The Low Down On Life Is Beautiful Festival
The second annual Life Is Beautiful festival is kicking off this weekend on Friday, Oct. 24. This year’s event is all about inspiring people to recognize the beauty in life – wherever they are in their personal lives – it is about embracing life, finding happiness and seeing the world from a different lens. To achieve this, the creator of Life is Beautiful enlisted local Las Vegas chefs to inspire patron’s palettes, a bounty of musicians to inspire the soul and they’ve grouped together world-renowned artists to invoke the heart and mind with unifying artistic themes.
Grills & Guitars – Thursday, Oct. 23
While this portion isn’t actually part of the ticketed event, it is the un-official kickoff to the next three day’s festivities. It’s called Grills & Guitars and it all begins at 7 p.m. at the Gold Spike (217 Las Vegas Blvd. North). It is an infusion of music from Vintage Trouble, Sleeper Agent and the All-Togethers with a “twist on the traditional backyard barbeque.”
There will be wine, specialty cocktails and craft beers as well as an amazing offering of cuisine from the following folks at Blue Ribbon inside the Brooklyn Bowl, Sage at Aria, Buddy V’s and many more. We highly recommend that you try the following items, which will be on the menu if you go tonight: Grilled Spanish Octopus with Squash Caponatta and Crab Grits, Pickle Fries and the Rotisserie Tandoorie Suckling Pig.
Don’t worry, if that doesn’t float your boat, there will be plenty more, but just note, anything from Blue Ribbon is probably going to be finger licking good. Let’s just say we’re already starving for this event and it’s the perfect way to kick off three additional days of eating like it’s Thanksgiving.
Food
There is a plethora of food vendors to choose all ranging from food truck style grub to Indian cuisine and filet mignon sandwiches. A couple of items of note that we’re eyeballing include the Hash House A Go Go Mashed Potato Bacon Burger, the Sausage Tornado from Potato Tornado that is a quarter pound sausage cooked either Polish, Cajun or Hawaiian style inside of a spiral cut potato and deep fried, as well as Bacon Mac N Cheese Balls with chipotle ranch dip. Those are just a few of the more unique items that you’ll find this weekend among the 65-plus vendors on site.
Art
If you’re hoping to be inspired artistically this weekend, then there’s no better place to see international and national artists who will be hosting multiple art projects including Street Art. This year, Charlotte Dutoit from Justkids curated the Street Art program and artists will be “transforming the festival landscape into a magical art-inspired playground.” With artists ranging from the UK and Spain to Brazil and Denmark, it’s sure to be innovative installations with fresh perspective likely to get your own creative juices flowing. Additionally, several local artists as well as some of the band members will be on site promoting their artwork and educating the public on various issues.
Friday, Oct. 24
The first day of the festival is jam-packed just like the second and third, so don’t wear yourself out and end up in the hotel room by the third day with a massive hangover or belly ache, remember, this fest is to inspire you not make you wish you’d never had that last drink. With that said, it is Vegas and this is one of the top festivals you can enjoy, so do live it up a little. Just remember it’s all about pacing yourself so you make it all the way through the fantastic three-day lineup.
The main headliner for the music portion is Kayne West at 10:35 on the main Downtown Stage. Other music headliners on this day include The Weekend, Panic! At The Disco, Girl Talk, The Head and The Heart, Phantogram, Jenny Lewis, Neon Trees, Baauer, Holy Ghost!, Switchfoot and Rac. Now, these aren’t the only bands playing you still have the following bands to check out which can be found here.
Saturday, Oct. 25
The music portion of the festival doesn’t start until 2 p.m. today, so you’ll have plenty of time to have a little hair of the dog and grab some grub like Oh-Faced Donuts, which are a local and completely delectable donut shop. Head over to the Downtown Stage at 2 p.m. to see The Preatures or you can go to the Imagine This session featuring Gaem of Thrones at the Learning at Western Stage. Either way be ready to get your shake on with Outkast at 10:45 p.m. on the main stage. Other headliners include Lionel Richi, The Flaming Lips, The Roots, Alt-J, TV On The Radio, Fitz & The Tantrums, Matt & Kim, G-Eazy, Kimbra, Ok-Go, Tycho, MS MR and DJ Mustard. Or catch other bands on the smaller stages including J. Roddy Walston & The Business, DJ Cassidy, and Misterwives. Check out the full schedule here.
Sunday, Oct. 26
Okay, it’s the big day with the Foo Fighters headlining at 9:45 p.m. on the main Downtown Stage. If electronic dance music (EDM) is more your speed, then head to the Ambassador Stage at 10:15 p.m. for Skrillex. Other headliners include Arctic Monkeys, Broken Bells, Kacey Musgraves, Little Dragon, A-Trak, Mayer Hawthorne, Tune-Yards and St. Paul & The Broken Bones. Check out the full lineup here.
