All About Life Is Beautiful Festival

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Open-air

XXL – 50k+

Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop

$$$

International, Live music

+ 3 Days

Life Is Beautiful is more than just a festival – it’s an extravagant celebration of music, art, and creativity.

The festival was first held in 2013. It was founded by Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of footwear brand Zappos. The three-day annual festival is held in the third week of September.

Thanks to its diverse music repertoire, the event has attracted thousands of festival-goers and become one of the world’s highest-grossing festivals.

Besides music, the festival also offers a variety of art, comedy, and culinary experiences to keep the party going beyond the beats.

Here’s everything you need to know about Life Is Beautiful.

The first Life Is Beautiful festival was held in 2013

The very first Life Is Beautiful Festival was first held in 2013. Founded by Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ former CEO, the event managed to attract 60,000 visitors over the course of two days.

Although back then Life is Beautiful was a rookie in the live music industry, the festival was anything but shy about scoring acts.

Taking place across two main stages and three smaller stages, its inaugural headliners featured The Killers and Kings of Leon, two of the biggest names in the rock music realm.

But the multi-genre ethos was present from day one. Hip-hop artist Childish Gambino and musical duo Twenty One Pilots were also part of the picture.

The festival focuses on revitalizing downtown Las Vegas

Life Is Beautiful is more than just a live music festival. The first edition aimed to put Downtown Las Vegas, a historically underprivileged district, under a positive light. 

Besides bringing internationally-acclaimed performers, the festival invites the area’s musicians, chefs, comedians, and artists to bring more exposure to the local community.

Thanks to the initiative, Life Is Beautiful managed to contribute with over $350 million in economic impact and cultural capital.

Today, the festival delivers a holistic experience to uplift its community by creating shared experiences through the art and culture.

Festival-goers can participate in immersive art sessions

One of Life Is Beautiful’s purposes is to become a key player in the beautification of downtown Las Vegas. To achieve this, the festival transformed the streets into an open art museum.

The festival invites local, national, and international artists to turn the downtown area into a global art experience.

From bright and colorful murals created by Criola and Amy Sol, to thought-provoking art installations by Strider Patton and Mila May, not only does the festival have the best Insta-worthy backgrounds, but it also sheds light on artistic talent.

Festival-goers can also be a part of the art community. Immersive art installations like the BACARDÍ® Art Motel allows Life Is Beautiful’s visitors to directly be among the bright and vibrant art pieces.

Life Is Beautiful Festival celebrates local culinary talents

Live music festivals can sometimes get a bad rep for their unimpressive food options, but that’s not the case at Life Is Beautiful.

Since festival food is an integral part of your music experience, the event features everything from humble food trucks to fine dining.

As Life is Beautiful celebrates the local food scene, you can expect world-class cuisine, cocktails from 70 eateries, and top-rated mixologists.

To explore more gastronomical experiences, don’t miss out on their Culinary Villages.

With 50 acclaimed restaurants ranging from Soulbelly BBQ to Eataly, the foodie paradise is a feast for your senses.

You can dance to local DJs’ tune at Ferguson’s Downtown Stage

Looking for the hottest DJs around? Head down to Ferguson’s Downtown Stage at Life Is Beautiful. Bringing the best DJ collectives from all over Las Vegas, you can dance the evening away while listening to budding talents.

Previous DJ line-ups include Layton Giordani, a prominent tastemaker in the techno scene, and Mija, a DJ who made headlines in 2014 after playing with Skrillex.

With numerous DJs taking over the stages with their mixing skills, you can expect nothing but the best sonic experiences.

There are stand up comedy shows at the Life Is Beautiful Festival 

Life Is Beautiful attendees have the chance to explore a pool of aspiring and established comedians and pop culture stars.

WIth the festival’s annual Kicker Comedy experience, audiences get to watch comedians take the stage and cause some real slapstick.

Previous comedians include Pete Davidson, Fred Armisen, and Chris Redd – the top three familiar faces of SNL.

Joining the gang are major pop culture icons like Trixie Mattel from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Silicon Valley’s Jimmy O. Yang.

The festival takes pride with House of Yes

House of Yes is a Brooklyn-based collective and nightclub that is big on the ideas of self-expression and positivity – core values that have been a part of Life Is Beautiful.

Showcasing unforgettable performances, dance parties, and parades, the return of House of Yes at the festival encourages queer attendees to take pride in their own authenticity.

The collective brings the rainbow-striped magic to by hosting a special Pride Parade for attendees to join. This is followed by an all-night dance party, playing the finest selection of funk, house, disco, and throwback hits.

Whether you’d like to celebrate pride along LGBT+ members or you’re simply a huge fan of drag shows and burlesque performances, those queer event are worth checking.

Visitors can enjoy the ultimate VIP experience

Like any other festival, Life Is Beautiful has a few tiered tickets that you can purchase based on your budget. These tickets include General Admission, VIP, VIP+, All-In, and Suites.

The General Admission ticket will get you access to all four stages, culinary villages, art experiences, and everything in between on the festival grounds. But if you want exclusive A-list treatment, you can go for the VIP package, which gives you spacious lounge areas, awesome stage viewing, air-conditioned restrooms, and more.

Or you can elevate your VIP experience with VIP+, providing you with the best viewing at select stages, exclusive culinary experiences, complimentary beverages, and beyond.

If you’re big into Artist Hospitality treatment, we’d recommend All-In and Suites. These two packages ensure that you receive a comfortable hospitality experience so you have an enjoyable time being at Life Is Beautiful. 

Life Is Beautiful festival features the biggest names in music

Since its inception in 2013, Life Is Beautiful has been consistent in inviting the best of the best in the music industry. So far, the event has managed to play host to over 600 artists and attracted more than 1 million fans.

Catering to different audiences, the festival invites artists of all genres, namely hip-hop, experimental rock, indie rock, pop, EDM, and alternative rock.

In their previous lineups, Life Is Beautiful Festival served as a playground for major industry names like Arctic Monkeys, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Skrillex, and more.

Complete with a state-of-the-art sound system and electrifying lighting, the festival’s extensive lineup will have you dancing and singing all night long.