This week's headliners span from Ledisi to AC/DC.
The former is an under-the-radar R&B singer who has impressed with a number of albums ranging from 2009's "Turn Me Loose" to 2014's "The Truth" to 2017's terrific "Let Love Rule."
Ledisi, 53, who will perform Friday at Caesars, came of age in the Big Easy in a musical family. Her mother sang in bands and her stepfather was a drummer who played in a number of New Orleans acts. Her biological father, Larry Sanders, is a gifted soul singer.
“So the music was in me in terms of what was passed on and what was going on around me,” she said. “There wasn’t anything else I could do but enter the music industry. I grew up listening to Earth, Wind and Fire, Willie Nelson and zydeco. I was up for any kind of music, as long as it was good.”
Ledisi studied opera and piano at the University of California Berkeley during the early ‘90s.
“I learned so much in Oakland,” she said. “My knowledge increased and so did my passion.”
Ledisi has enjoyed a vibrant 25-year career.
“What I love is that I’m still moving forward,” she said. “My career is going to get more and more interesting. I’m at a point in which I’m still growing."
Ledisi is touring behind her latest album, "The Crown," which dropped in April.
While growing up during the '80s in the Pacific Northwest, Hell's Belles' guitarist Adrian Conner devoured pop music and adored recording artists, such as Madonna.
However, everything changed when she heard AC/DC's "Shook Me All Night Long."
"I was blown away when someone finally played it for me," Conner said while calling from San Antonio. "I had to learn 'Shook Me" on guitar. When I learned how to play that solo, it was just so cool. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I got goosebumps."
Conner, 49, took it to another level when she formed Hell's Belles in 2000.
The AC/DC tribute band — which will perform Thursday at the Golden Nugget — features Conner, who has much in common with AC/DC icon Angus Young. Like the Australian guitar hero, Conner is a short, axe-wizard, who is the lone original member of a band playing AC/DC material.
The always animated Conner leads all-female band that also features vocalist Megan Ruger, guitarist Jess Coram, bassist Nicole Ridge and drummer Simona Bressi,
"There is nothing as fun as playing AC/DC songs," Conner said. "I also write and perform original music when I'm not doing Hell's Belles. I love doing the original stuff but the cool thing about going out with Hell's Belles is that I don't have to convince people to listen to what we're playing. They come out and can't wait to hear AC/DC songs, whether it's one of their hits or a song that's not a hit. Our shows are always a big party. It's always a celebration of one of the greatest bands ever."
AC/DC recently concluded a brief stadium tour. Who knows how many more jaunts the band, which has many hard miles on the odometer, has left?
"You'll always have us," Conner said. "We're keeping their music alive. I love what they do and they're the nicest guys."
Conner met the members of AC/DC in 2009 at the Tacoma Dome.
"I've hung out with them a couple of times," she said. "They're as nice as you imagine them to be. The first time I met (AC/DC vocalist) Brian (Johnson) and Angus and Malcolm, I didn't know what to say. Angus was so generous. He asked me some questions.
"He said, 'If you practice a lot, you're probably better at these songs than me,'" she recalled. "It was such an amazing experience."
Expect plenty of attitude and volume when Hell's Belles performs.
"I give it my all every show," Conner said. "It's obvious that I love what I do. I don't have a choice. AC/DC changed my life. I remember how I was in high school. I didn't talk to anybody. I was so shy. But AC/DC changed the way I moved in the world. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was impacted in such a way by their music."
