The more things change, the more they stay the same. The 11th annual Life Is Beautiful Festival kicked off on Friday, but the downtown Las Vegas staple looked a little different this year. In previous iterations, the festival has taken over 18 city blocks of downtown Las Vegas — located about five miles south of the famed Strip —but organizers switched it up this year, opting instead for a two-day “Big Beautiful Block Party” near the original site . Due to the smaller footprint, stages sat side by side, and sets didn’t overlap.
Despite the new digs in “old Vegas,” as the area is commonly referred to, Life Is Beautiful continued to have that familiar flair, embracing sponsored bars, local street food, glittered clientele, excessive daytime heat, firework displays and buzzy indie electronic headliners.
Jamie xx, Justice, James Blake and LP Giobbi were just a few highlights of day one, but check back on our coverage throughout the weekend, as superstars including LCD Soundsystem, Jungle and Peggy Gou headline Saturday night.