As far as the inaugural Life Is Beautiful festival is concerned, there’s either “Festival Glory” or “The Rest Of The World” and trust us, you’ll want to be part of the former. From October 26 to 27, a slice of Las Vegas will turn into a melting pot of music, food, the arts, and even education for one incredibly authentic experience.
Kings of Leon are among the headliners at this year’s Life Is Beautiful.
EaterLA has compared it to Brooklyn’s Great GoogaMooga Fest and the Hail Mary of California music festivals, Coachella, yet it’s becoming more clear that Life Is Beautiful is breaking the status quo and in a category all its own. You can rock out to headliners The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Beck, grub on gourmet a la carte dishes in the “Culinary Village” and sip craft brews in “Alchemy Garden”, catch a theatrical performance with Mystere, and still meet the cast of “The Buried Life”. Did we mention this is all at one venue?
“You can’t create a bigger version of what already exists,” says Life Is Beautiful founder Rehan Choudhry. “You have to create something that’s truly new and dynamic…You have to be able to look at somebody and say, ‘What we’re creating you can’t get on a normal Saturday night on the Strip’.” Breaking new ground while keeping locals in mind is at the core of the festival’s concept, which is estimated to draw between 20,000 and 30,000 people per day.
Whether its food, music, or soaking up entrepreneurial spirit that you’re most passionate about, the line-ups are equally impressive. Imagine Dragons, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, and Janelle Monae are just a few of the names who will be performing across five music stages. Bellagio’s Michael Mina, Caesars Palace’s Payard, and Mandalay Bay’s RM Seafood will be among the 50 restaurants and chefs featured, in addition to live demonstrations and a selection of food-focused parties, like flight tastings and “culinary crawls”.
As if that’s not enough to keep you full and satisfied, meet the CEO/co-founder of Skillshare, Michael Karnjanaprakorn; Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh; Jason Lester, a Nike ultra-endurance athlete, author, and winner of ESPN’s ESPY Award for “Best Male Athlete”; and Miki Agrawal, named 2013’s Forbes’ “Top 20 Millienials On A Mission” and author of Do Cool Sh*t which, as far as we’re concerned, could be the name of the festival altogether.
Life Is Beautiful, Downtown Las Vegas, October 26 & 27; General admission 2-day passes run $159.50 and VIP (additional food, bathrooms, main stage viewing area, and lounge) is $349.50; single day tickets also available.
