‘Viva Las Vegas’: The String Cheese Incident Welcomes Wayne Newton At Bender Jamboree

The String Cheese Incident was joined by iconic musician Wayne Newton on Thursday during their first of three performances at the Bender Jamboree festival in Las Vegas. Newton and showgirls helped SCI kick off their second set with a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.”

Bender Jamboree, which was held at Westgate Las Vegas, returned after a five-year hiatus. Cheese played two sets a piece at the festival on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Penned by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, Elvis Presley released “Viva Las Vegas” in 1964 as part of the soundtrack for his film of the same name. The String Cheese Incident debuted their cover of the song on Las Vegas’ Aladdin Theatre on July 27, 2001 and then performed “Viva Las Vegas” on February 15, 2015 at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas for the second and only other time leading up to Thursday night.

Wayne Newton is synonymous with Las Vegas as he’s been headlining in Sin City for over 60 years. “Mr. Las Vegas” is currently hosting “Up Close and Personal” shows at the nearby Flamingo Hotel.

The String Cheese Incident opened on Thursday with “Lend Me A Hand,” the title track from their latest studio album. SCI then delivered an adventurous “Looking Glass” before rolling through “Can’t Wait Another Day,” “County Road Blues” and “Joyful Sound.” The sextet paired “Rumble” and “It Is What It Is” to end their first set of Bender Jamboree 2024.

Newton emerged with showgirls in tow to lead The String Cheese Incident through “Viva Las Vegas” to get the band’s second set underway. Lengthy versions of “Dirk,” “Shine,” The Big Reveal” and “Valley Of The Jig” formed the bulk of the rest of the frame. SCI wrapped the night with a “Midnight Moonlight” encore.

Watch Newton and The String Cheese Incident’s “Viva Las Vegas” via fan-shot video below:

Official Audio (via nugs.net)