Desert Companion

A word keeps coming up in conversations about the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus: love. It’s implied by the six guiding principles of the group, founded in 1993: community, harmony, opportunity, respect, unity, and service.⁠
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The chorus’ concerts are full of energy and effervescence — but are also emotionally powerful. “You’re going to walk away feeling something. The love is palpable,” LVMC Artistic Director Ryan Duff says. In his 13 years as AD, Duff has cultivated the organization’s growth from about 10 members to more than 100.⁠
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He’s proud that the LVMC “takes people as they are.” The group walks the walk in inclusivity, fostering an environment where everyone is welcome, from those who have autism to the unhoused to those coming to terms with their authentic selves. Members range from present and former Strip performers to people with quality voices who just love to sing. Over his time, Duff has witnessed an organizational sea change. “For the longest time, (LVMC) struggled with an identity crisis in this entertainment-saturated city,” he says. There was also a problem with Vegas’ transience — people would join, then move on.⁠
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Today, he says, the major problem is that LVMC has outgrown most of the performance spaces available to it. UNLV’s Ham Concert Hall and The Smith Center are two of the few places that can accommodate 100 performers onstage.⁠
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His dream is twofold: their own rehearsal space and an organizational budget allowing him to transition to full time and hire an executive director. The board of directors is working on these challenges.⁠
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✍️ Janis Hashe⁠
📸 Courtesy Las Vegas Men's Chorus
🔗 Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/4rjuw4f8

It’s early evening on a crisp fall Friday night in the Carson Valley, and the patio is already buzzing at Nevada’s oldest saloon, Genoa Bar.

Deeply rooted at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, less than an hour from Reno, the bar and its red brick building opened in 1853, two years after Genoa was founded. A fire destroyed many of the small town’s buildings in 1910, but the bar on the cozy corner of Main and Mill streets continued thriving.

Beyond the front door, booze is flowing, barstools are full, and history hangs like smoke in the air. Walls are slathered in 19th-century paintings and ephemera, the ceiling is stained with ketchup, and iconic s*x symbol Raquel Welch’s bra dangles from the right antler of a mounted deer head.

The bar has hosted famous folks, including Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Rob Lowe, and every inch of the room tells a story.

✍️ Aleza Freeman
📸 Courtesy Travel Nevada
🔗 Read the full story in Desert Companion's newest photo issue or visit

Going from boom to bust in about a century might be a tall ask for some places. But not Goldfield, a “living ghost town” just three hours north of Las Vegas.

Now a burg of about 225 residents, it used to be among the most prosperous towns in Nevada, vying for prominence with the state’s capital. A stock exchange, a hospital, three newspapers, a major railroad, and the “finest hotel between San Francisco and Denver” served some 20-30,000 people at the town’s height.

A series of unfortunate events, bad breaks, and poorly parked dynamite cars slowly eroded the town’s population and prestige over the century-plus between the first gold strike and where it sits today. If you’re looking to speedrun your own ghost town creation, we have five tricks to get you started.

✍️ Anne Davis
🎨 Ryan Vellinga
🔗 Learn how to get your ghost town going in five easy steps: https://tinyurl.com/839dp4t5