John Taylor

Copy Desk Chief

John, who is the Sun's copy chief, grew up in a family of eight and now is married with two children. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Taylor joined the Sun in 2012. He likes to say he halfway followed a path blazed by his grandfather, who in the early 1900s ran both a Polish-American newspaper and a tavern.

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Forget about the glitz and glamour; all Mariah Carey needs to do is to sing her songs: Friday, April 19, 2024; About five songs into the premiere of Mariah Carey’s residency Friday at Park MGM, the first time I had seen the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter-actor-producer perform live, I leaned over to my wife ...
Nicki Minaj, in Las Vegas tour stop, solidifies reign as the Queen of Rap: Wednesday, March 13, 2024; From the start of her concert Friday at T-Mobile Arena, Nicki Minaj made it clear that, indeed, she is the Queen of Rap.
Resorts World Theatre, Sphere earn spots on listing of world’s top venues: Friday, Feb. 16, 2024; Billboard magazine recognized Resorts World Theatre as the “Top Residency Venue” for the second consecutive year and singled out the Sphere — the world’s largest spherical structure — for “The ‘Wow’ Factor” in its listings ...
From actors to accounting firms, annual AVN Expo in Las Vegas offers a diverse landscape: Friday, Jan. 26, 2024; Among the dozens of adult film stars showing off their assets in various forms of dress, exhibitors peddling unimaginable wares for sexual pleasures and the sea of ...
SZA, in Las Vegas tour stop, steers her audience to smooth sailing: Friday, Nov. 3, 2023; From the moment she tossed her mic into the ocean and followed it into the murky waters below from a suspended plank,
Babyface brings the chartbusters in concert at Pearl Theater: Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023; The biggest question lingering in the minds of audience members attending Babyface’s concert Friday at the Pearl Theater wasn’t whether they’d be treated to an incredible night of music. Instead, it was whether the ...
Kenny Loggins leaves Las Vegas on a high note with farewell tour stop: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023; Kenny Loggins, the Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter, stood Friday at the center of the stage at Pearl Theater at the Palms and marveled at the room, which he was playing for the first time — and likely the last time — in his storied career of more than 50 years.
Drake dazzles with memorable concert at T-Mobile Arena: Friday, Sept. 8, 2023; When Drake, the acclaimed singer and rapper, finally made his appearance Friday and descended a lower-bowl stairway at the center of T-Mobile Arena on his way to the stage, the crowd was beyond being full of anticipation.
Kelly Clarkson’s explosive ‘Chemistry’ residency rocks Planet Hollywood audience: Friday, Aug. 4, 2023; “I’m so excited,” she confided to the audience. “I haven’t done a (big) show in like 9,000 years, and I’m super stoked to come and do some shows in Las Vegas.”
Carrie Underwood sticks to successful formula in resuming Resorts World residency: Friday, June 23, 2023; It would seem that Carrie Underwood and Resorts World Las Vegas go together, to quote the title track from her latest album, “like jet black and a Cadillac, like Tennessee and a bottle of Jack, Dolly and a tape deck on the way back.”
From sound check to encore, Garth Brooks brings the muscle to his Caesars Palace residency: Wednesday, May 24, 2023; Ever the prankster, Brooks walked over to the side of the stage, out of most of the audience’s sight. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the recognizable voice said over the Colosseum’s sound system. “Please welcome the greatest artist I’ve ever known: Garth Brooks!”
EDC's scale difficult to imagine until you experience Las Vegas festival: Tuesday, May 23, 2023; It’s about 3 a.m. Saturday, and the scene at the Kinetic Field at the Electric Daisy Carnival at the Las Vegas Speedway is, well, kinetic. Marshmello has just finished a set lasting ...
The Chicks go long into the night in their Planet Hollywood residency: Thursday, May 11, 2023; This is no ordinary Las Vegas residency for the Chicks. Oh, there’s the glitz and glamour, fantastic lighting, large video screens with closeups of the performers ...
