad seat in the house. This showroom is not to be confused with the larger Orleans Arena on the property, which surprisingly to this day, I still haven’t attended anything at.

The VRMAs always begin with a red carpet event honoring the inductees, presenters, and other esteemed talent in attendance, and this unto itself. In this case, the red carpet event took place on the casino floor, not far from the front entrance to the building. Among those walking the carpet this year including DJ Ashba, members of Count’s 77, Eddie Trunk, Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai, members of Armored Saint, members of Lizzy Borden, Jeff Scott Solo, Mitch Malloy, Chris Kael, Bruce Kulick, Tracii Guns, Christian Brady, Frankie Perez, longtime local radio personality Lark Williams, Red Cup Geoff, and Michael Anthony and his longtime bass tech, Kevin “Dugie” Dugan. Keep in mind that this list is not all-inclusive, but it should definitely give one an idea of the talent Sally assembles for these events! The red carpet event lasted for just over an hour, and needless to say, the surrounding area with packed with fans, photographers, journalists, and everyone in between!

Red Carpet Gallery.

Following the red carpet, attendees and inductees alike headed to the Orleans Showroom for the actual ceremony itself. And right here is where I must give major credit for one of the best parts of the evening: At no point did I have to walk through an annoying metal detector or x-ray machine, empty pockets, or be patted down or wanded. This is how all live events should be, so a big thumbs up for a non-invasive stress-free entry. Other venues and events stand up and take note!

I did have my doubts as to whether the Orleans Showroom would be large enough to accommodate an event such as this, but the venue ended up being a surprisingly good fit! Again, due to the size, it’s a nice intimate room that doesn’t have a bad seat in the house. It had been far too long since I experienced any kind of live show in the room, and it definitely still holds up, even nearly three decades since I saw the Everly Brothers in there as a 13-year-old kid, as one of Vegas’ finest spots to catch a show.

Every VRMA gig is going to be different (that’s inevitable with the sheer away of guests and inductees) but the structure of the evening usually involves the use of a “house band” who plays appropriate music when someone enters the stage (for instance, when Eddie Trunk walked on stage, they played a portion of the UFO song “Rock Bottom” as that’s one of Mr. Trunk’s favorite bands and one he turned many people on to over the years). The evening consists of many induction speeches done in honor of the nominees, with said nominees giving their own speeches, and musical performances spaced throughout the gig, typically featuring an all-star jam at the end of the night.

I always love seeing the VRMAs pay homage to locally based talent, which is something I think is sorely neglected by much of the entertainment press in Sin City. In this case, we got to see a performance by a local punk band called Pure Sport (I admittedly was not familiar with these guys but loved their performance) and fellow local rock band Heroine Honey (fun fact: Me and Heroine Honey guitarist Steve Raper used to work together at Tower Records back in the day!) Both bands were given awards for their contributions to the local scene, which were certainly deserved and awarded. Other local headliners including longtime showman Zowie Bowie, and Frankie Perez, a man who’s been fusing old Vegas lounge sounds with rock and roll for many years now. Seeing Perez perform vocals on a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” was a major highlight of the night.

Sally’s awards shows also pay homage to people who aren’t musicians, but whose contributions to the music world are every bit as valuable. Another great highlight of this night was seeing longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony (himself a former VRMA inductee) present an award to his bass tech of over 40 years, Kevin “Dugie” Dugan. THAT METAL SHOW co-host and Sirius XM host Eddie Trunk was also present to receive a broadcasting award (the man’s been doing his thing for over four decades now) with local guitar great Stoney Curtis giving the induction speech.

But of course… there were certainly rock superstars in the house! In this case, we got guitar great Steve Vai, bass master Billy Sheehan (these two played together in David Lee Roth’s band with Roth left Van Halen in the mid-80s), Tracii Guns of LA Guns fame, vocalist Mitch Malloy (probably best known for a brief stint in Van Halen in the mid-90s following Sammy Hagar’s departure), former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick (himself a Vegas resident these days), and members of longtime Metal Blade Records bands Lizzy Borden and Armored Saint, with Metal Blade founder/CEO Brian Slagel (another Vegas resident these days) giving an induction speech.

Awards Gallery.

And yes… the evening was topped off by the inevitable all-star jams, which always serve as the perfect way to top off a great evening. In this case, we got several of the musicians present jamming on a cover of the LA Guns classic “Never Enough,” with The Far Worst’s Jake Bruen handling lead vocals (Bruen had previously been lead vocalist of local band Noize Complaint, but plays bass in The Far Worst), and closing things out with a killer rendition of Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, with Michael Anthony on bass and lead vocals, sharing lead vocals with Mitch Malloy (this really showed what Van Halen could’ve been if they’d retained Malloy instead of hiring Gary Cherone). You couldn’t ask for a better outro than these performances.

Following the event itself, a VIP event took place in another part of the casino, although I did not attend this. Many of the musicians did mingle with fans outside the showroom following the performance though; I did have the luxury of briefly crossing paths with Billy Sheehan and Mitch Malloy.

The VRMAs are always a legendary evening when they take place. Many thanks to Sally and her crew, including her go-to guy Rollie Gibbs, for putting together a star-studded evening rock fans in the Vegas Valley won’t soon forget. Like so many others, I’ll be graciously anticipating the 9th ceremony, whenever and wherever it takes place!

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Carpet Photos By Taylor T Carlson and Live Photos by Stephy Muzio for ZRockR Magazine – @2026 – All Rights Reserved.