City Winery & Elon Musk Announce (On April 1) ‘The Barrel X’ In Las Vegas

City Winery founder Michael Dorf, a known jokester and mensch, today (April 1), announced his company’s foray into Las Vegas with a dazzling project called “The Barrel,” that, when supposedly completed, will dwarf (or Dorf) Sphere in size, green initiatives and tech wizardry according to an odd press release.

“Imagine if Elon wanted to build the ideal concert venue that was acoustically perfect, incorporated the ultimate in hospitality and modern wine distribution, and was beyond 100% carbon neutral, but put more energy back into the grid – well, this is what we are announcing today,” City Winery’s Dorf said in a statement. 

Guests, the release said, will begin their visit to The Barrel before even leaving Las Vegas International Airport where they will be invited to Terminal X, the new transportation hub that is connected to a series of tunnels to support the all-electric, zero-emissions VIP transportation system. 

Each mini-bus resembles a barrel shape and holds eight people comfortably for their 75-second ride directly to The Barrel. There they are greeted in the VIP lobby and escorted to one of more than 150 vertical tunnels that resemble an elevator to their seat. 

The Barrel is twice the size of the recently opened Sphere with 35,000 seats, has three times the number of high-resolution screens, and four times as many speakers designed by Meyer Sound and is already five times over budget, Pollstar has learned. 

Remarkably, when seated, one feels as if every seat is in the front row. While the electrical consumption of the venue is approximately 45 kilowatt hours per month, the new Tesla Solar Panels on the exterior, disguised as real wood, will generate 150 kilowatt hours per month, putting more electric back into the grid. The Tesla Garage next door offers free power to any of the 3,000 spaces reserved for concertgoers. No gasoline-powered cars are allowed in the exclusive garage. 

In a scientific breakthrough in the City Winery labs along with the Boring Company’s micro tube division, the venue will unveil a giant tap wine, beer and tequila infrastructure providing taps at every seat. 

Using the “MytapApp” one simply orders their glass and from a system of more than 180 miles of quarter-inch, food-grade tubes and perfect pours arrives instantly. Using a system that cleans while sending argon gas “micro-barrels” to push the beverages, there is zero transmission loss in the lines from a central refrigeration hub. 

Under the Barrel X, there is a 100,000-square-foot cellar where the actual barrels are stored and moved into pressurized stainless steel. Under the cellar is a 100,000-square-foot winery and distribution center. The beer is a collaboration with the Las Vegas Brewing Company and the Tequila is in red wine barrels in a partnership with Calirosa.

In the announcement today, Dorf stated, “Some might say it’s foolish, but this new venue certainly takes the concert and hospitality industry into the 22nd century, it is by no means in disrespect to the newly opened Sphere in Las Vegas. I recently saw U2 there and it was a remarkable, next-level experience and I applaud Jim Dolan and the entire MSG team.” 

But Dorf and Musk are trying to do something different with The Barrel. While already over budget at press time, the team is hoping to make up some of the deficit with electric donations. The Tesla parking garage will include an opportunity for fans to donate some power from their cars back to the grid in a program called “Philanthrotricity.” Details of this program are still to be announced. 

Set to open The Barrel with dates in 2025 is a special tribute to Crosby, Stills, and Nash featuring an unprecedented trio of voices of Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Jeff Tweedy. Special surprise guest Neil Young is confirmed for the opening week. Ticketing will be fully dynamic fan generated market level blockchain NFT’s and are on-sale today at TheBarrelLasVegas.com. Tickets for the opening week are already trading at $30,000 each.