My eyes were amazed staring up at the El Cortez as it illuminated thousands of festivalgoers flooding the arts district in Las Vegas for Life Is Beautiful Festival—a music festival unlike any I’d been to before, Life is Beautiful spanned 18 blocks of carefully curated art, music, comedy & culinary experiences aimed at reminding its attendees to slow down & enjoy the things we often miss being caught up in day to day life.
After almost a year of being locked inside, the return of festival season brought back all types of different emotions, but mostly complete excitement followed by a giant wave of pre-rave jitters that could only be cured with a really cute fit. Luckily, I was able to take advantage of IHR’s Festival Shipping and copped a really cute two-piece set that I knew I’d be able to shuffle in as well as some cute accessories that got to me just in time!
If you’re anything like me, you like looking cute and being functional, but most importantly you love being comfortable! While it’s true that feeling yourself starts from within, having what you’re wearing not only be seasonally appropriate but also fit with the vibe of the festival just checks off way too many boxes for me to overlook. When planning what to pack for a festival. I usually start off reading fashion tips from our 240 blog & end up watching festival recaps on YouTube to really understand what I'm getting myself into, but I'm also a Leo rising so the extra just comes easily to me!
Believe it or not, figuring out the logistics for the fest was actually the easiest part, considering the fact that all you need to do to figure out accommodations is get a hotel right downtown or on the strip. Staying in the Arts District is mostly ideal because the festival ends and you can go right upstairs vs. having to wait for a Lyft, which actually only took about 15 minutes each night. I was fully expecting to enter EDC traffic chaos with trying to find a way home but that simply wasn’t the case!
If you downloaded the Life is Beautiful app, they basically took care of the thinking for you. They made sure to remind you to download the CLEAR app to facilitate the health screening (you upload your vaccination card & are able to use it at multiple events) and get you your health wristband for the weekend, making the whole process of entering the festival a breeze.
Once inside the festival, it was game time. I’d spent most of the car ride studying their app because I'm a nerd and also because they absolutely crushed it with the UX/UI. Not only does it break your schedule down by highlighting the artists you favorited in the artist section, but it sends you notifications as any of your favorites are about to start & even has a drop down of who’s currently playing and where. The app includes 3 different maps: the MAIN festival map, an interactive map, and a map to help you find all the amazing art & murals - which was honestly one of the highlights of the entire festival for me.
As an artist, I fell in love with Vegas for the first time this past January during the pandemic, when the arts district was a ghost town & all I could do was admire the prismatic & thought provoking murals that adorned the walls of these empty streets. Seeing them then transformed with a wave of Charlotte Dutoit’s wand into this wonderland teeming with vibrant, smiling, dancing souls just further cemented my love and appreciation for this magical 3-day festival. But what really did it for me was, without a DOUBT, the music.
Life is Beautiful is known for having some of the most eye-catching and eclectic lineups i’ve ever seen. Bridging the gap between genres and generations, past lineups boast names like Post Malone, ZHU, Chance The Rapper, Stevie Wonder, Outkast, Zedd & so many other artists I'd gladly give up my first child to see.
Kidding.
This year though, my heart eyes were all for Cannons, LANY, Willow Smith, Glass Animals, Tame Impala and just too many to name! When it comes to lineups, this festival caught my attention because it wasn’t just catering to my electric soul (which are the festivals I usually tend to gravitate to!). As much as I love going all out on rave outfits for EDC & despite the fact that I listen to EDM primarily, it was nice to be able to sit on the grass side stage, sipping on overpriced drinks & swaying to the majestic sounds coming from St. Vincent’s vocal and guitar strings. I’m not kidding. If she was the only one playing that night it would’ve ALL been worth it. Her stage presence alone was unparalleled except for Willow & Glass Animals, who both commanded the stage with larger than life auras and performances. I was TRULY blown away all 3 days.
Life is Beautiful is more than a festival; it’s a mantra, a mentality, and perhaps above all, a way of existing.
