This year’s Life is Beautiful festival was one for the books. My first year, I attended it for the first time as VIP and definitely enjoyed all the amazing amenities that a VIP wristband offers! This year, I was fortunate enough to attend as GA Media and honestly, I had a much better time this year than the year before.
This experience was way more special because I got to attend as media, I got to immerse myself in the crowd and become a part of the music and everyone around me as we sang SG Lewis at the top of our lungs. At the same time, he ripped his guitar – it was actually phenomenal and astonishing, and that was just one performance (albeit the one I was looking the most forward to aside from Disco Lines, Calvin Harris, Gryffin and more). Another reason why this year topped any other year for me? I did it SOLO.
What I Wore
I made plans to go to Life Is Beautiful while I was in the middle of moving states and super last minute, but luckily I could take advantage of iHeartRaves' super speedy festival shipping. I got the cutest outfit to wear when I saw Disco Lines because I fully intended to make a video recap using Baby Girl! When planning my outfits for Life Is Beautiful, I made sure to consider the fact that it was in Vegas, so it was definitely going to be hot. I knew I'd be in the crowd getting sweaty and dancing, and also, different days had different vibes as far as music.
People tend to dress in shorts and dresses and skirts at Life Is Beautiful, ranging from casual to boho to raver to thrifted prom dresses to cowboys and full-on costumes. You just can’t go wrong with whatever you choose to wear as long as you’re comfortable and it makes you happy! For my Daisy Deluxe outfit day I decided to wear my favorite pair of blinged-out Demonias that I also got from iHR. I knew I would want to shuffle that day, so I packed a pair of tennis shoes that I could get from my car.
The cool thing about going alone was that I wasn’t on anyone else’s timeline but my own. I planned my exits and re-entries out perfectly to do whatever I needed to do in my car—whether it was to snack on something, charge my phone, or change—while still making it back in time to catch every single set I wanted to see.
Getting There
Transportation to and from the festival was easy. I decided to drive to the festival and park in the California Hotel, conveniently located in the arts district a few blocks away from where the festival was taking place. I did decide to check to see how much a Lyft would be from where I was staying, which was about 15 miles away, and during peak times, Lyfts ranged from $26 - $36. Life is Beautiful also offered a shuttle option which was additional to your ticket. I would honestly always just drive. That way, I could come and go as I pleased. It was nice, and it saved me a lot of money that weekend!
The Music
Some of the best and my most favorite sets all weekend were as mentioned before: SG Lewis hailing from the UK put on one of the most stellar performances I'd ever seen, going from ripping his guitar to mixing to singing live and interacting with the crowd – it was amazing. His performance took place at the Freemont Stage which was my absolute favorite stage the entire weekend. My friends used to call it the rave tunnel, and as someone who loves EDM and shuffling, I was drawn back to that stage like a moth to a flame.
Other notable Freemont stage performances included Ship Wrek, who had the entire crowd bouncing, OG’s Walker & Royce with some stunning visuals and deep drops, Kyle Watson. If I start going off about the groovy set that Satin Jackets threw down, we’d be here all day. Suffice it to say that every artist on that lineup truly infused EDM perfectly into the festival and brought the vibes that I know and love more than anything.
However, this wasn’t EDC, and I had much more than EDM to pick from, which I was excited to experience. I’d never seen Palace or Beach House, and I was able to catch both of their sets during the daytime, with a slight Vegas breeze to sway to the sounds of these incredible bands with such distinct indie sounds. Calvin Harris was hands down cathartic. I had been dreaming and dying to see him since he first came on the scene around 2009 with hits like I’m Not Alone and Feel So Close. I couldn’t believe I was standing there singing all of his hits at the top of my lungs, shuffling my legs off. I was so happy and so grateful.
The rap and hip-hop selections were top-tier as well, from Jack Harlow to Isaiah Rashad to Gorillaz, Tai Verdes, Big Boi, and T-Pain. The vibes were immaculate at any stage you went to. One of the coolest stages, in my opinion, was Ferguson’s Downtown, where Disco Lines played. When I got there, there was a line to get in. You walked past the Transformer-looking semi-truck art installation and headed through the grove of trees to what looked like an amphitheater, with giant stairs going up on either side of the stage. The entire place was packed out, and the energy levels were so high they almost had to shut down his set due to noise complaints. From there, I ran over to the Bacardi stage to catch the rest of Gryffin’s set. I’m so happy I did that because I got to see him play Desire live and rip his guitar while doing so. I truly believe every artist that played that weekend outdid themselves, and I cannot wait to see what they curate next year!
The Art
As always, the art installations were astonishing, with incredible work created by Vegas local Pretty Done to majestic lights by LA Based Abram Santa Cruz. You were always 100% immersed in pretty lights, gorgeous visuals, and beautiful people living their best lives. It was a sight for sore eyes, and I truly believe it gets better and better every year. I couldn’t make it to any of the comedy shows this year, unfortunately.
The Food
I could, however, enjoy some Spicy Pie Pizza, Street Kings Latin Fusion, and some amazing Boba that I found when I wandered past the gigantic Praying Mantis and into the Container Park. It's definitely worth doing a little side quest in there! Other fun little side quests? I had to grab a Slurpee from the Slurpee Truck and head into the Silent Disco at the 7-Eleven Brainfreeze Garage! Bacardi always goes to town when it comes to creating some amazing festival experiences, from curating LIB-specific drinks to the Casa Bacardi, where it was straight-up Latin Music and Reggeaton—including Mr. Pepas himself: Farruko!
All in all, it was once again one of the most incredible weekends of my life and I cannot recommend checking out this gorgeous festival when you get the chance! First time? No worries! Check out our blog on How to Plan a Trip To Life is Beautiful! And don’t forget to tag us in your festival outfits @iheartraves for a chance to be featured!
This year’s Life is Beautiful festival was one for the books. My first year, I attended it for the first time as VIP and definitely enjoyed all the amazing amenities that a VIP wristband offers! This year, I was fortunate enough to attend as GA Media and honestly, I had so much of a better time this time than the year before. This experience was way more special because I got to attend as media, I got to truly immerse myself in the crowd and became a part of the music and everyone around me as we sang SG Lewis at the top of our lungs while he ripped his guitar – it was actually phenomenal and astonishing and that was just one performance (albeit the one I was looking the most forward to aside from Disco Lines, Calvin Harris, Gryffin and more). Another reason why this year topped any other year for me? I did it SOLO.
