Photo: Jeff Kravitz
The Life is Beautiful Festival is back for the third year in a row.
The three-day weekend celebration of music, food, art and education will take over eleven blocks of downtown Las Vegas September 25-27.
The festival’s biggest draw is no doubt the vast and diverse lineup of musical acts. This year’s headliners are Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar and Vegas hometown heroes Imagine Dragons. There’s a few more familiar faces like Weezer, Duran Duran and Snoop Dogg as well as recent hitmakers like Hozier who scored big with “Take Me to Church” and Major Lazer whose “Lean On” is currently all over radio.
The culinary lineup is almost just as eclectic. Among the Las Vegas restaurants represented are Honey Salt, N9NE Steakhouse, Nobu, Hearthstone and Fleur by Hubert Keller. There is really something for everyone; from the casual bar food of Culinary Dropout to Japanese cuisine found at Yellowtail and the all-vegan Vege Nation.
While in between bites and checking out music acts, make sure you stop by The Art Motel. Fifteen vacant motel rooms will be set up as painted exhibitions with sculptures in the courtyard. It follows the festival’s theme of making things better than you found them and putting a neglected downtown motel to good use. 80 percent of the art on display will be from local artists while the remaining 20 percent will be devoted to artists invited from out of town.
Photo: Film Magic
The organizers of the festival also want you to walk away from the event with a little more knowledge when it’s all said and done. Each day will offer an array of guest speakers focusing on a specific theme. They include Bill Nye “the Science Guy,” fitness expert Rich Roll, StyleSeat CEO Melody McCloskey and paralympic champion Marlon Shirley.
If that wasn’t enough… there will also be a special presentation from Absinthe, one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on the Vegas Strip. The production is rowdy and raunchy and will offer something unique for Life is Beautiful. Call (702)-472-9714 to book your private jet charter.