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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Kendrick Lamar tops Bonnaroo highlights, freestyles with Chance the Rapper during Earth, Wind & Fire

Kendrick tops Bonnaroo highlights, freestyles with Chance the Rapper during Earth, Wind & Fire
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
June 15, 2015

Of all the festivals I’ve traveled to the past few months, I felt least prepared for Bonnaroo. Flying in from LA I could only bring a small one-person tent and carry-on bag but I lucked into camping with people a bit more prepared.

We got into the line of cars to pull into the campgrounds at 4 am Thursday morning and didn’t park until close to 10:30 am. Despite that and no sleep, I rallied to see some awesome stuff the first night as well as a jam-packed Friday.

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Sasquatch! 2015 Roundup - the good, the bad and the surprising

Sasquatch! 2015 Roundup - the good, the bad and the surprising
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 26, 2015

This past Memorial Day Weekend, I flew from Los Angeles to Seattle for my first ever Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge. I found a ride and camp mates via a ride-sharing site and arrived Thursday mid-afternoon, with the music kicking off Friday and extending all the way through the Monday holiday. It was my first four-day festival experience.

What made Sasquatch stand out from the rest of the festivals I’ve been to? It’s pretty much ONLY camping. It’s loads different from my previous music festival camping experiences at Coachella the past two years.

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Ab-Soul pays fellow TDE performer Kendrick Lamar respect at Coachella

Ab-Soul pays fellow TDE performer Kendrick Lamar respect at Coachella
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 11, 2015


Top Dawg Entertainment’s Ab-Soul performed Friday night in the Gobi tent — and he did a little tribute to fellow TDE member Kendrick Lamar in his set.

Ab-Soul performed Kendrick’s “King Kunta” from his recently-released and highly-acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly, showing that TDE are all ride or die together.

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