David Spade, Nikki Glaser bring house down at Venetian with contrasting styles: Thursday, May 4, 2023; The stories — and their punchlines — left the audience looking for more but filled with laughter.
Vegas makes it on Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘yes’ list, and vice versa: Wednesday, April 26, 2023; As expected, Carpenter was a dynamo on stage. Wearing a bluejean blue dress with an accent chain and knee-length black boots, she strutted, danced and swayed about on the stage at the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
In Las Vegas residency at Park MGM, Maroon 5 provides many special moments for its fans: Wednesday, March 29, 2023; Perhaps the most special moment — poignant even — came with the band’s tribute to its former manager, Jordan Feldstein, who unexpectedly died of a pulmonary embolism in 2017 at age 40. As a heart appeared on a video board behind the band with the word “Jordi” inside it, frontman Adam Levine explained that “losing him was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.”
Taylor Swift delivers on ‘grand adventure’ promise in Las Vegas performances: Tuesday, March 28, 2023; Take 44 songs from a catalog created over more nearly two decades, toss in some amazing lighting, effects and staging, sprinkle in dancers, acrobats, bicyclists and a superstar singer-songwriter, put it all in front of 60,000 or so screaming fans on consecutive nights, and you have the ingredients for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour stop this past weekend at Allegiant Stadium.
Keith Urban, no matter the Strip venue, keeps his audience rocking: Wednesday, March 8, 2023; Who could sit while Keith Urban, the four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, and his band pounded out hit after high-energy hit during the nearly two-hour sold-out show?
The 1975 rolls out welcome mat for Virgin theater audience in Las Vegas: Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022; The band, featuring boyhood friends Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel, welcomed the packed house into their “living room vibe” with open arms, making their way through a set of 25 songs.
Post Malone, at T-Mobile, gives his all, and his fans get him: Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022; Friday, singer Post Malone brought his “Twelve Carat Tour” to a jam-packed T-Mobile Arena and followed it up with an appearance at Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World Las Vegas.
The Who ends tour with back-to-back shows in Las Vegas. Will it be their last tour here?: Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022; If last weekend's shows at Dolby Live theater at Park MGM prove to be The Who's final concerts on American soil, what a way to go out — and what a treat for those in the Las Vegas audiences.
For one last time in Las Vegas, Elton John shows he’s still standing: Friday, Nov. 4, 2022; The Piano Man, who has been a commanding presence on the pop music scene since the early 1970s, delighted the packed stadium crowd for more than two hours on his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road — The Final Tour” stop in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas far from breaking up with the Wallows on "Tell Me That It's Over" tour: Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022; The Los Angeles-based Wallows are touring in support of their second studio album, "Tell Me That It's Over," which was released in March. The band 20-song set included six cuts from the album, which draws heavily on relationship-related themes — most of them dealing with affairs coming to an end.
At iHeart festival, the hits keep coming: Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022; Say this about the annual iHeartRadio Music Festival: The artists taking the T-Mobile Arena stage aren’t afforded the time to ease into their biggest radio hits, so they jump right into them, one after another. And there’s probably no other live event anywhere that packs in so many different genres of music, from rap to country to pop to rock ’n’ roll to soul to dance/electronic.
Deuces aren’t all that’s wild at Aerosmith’s Park MGM residency: Friday, Sept. 16, 2022; With frontman Steven Tyler and his featured sidekick Joe Perry at front-and-center most of the night, Aerosmith delivered 90 minutes of songs from their heralded career.
Imagine Dragons put on electric show for electrified crowd at Allegiant Stadium: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022; The Imagine Dragons, the band that formed in 2008 in Provo, Utah, and came to prominence shortly thereafter when its members relocated to Las Vegas, made a triumphant return to its hometown, packing the city’s largest concert venue to the rafters.
