The Sayers Club, one of Hollywood’s most beloved music venues, is opening its doors at SLS Las Vegas with Swedish pop star Trove Lo and other live performances August 28-31. Nightclub & Bar had the opportunity to speak with Jason Scoppa, who is the founder and partial owner of The Sayers Club, to get some insight on the grand opening.
The Las Vegas location, slightly larger than the Los Angeles property, has an outdoor patio that Scoppa is very excited about and provides a differentiating factor. “In Las Vegas, longer hours of operation allow us to fan out and truly showcase our identities as a lounge, live music venue and nightclub,” says Scoppa.
In addition to the outdoor patio, The Sayers Club, is also offering a different context through their design and programming to set themselves apart from not only the LA location but other venues on the strip. “I love where our identity stands in the Las Vegas market,” says Scoppa.
However, there are challenges, mostly technical ones, when producing such a large project, “but the SBE team is incredible and everyone has worked together on this project,” continued Scoppa. “Years of experience breeds great policy and there is nothing more valuable than putting together teams that think on their feet.”
“We’re always aiming to have a property and design that stands the test of time,” states Scoppa. “We try to make every design element double as something that will serve as a treatment, something that will make the sonic experience as pleasurable as the visual.” The top priority is to present nightlife and performance in a comfortable room.
Velvet graphite draping softens the atmosphere, leather chesterfields sit on top of layered rugs in the center, and tufted banquettes frame the room. Some may notice that black lacquered tin ceiling tiles climbing the walls 14' high, looking closer at those tiles guests will find that they are perforated and padded. Everything has a purpose. “We spent a lot of time with painters in both locations trying to give our flat walls depth using green with yellows and ox blood. In LA a lot of that mixed with flat blacks, where in Vegas, we wanted to give them a little more gloss,” Scoppa explained.
With the intricate details incorporated into the design and the multiple identities presented, the venue will appeal to a wide demographic. “We have strength in our marketing team because they ‘get it’ and understand our concept both from a traditionally and non-traditional stance,” clarifies Scoppa. “We also brought on board some seasoned and talented friends who know the Las Vegas market; folks that have that ability to creatively reach people and adjust to a venue with a lot of moving parts.”
Sound and talent will also play a significant role in the direction of the marketing strategy. “We aim to have each guest hear something they love and recognize while also being introduced to something they have not heard before - but need to find out that song or artist,” Scoppa describes excitedly.
Scoppa acknowledges the success of a venue is widely based off the customer experience so he has some creative promotions up his sleeve. Friday nights, The Sayers Club Las Vegas will host ‘Battle Fridays’ - a musical take on the early days in hip hop where MC’s would sharpen their skills via battle, leaving guests captivated. Putting a modern twist on this concept, The Sayers Club battles will feature a DJ and a drummer duo that compete against another DJ and drummer team. Scoppa explains the night will be led by one of his favorite DJs, Anthony Valadez (KCRW, The Sayers Club LA Saturday resident) and guest DJs will be brought in along with drummers such as Tony Royster Jr. who is fresh off the Jay Z tour.