The band's name is Acoustic Soul, but think of them more as a live jukebox.
An audience member will walk up to request a tune after perusing the song menu cards the group passes out at gigs. The menu cards list about 400 songs. But Acoustic Soul can actually play about 1,000, so stump-the-band is just part of the fun.
The 20-something-year-old members hail from the Summerlin area and include founder Hal Savar on rhythm guitar and cow bell, Jeremiah Vaught on acoustic guitar and rock recorder, Karl Henricksen on lead guitar and harmonica, Paul Campanella on drums and Mike Elersic on bass. Lanis Hughes, a drummer for Rick James, substitutes as needed.
Besides their standing Saturday night gig at The Auld Dubliner at Lake Las Vegas, the group also regularly performs at McMullan's Irish Pub, 4650 W. Tropicana Ave.
"But we really only do, like, five Irish songs," Savar said.
It took about a year for the band to break into the popular Irish spot at Lake Las Vegas. The bar had a regular house band, so management kept putting off making changes. Finally, Acoustic Soul was given a shot.
"They were a success from that very first gig and have been playing at the pub ever since," said pub owner Brian McMullan. "They are terrific."
Another regular gig for Acoustic Soul is at Cabo Charlie's Casino, 2605 S. Decatur Blvd.
At the local pubs, the majority of the audience is made up of residents, but sometimes tourists who have heard of the band will attend performances.
"We don't have an entourage really," Henricksen said. "We set up all our own equipment and for the most part do everything for ourselves."
Savar, a native of Boston, pulled the band together after trying to make it as a solo artist in Las Vegas, performing his own songs. He appeared at the Palms, Green Valley Ranch and the House of Blues.
But it was the classic starving artist scenario.
When he saw performances by area cover bands, he said he saw "a lot of shiny shirts and people dancing to watered down music." He wandered into a dueling piano bar in New York-New York and was amazed at the difference.
"I thought, 'Why couldn't you do that with a band?' " he said.
The new band he formed played little venues at first, then broke into places like Mickey Finn's and Henessey's, both on Fremont Street, at Harrah's Carnical Court and O'Shea's on the Strip.
One of the band's trademarks is that it doesn't take a break for its four-hour stint.
Savar said that although Lake Las Vegas might be out of the way for some people, the band draws a good number of residents. Savar said it's because locals feel like they're on vacation.
"It's a whole different vibe than the city," Vaught said. "So people are already out there. We just keep them there longer."
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