Forget MTV: Duran Duran reiterates it’s music, not videos, that drives the band: Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022; Duran Duran, in town for stops on its “FUTURE PAST” 40th anniversary tour, rocked its way through Las Vegas with shows Thursday and Saturday.
Las Vegas and The Weeknd revel in his post-apocalyptic tour stop at Allegiant Stadium: Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022; Even before he took the stage Saturday at Allegiant Stadium, The Weeknd was telling his followers on social media that his After Hours Til Dawn Tour stop in Las Vegas meant something special to him.
James Taylor completes his summer tour with hit-filled evening at T-Mobile Arena: Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022; James Taylor, the 74-year-old singer-songwriter whose folk-rock hits in the 1970s kept him atop the charts and made him a household name, brought his show back to Las Vegas with an evening that saw him and His All-Star Band entertain an appreciative audience at T-Mobile Arena for just over two hours Saturday.
Venue changes, but Usher continues to wow and woo his Las Vegas audiences: Thursday, July 28, 2022; Usher is now five shows into his new residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas.
Resorts World audience welcomes Journey, orchestra with open arms: Wednesday, July 20, 2022; A lot has changed in the 40 or so years since Journey was regularly filling stadiums on tour across America and beyond. Just one of its founding members, lead guitarist Neal Schon, is still with the band. Where Journey once played upwards of 90 concerts annually, its 2022 Freedom tour has about 50 dates. It’s already been 15 years (!) since the band handed over the mic to its talented and energetic lead vocalist Arnel Pineda. But, if anything can be taken away from Journey’s appearance Friday — the opening show in a four-concert limited engagement at Resorts World Theatre — it’s that the band can still flat-out entertain.
After COVID cancellation in 2020, Jonas Brothers at Park MGM worth the wait: Wednesday, June 8, 2022; From the opening chords of their 2019 hit “Sucker,” the JoBros’ first single to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 100, to the concert’s close nearly 90 minutes later, Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas, along with their band, kept the crowd in the 5,200-seat theater singing, dancing and reminiscing.
For Rex Orange County, a chart-topping single is likely a matter of when, not if: Thursday, June 2, 2022; Singer-songwriter Rex Orange County has yet to land a song in the Top 40 of the charts in either his native United Kingdom or the United States. But ask the throng of fans jammed into the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas for his concert Friday about it and their collective answer might be, “Who Cares?”
Teen sensation Olivia Rodrigo, propelled by fans, delivers high-energy concert at the Chelsea: Wednesday, May 25, 2022; From the moment she hit the Chelsea stage, Rodrigo was full of emotion and energy, fueled by the screams of her young admirers, who assisted with the lyrics on most every song in the 75-minute set. The lower balcony of the theater shook as audience members jumped up and down in unison to the more raucous songs on the setlist, including the opener “brutal.”
Doobie Brothers still fired up 50+ years after their founding: Thursday, May 19, 2022; Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood is, figuratively, worlds away from Chateau Liberté — the legendary rock ‘n’ roll bar in the Santa Cruz Mountains where the Doobie Brothers got their start in 1970. Chateau Liberté in those days was the rural ...
30 years later, ‘New Miserable Experience’ still strikes a chord with Gin Blossoms’ fans: Wednesday, May 4, 2022; As part of that touring, the Gin Blossoms made a stopover Saturday at the Backyard Amphitheater at Green Valley Ranch Resort. There, to mark the 30th anniversary of the release “Miserable New Experience,” they played the album in its entirety, from first track to last, to an appreciative all-ages crowd.
Michael Bublé goes beyond the limits in his Resorts World limited engagement: Friday, April 29, 2022; And throughout the nearly 90 minutes he performed Wednesday, Michael Bublé’s voice — backed up by his stellar 36-member orchestra and a trio of background singers— sparkled on hits old and new, written both by him and others.
