Kendrick Lamar, surprise Killers set, Halsey and Death Cab for Cutie cap off Life is Beautiful

Kendrick Lamar, surprise Killers set, Halsey and Death Cab for Cutie cap off Life is Beautiful
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 1, 2015

The third-annual Life is Beautiful Festival in downtown Las Vegas saved some of their best tricks for last.

Kendrick Lamar topped off a weekend that included many memorable performances. Perhaps it was perfectly fitting that Kendrick — perhaps the hottest thing in rap today — would close out a festival that is clearly on the up and up in its third year. Kendrick’s live band was fantastic and the rapper brought his A-game.

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Interview with Clean Bandit, who open for Duran Duran at Hollywood Bowl

Interview with Clean Bandit, who open for Duran Duran at Hollywood Bowl
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 1, 2015

UK outfit Clean Bandit opens for Duran Duran on Thursday, October 1 at the Hollywood Bowl, just less than a week after the two appeared Saturday on the Life is Beautiful Festival bill in downtown Las Vegas. Their unique blend of classical and dance music is great to hear, particularly in a live setting. We caught up with Grace Chatto (cello, vocals) and Jack Patterson early Saturday before their set, which was one of the best dance parties of the weekend.

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Duran Duran, Metric, Clean Bandit deliver top Life is Beautiful day two sets

Duran Duran, Metric, Clean Bandit deliver top Life is Beautiful day two sets
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 28, 2015

Day two of Life is Beautiful was the most jam-packed day of the downtown Las Vegas festival schedule-wise. It makes sense. People that drove in from LA or flew in from elsewhere get to enjoy a full day’s worth of music whereas the other two days are sometimes eaten up by traveling to and from home.

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Stevie Wonder, Hozier, Thievery Corporation and more mesmerize day one at Life is Beautiful

Stevie Wonder, Hozier, Thievery Corporation and more mesmerize day one at Life is Beautiful
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 28, 2015

Life is Beautiful was genius to book Stevie Wonder.

The downtown Las Vegas festival — now in its third year — kicked off the first day of their three-day festival with the first legacy headliner they’ve ever booked. It’s those types of acts that will make it stand out and also make it a destination festival rather than something just for the locals.

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6 Early-Day Can't Miss Life is Beautiful Acts

6 Early-Day Can't Miss Life is Beautiful Acts
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 25, 2015

In just its first two years, Las Vegas’ downtown music festival, Life Is Beautiful has served as the proving grounds for a number of acts that have gone on to mainstream success in the time since. In its first year in 2013, acts like HAIM, ZZ Ward, Charli XCX, Twenty-one Pilots and Robert DeLong delivered memorable early-day performances. Last year, it was The Orwells, The Preatures, Catfish & the Bottlemen, MO, and Milky Chance who got early-day starts.

This year, the festival starts later in the day and runs until later in the night, probably due to it moving from October to the much warmer September dates. Here are our recommendations on who to see once you get through the gates.

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Life is Beautiful day one capped by -- what else -- a Kanye rant

Life is Beautiful day one capped by -- what else -- a Kanye rant
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 25, 2014


Downtown Las Vegas’ second-year music festival Life is Beautiful kicked off Friday capped by a typically awesome and rant-filled Kanye West set.

Now three days after being just two in its inaugural year, the festival has grown in more than just length of time. The festival grounds felt like they have doubled in size and there was a much larger international contingency than last year as well. Two British gals from London told me they came out to Vegas specifically to see Kanye.

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An interview with Craig Nyman: Get to know Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas

An interview with Craig Nyman: Get to know Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 9, 2014


Last October, Las Vegas played host to the inaugural Life is Beautiful Festival — a two-day fiesta of music, art, food, and learning that took place on the city streets of the rejuvenated downtown Strip. The festival was such a success that this year’s festival has been expanded to include a third day and will take place Oct. 24 through Oct. 26, headlined by Kanye West, Foo Fighters, and Outkast.

This has made extra work for Craig Nyman, the Head of Music and Live Performances for Life is Beautiful, who is tasked with putting together the music lineup along with Another Planet Entertainment for the unique and up-and-coming festival. After talking to Nyman for this feature, it became clear immediately that the additional workload was exciting rather than stressful.

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Ten Favorite Sets of 2013 - Part One

Ten Favorite Sets of 2013 - Part One
Mark E. Ortega
December 18, 2013

In 2013, I had the opportunity and privilege to attend over a dozen concerts, including a two-day inaugural Las Vegas music festival where I saw about two dozen acts. It's the most amount of live music I've ever experienced in one calendar year and it gave me enough of a sample size to decide what my favorites were. With that in mind, I compiled a list of my ten favorite sets of 2013, starting with a few honorable mentions that didn't quite make the cut but were still worthy to discuss. The honorable mentions is where we will begin, and in separate posts, I'll go over the top ten in the coming days.