The sold-out 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival may be over, but the memories created there will last a lifetime. The iHeartRadio Music Festival stage is the biggest multi-genre music event anywhere, and this years’ lineup was absolutely jaw-dropping. With its quarter of a billion monthly listeners, the iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group has a greater reach than any other media company in the U.S, and it felt like every one of them showed up to Las Vegas for what many are hailing as the music festival of the year.

Held every September and now in its’ twelfth year, no other live event manages to capture nearly every genre of popular music, from rap to country, rock and roll to dance, electronic to soul, and more. The iHeartRadio Music Festival has truly become a staple in the music world, and is responsible for so many “firsts,” it’s impossible to keep track.

“We’re thrilled to once again return to Las Vegas for a weekend full of great live music with this year’s Festival,” said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia. “What makes this festival one-of-a-kind is that we have the best artists from every genre of music that we play on our 860 iHeart stations all on one stage. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see so many legends performing together.”

Hosted by TV legend, Ryan Seacrest, the epic two-day lineup for the iHeartRadio Music Festival main stage featured performances from Avril Lavigne, Black Eyed Peas, Halsey, Lionel Richie, LL COOL J feat. DJ Z-Trip, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Megan Thee Stallion, Morgan Wallen, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Marcus Mumford, Pitbull, DJ Diplo, Sam Smith, The Black Keys, Kim Petras, Bryson Till, King Combs, and more.

“This is the one music festival that celebrates the best in class in all genres of music,” said John Sykes, President of Entertainment Enterprises for iHeartMedia. “Fans love this weekend because they discover new artists, and the artists leave with new fans.” 

Maintaining order throughout the sets of dozens of megastars, across multiple stages and venues is no easy feat. Organizers managed to pull it off in a near seamless fashion, making extremely quick work between sets, ensuring audiences had an incredible time.

Each artist performs for approximately 25-minutes, which means every set is filled to the brim with back-to-back hits. The energy from every performance was electric, and the fans, packed wall-to-wall in the T-Mobile Arena were giving everything they had to their favorite artists and performers.

Even the Daytime Village Stage, held for the second year at one of Las Vegas’ most spectacular entertainment districts, AREA15, was a veritable “who’s who” in music, spread across multiple genres.

Daytime Stage stars are the main stage headliners of tomorrow, and every act on the main stage would likely headline other genre-specific festivals. On many occasions, iHeart sets have sparked huge musical comebacks or reunion tours, that may have never happened otherwise. “I recall how impactful it was when Backstreet Boys played with Florida Georgia Line, or when Queen reunited for the first time [in years] on our stage,” says Tom Poleman, chief programming officer. “Backstreet Boys didn’t realize what would happen after that, which was a massive tour and a Las Vegas residency.”

Celebrity presenters for the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival included Alexis Mateo and Coco Montrese from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ben Higgins, Bethany Joy Lenz, Drew Sidora, Dixie D’Amelio, Hayley Kiyoko, Hilarie Burton, JAX, Jennie Garth, Kristin Cavallari, Kyle Richards, Lance Bass, Leslie Jones, Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph from Abbott Elementary, Sophia Bush, Teddi Mellencamp, The Miz, and Tori Spelling.

Celebrity attendees include Ashley Reyes from The CW’s Walker, Bob Guiney, urban pop newcomer YNG Zuck, Glee’s Kevin McHale, Matt Barr from The CW’s Walker Independence, Meghan King, Michelle Young, Rachel Recchia, Rider Strong, Scott Patterson, Victoria Fuller, and Will Friedle. Christy Carlson Romano, Genevieve Parisi, Jason Tartick, Jenna Ushkowitz, Katherine McNamara from The CW’s Walker Independence, and many, many more.

Each night, the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival broadcasted live for fans via iHeartMedia radio stations throughout the country across more than 150 markets, on iHeartRadio.com and on the iHeartRadio app. In addition, The CW will exclusively livestreamed both nights of the festival via The CW app and CWTV.com.

Immediately following both nights of the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the official Post Show Presented by M&M’s aired live on iHeartRadio’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hosted by Maxwell & Crystal Rosas of Z100 New York, they covered the biggest moments of each night. Fans who were not in attendance can scroll through #iHeartFestival2022 to see tweets and retweets from fans as well as artists and Festival presenters.

For fans that missed all the action, the CW Network will broadcast a two-night television special on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT.

Anyone who attended this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival was able to snag one of the thousands of exclusive NFT’s given away by iHeartRadio and Capital One. Fans on site were able to enter by scanning a QR code for a chance to redeem an NFT, with 1,000 available each night. Additionally, one lucky winner who successfully redeemed one of these exclusive NFT’s also received one of three VIP flyaway trips to a 2022 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Show, iHeartRadio ALTer Ego 2023 and iHeartCountry Festival 2023.

As an extra special treat, Capital One cardholders also had special access to presale tickets for both the iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Daytime Stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, and also had the option to add a Capital One Access Pass when purchasing presale tickets, which included special access to a private soundcheck performance by Avril Lavigne, plus complimentary food, drinks and more.

About AREA15 Las Vegas

AREA15, located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, represents the world’s first purpose-built immersive entertainment district offering live events, distinctive attractions, interactive art installations, extraordinary design elements, unique retail, ground-breaking technology, bars and eateries and much more. AREA15’s curated mix of dynamic destinations—including Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart, Lost Spirits Distillery, Wink World: Portals Into the Infinite, Museum Fiasco, Virtualis VR, Emporium Arcade Bar and many more—represents what’s next in the experiential marketplace. With a robust, ever-changing roster of concert events, art exhibitions, out-of-this-world nightlife, and boundary-pushing production shows, AREA15 attracts visitors of all ages.

AREA15 has received numerous accolades, including being named “Best Immersive Art Experience” by USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards, one of “The 10 Most Innovative Urban Development and Real Estate Companies of 2020” by Fast Company, “Reader’s Choice—Best Attraction” by Las Vegas Weekly, “Best Arts Hub” by Vegas Magazine, claiming the No. 1 spot in Blooloop’s “World’s Top 11 Immersive Art Experiences” and being included in Las Vegas Magazine’s Hall of Fame.