A lifetime of experiences fuels John Legend’s ‘Love in Las Vegas’ residency at Planet Hollywood: Wednesday, April 27, 2022; Through a mix of video clips, story-telling and song and dance, the fast-paced "Love in Las Vegas" show put all of John Legend’s talents — and much of his biographical history — on display.
In Las Vegas ‘Sob Rock’ tour stop, John Mayer gives his fans the new and the old: Wednesday, March 16, 2022; John Mayer’s tour stop Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was heavy on songs from his newest album, “Sob Rock” — more than a third of the tunes he performed were from the 2021 release.
Age, lack of recent hits, don’t diminish Billy Joel in Las Vegas appearance at Allegiant Stadium: Wednesday, March 2, 2022; Joel, 72, who continues to maintain a healthy touring schedule, was making his first appearance in Las Vegas since 2016 and, of course, his first visit to Allegiant Stadium.
Luke Bryan gives audiences an over-the-top ending at his Resorts World residency: Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022; Resorts World Las Vegas, with less than eight months under its belt as the newest venue on the Las Vegas Strip, is becoming known for the eye-popping shows put on by the artists headlining residencies in its 5,000-seat Resorts World Theatre.
‘Katy Perry: Play’ residency at Resorts World takes audiences on a sight and sound adventure: Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022; If you’ve got it in your head that "Katy Perry: Play" is bad, think again. Over the top? Absolutely. Too many hues of orange and pink? Perhaps. Bad? Not a chance.
Reba, Brooks & Dunn’s run at Caesars ending too soon: Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021; If “Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas” residency indeed rides into the sunset after this week’s two shows, the artists should be able to look back on their Caesars Palace run knowing they’ve made country music history in Sin City.
Foo Fighters rock on long into the night at 'the house of Gaga': Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021; The Foo Fighters — the band that Dave Grohl formed more than a quarter century ago — were at the Dolby Live Theater at Park MGM for the first of two shows this weekend. And if the Foo Fighters hold to form, tonight's show will be every bit as long, every bit as loud and every bit as entertaining as Thursday's concert.
On opening night of Carrie Underwood’s residency, a spectacle for the eyes and ears: Friday, Dec. 3, 2021; The 90-minute show featured Carrie Underwood’s seven-person band, a cast of dancers, a host of aerialists and acrobats, dazzling stage sets and, of course, the headliner.
Rolling Stones’ ‘No Filter’ stop brings kinetic energy to Vegas: Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021; This wasn’t your father’s Rolling Stones concert Saturday at Allegiant Stadium. Heck, it wasn’t your father’s father’s Rolling Stones concert. But it was pretty close.
Old Dominion gets up close and personal in Chelsea shows: Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021; Old Dominion rolled into Las Vegas for a couple of concerts over the weekend, rolled out no doubt leaving fans impressed not only with their hits but with the band members’ knack for writing No. 1 songs for other artists. The contemporary country music band played shows Friday and Saturday nights to full houses at The Chelsea …
Alanis Morissette’s T-Mobile concert boils down to: ‘Everything is just fine, fine, fine’: Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021; Morissette captivated throughout a setlist that paid homage to “Jagged Little Pill” — the first five songs she sang — including the megahits “Hand in My Pocket” and “You Learn” — were from the album. The night, however, also included …
All joking aside, Michael Bublé and his orchestra present an entertaining evening: Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021; Backed by a 34-member big band orchestra, Bublé delivered what the audience came to see. Especially moving was his Nat King Cole-like rendition of Jeri Southern’s 1952 hit, “When I Fall in Love,” “Forever Now,” inspired by …
In resumption of residency at Caesars, Keith Urban lets his guitar speak the loudest: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021; From crisp riffs to full-blown guitar solos, Urban’s mastery of the instrument was on display Friday throughout the hour and 40 minutes he was onstage, especially on his renditions of “God Whispered Your Name” from his latest studio album, “The Speed of Now, Part I,” “Take Me Home,” his hit with Pink, and his Grammy-winning “…