• Local, State and Nat'l News

Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival Day 1 Recap: Friday, Sept. 23

Life certainly felt beautiful as day one came to a close at the Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival in Downtown Las Vegas. Positive vibes filled the air while the energy was electric, as all the senses were transfixed by the music, art, ideas and tastes (Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival). 

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

The three-day adventure kicked off with Life is Beautiful creators meeting with Mayor Goodman and Yellow Bird from Mystère by Cirque du Soleil at the neon Life is Beautiful playground to celebrate the fourth year of the festival in Downtown Las Vegas.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Located in the Northwest corridor of the festival grid, the Downtown Stage was the go-to spot to witness the major headliners of the evening. Set against the skyline of Downtown Las Vegas, guests enjoyed remarkable sets by Bloc Party, Tegan & Sara, The Shins – for their only U.S. tour date – and Mumford & Sons.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Those looking for an electric experience found exactly that at the Troubadour Stage with performances by fan favorites including Galantis and Zhu. Organized by Insomniac, this stage features more than 10 lasers, 200 lighting fixtures and 590 video tiles hanging from the towering ceiling. The Troubadour Stage pulsed with light and dance music, allowing guests to get lost in a sea of whimsy and bass.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Dallas Green’s City and Colour lit up the night at the Huntridge Stage with his first Las Vegas play since 2013. Following this set, rhythm and blues’ new queen, Kehlani, brought the soul with her performance at the Ambassador Stage.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

G-Eazy closed out the Ambassador Stage to a roaring cheer from fans, while gracing them with a surprise interview with WERD at The Venue Las Vegas.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Cirque du Soleil returned to their roots and graced the streets of Downtown Las Vegas today with their iconic costumes and interactive performances throughout the afternoon and into the evening. All seven Las Vegas resident shows were in attendance, dazzling fans with 30-minute sets of acrobatics and dances interwoven throughout the artistic experience. The memories created by these special interactions were seen in the eyes and faces of all who watched, solidifying the creative mastery of the Life is Beautiful vision.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

As a major pillar of Life is Beautiful, each mural and art installation took onlookers’ breath away, including the a stand-out mural belonging to Felipe Pantone, which blended bold colors, geometric shapes and abstraction, revealing that harmony can be achieved in the most unlikely places.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Additionally, a show-stopping sculpture made of two 18-wheelers, Mike Ross’ Big Rig Jig found its permanent home in Downtown Las Vegas. Catching the eye of everyone who walked past, the bent steel and sheer magnitude of the piece showcased the imagination and innovation present in all of Life is Beautiful’s installations.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Music and art isn’t all Life is Beautiful has to offer. One of the most invigorating pillars of the festival is the IDEAS Series, showcasing great thinkers and stimulating the minds of festival-goers. Two of the stand-out speakers today were Stacey London and Shepard Fairey. Best known for the hit series What Not to Wear, London is one of America’s foremost fashion experts and she took the stage sharing her experiences and wisdom with the crowd, not to mention her sass and style. Founder of the OBEY GIANT art campaign, Fairey shared his innovations in changing the way people see art in the urban landscape.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

For a laugh, ticketholders popped in to The KINDLAND House to enjoy comedy sets between 4 and 8 p.m. Sponsored by Zappos, Sam Tallent hosted the evening and comics like Eddie Pepitone had the crowd bursting with laughter. Pepitone’s show was an exciting combination of calm and chaos, full of social commentary and the occasional aura of self-doubt. He channeled the power of the rant like few others are able and left everyone wanting more.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

For fans who couldn’t make it to the festival, Pandora, the go-to music source for fans and artists alike, live streamed day one and will continue to stream the next two days. Now fans everywhere can have the experience of listening to beautiful music and feel the culture of Life is Beautiful through the audio live stream.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

Photo credit: Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.

To close the evening, Mumford & Sons made their long-awaited return to Las Vegas, performing at the Downtown Stage. They walked out to cheers from the audience, who had been anticipating this moment for five years.

Single day tickets for Saturday and Sunday are still available for purchase on lifeisbeautiful.com.

Comments are closed.