FUF1 (Neon City) Festival Announces First Batch of Headliners
The music festival created as a giant FU to F1, the Neon City Festival, has announced its headline performers for 2026.
The Neon City Festival happens Nov. 20-22, 2026, right on top of F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix (Nov. 19-21, 2026), the disastrous shitshow that ruins Las Vegas and blocks the iconic Bellagio fountains for 4-6 months every year.
This year’s festival features Fat Joe, Kaskade, Marshmello, Subtronics and The Fray. If you are not a fan of those folks, note that the festival is free and also who made you like this?
The festival will not only include live music, but also local food and beverage vendors, art installations and other entertainment experiences, several of which are billed as “immersive,” it’s the law.
More headliners and the full lineup are expected in the coming weeks.
The Neon City Festival spans three stages at Fremont Street Experience, as well as the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (which mostly serves as a parking lot these days because working with event promoters is a huge pain in the ass).
If you are an unsophisticated rube, you may not recognize some of the headliners, so the festival provided some fun facts about each.
Fat Joe is described as a “Grammy Award-nominated hip-hop icon who has been a defining force in rap for more than three decades.” His songs include “Lean Back,” “What’s Luv?,” “Make It Rain” and “All the Way Up.”
Kaskade is a Grammy-nominated “electronic music icon.” His hits include “Atmosphere,” “Disarm You” and “Fire & Ice.”
Music break!
Marshmello is the DJ who wears the Marshmello mask. His hits include “Happier,” “Silence” and “Alone.”
Subtronics is “known for his explosive bass drops and boundary-pushing sound design.”
The Fray is “beloved for emotionally driven anthems” including “How to Save a Life,” “Over My Head (Cable Car)” and “You Found Me.”
The Neon City Festival was created out of nothing a couple of years ago by casino mogul Derek Stevens (Circa, The D and Golden Gate) and our former boss at Fremont Street Experience, Jeff Victor. Victor is not only a V.P. for Stevens, he’s now the CEO of the Neon City Festival.
Downtown has been lacking a music festival since Life is Beautiful was euthanized by Rolling Stone (Penske Media) in 2022.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) contributes $1.5 million in funding to the Neon City Festival because the organization was about to have a full-fledged mutiny on its hands after downtown was slammed by F1’s event. The LVCVA is supposed to help all the casinos in Las Vegas, while F1’s event helps 4-5 casinos on The Strip. Don’t get us started.
Here’s more: “In addition to the music, Neon City Festival will feature food and drink specials from local Las Vegas favorites, captivating laser shows, pop-up art activations, and The Canopy at Fremont Street Experience, illuminated with dazzling neon visuals that electrify the festival atmosphere. Additional artists, daily performance schedules, festival experiences and more surprises will be announced in the coming weeks as Neon City Festival continues unveiling its 2026 lineup.”
It is not too late to book Duran Duran, Jeff. Ask about the friends and family discount!
We’ll update this story when the rest of the lineup is announced.
Props to Derek Stevens and the other downtown casinos for their middle finger to the LVCVA and F1 for screwing with the bottom lines of not just casinos, but tons of businesses in Las Vegas.
While the LVCVA touts the alleged fiscal impact of F1 on Las Vegas, it had never once published estimates of losses due to the event’s disruption. The lofty numbers are generated by Applied Analysis, a company hired by (wait for it) the LVCVA. The whole thing stinks like andouillette, which we just learned is a French sausage made from pork intestines known for its weapons-grade funk.
And, while we’re on the subject, Weapons-Grade Funk would make a decent band name.
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