wendover rocks

Nevada-Utah border town attracts big-name acts to its intimate Peppermill Concert Hall.

By NEVADA MAGAZINE | May/June 2011

Photo: PR

Nevada is home to a wide variety of entertainment venues. Some are designed to meet the needs of a single resident show—“O” Theatre at the Bellagio in Las Vegas is custom-made for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name. Others are built to host a wide variety of events—the Reno Events Center is home to the Reno Bighorns NBA D-League basketball team but also features music, comedy, and even dance performances. Some complexes are created, it seems, expressly to cater to showgoers and provide them with the experience of a lifetime.

The Peppermill Concert Hall in West Wendover falls into the third category, built with its audience in mind. “There’s not a bad seat in the house,” says Peppermill Marketing Director John Spillman. And he’s right. The 1,000-seat venue is as intimate as many theaters only a fraction its size, and every section, from the front row to the back of the room, feels like you could reach out and touch the stage.

Since the $21-million hall opened in July 2006, it has been a major draw to and has helped boost the economy of West Wendover. Spillman says in addition to attracting more tourists from the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area about 120 miles east on Interstate 80, the concert hall appeals to showgoers from northeastern Nevada and West Wendover itself. “The town is more lively on days when there is a concert,” he says.

While the venue itself, with its well-appointed lobby and top-of-the-line amenities, is impressive, a great building is just one of the pieces that make the Peppermill Concert Hall such a success. Thanks largely to the efforts and investments of the Peppermill’s three resorts in the city (Montego Bay, Peppermill, and Rainbow), Spillman says the Wendover Airport is Utah’s second busiest behind Salt Lake City, making it easier for tourists—and top-name performers—to reach the Nevada-Utah border town.

The concert hall has been nominated Casino Venue of the Year by the Academy of Country Music for three consecutive years since 2009 and has played host to such acts as Boston, The Guess Who, Lee Ann Rimes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, The Oak Ridge Boys, REO Speedwagon, and Willie Nelson, to name a few. Although not open to the public, a wall backstage bears the signatures, logos, and other artwork from these big-name acts.

CONTACT

Peppermill Concert Hall
680 Wendover Blvd., West Wendover
wendoverfun.com/concerthall
800-217-0049