Life Is Beautiful survival guide: Things to know before you go
Like mail delivery, nothing stops Life Is Beautiful, including rain, sleet or snow. While those things are unlikely, particularly the last two since we're in Southern Nevada, the show will go on regardless. That said, if you have tickets, there are some things that you should know before you go — not to worry; we read all of the fine print, so you don't have to. Here's the lowdown:
ADMITTANCE
There will be two ways to make your way into the festival, across from Container Park via 7th and Fremont and South 7th at Fremont, and the gates will be open for business each day beginning at 2 p.m. through 1 a.m.
Unlike many festivals we've been to over the years, you'll be able to come and go as you please at Life Is Beautiful, but you'll have to scan your wristband on the way out. Oh, and speaking of your wristband, that serves as your ticket, and if you lose it you're going to be bummed, because it's irreplaceable.
PARKING/TRANSPORTATION:
While some swear the best place to park is on the street, we'd say don't expect the parking to be plentiful. Best bet is probably not to drive at all and take mass transit (cab, bus, Uber/Lyft) or ride your bike and valet park your two-wheeler at the station on 6th and Carson.
You can also purchase a three-day shuttle pass for $45 and catch a ride from various parts of the city, including Silverado Ranch, Summerlin South at Downtown Summerlin, Summerlin North at the Suncoast, the Plaza, the Tropicana, The Linq, the SLS and UNLV.
Of course if you'd rather drive and not circle block after block looking for place for your hooptie to hibernate, parking is available at the World Market Center (495 S. Grand Central Pkwy) for $45. Hang on; before you hyperventilate, we should probably mention that price includes a lift back and forth to the festival on a shuttle all weekend long.
IT'S OK TO BRING THIS STUFF:
Listing the items you can bring to the festival is much shorter than detailing the ones you can't. There's seven items that are permitted, for example, as opposed to nearly two dozen that are not, and the former includes blankets, a soft 12-pack-sized cooler, backpacks that are not oversized, a pair of sealed 1-liter water bottles, unfilled CamelBak or Nalgene containers for hydration, binoculars and a consumer-grade digital camera — though with advent of smartphones these days, this kind of seems unnecessary, like just something else for you to tote around, but that's just us— what do we know?
THIS STUFF ... EH, YEAH, NOT SO MUCH:
While the Life Is Beautiful website doesn't necessarily get into specifics, you can probably infer enough from the first couple of items on the prohibited list — weapons of any kind and illegal substances — that there's no need to spell it here either. If you're bringing a bag, you should make sure it isn't so big to block out the sun and/or obstruct everyone's view. This same sentiment applies to totems — see below for the exact specs on both of those.
It's also recommended that you leave the advanced A/V stuff to the professionals, meaning if you were planning to pack your pro audio and visual gear or GoPro attachments to capture the fleeting moments of the festival, you should make other plans. Likewise if you happen to feel like summoning your inner street artist to help ensure that Life Is Beautiful, you'll want to ditch that scenario, as aerosol cans are not allowed, with the exception of sunscreen, that is. Same goes for markers and Sharpies.
Once inside the festival, you'll have to rely on your shoe leather to make your way around the festival grounds, as bikes, drones, skateboards, scooters or any other personal motorized vehicles are not permitted. Nor are lawn chairs, tents or umbrellas. Ditto fireworks, explosives and musical instruments — though it's probably OK to use your built-in instrumentation to sing along.
Unless you're bringing along a furry friend that is a bona fide service animal, you should also leave your pets at home. There's also a moratorium on the following miscellaneous list of items: Picnic baskets, hard-plastic coolers, laser pointers, glass or cans or any kind, stickers and fliers and large chains or spiked jewelry. See the full list from the website pasted below.
What is allowed into the festival (from LifeIsBeautiful.com)
Blankets
Soft-sided coolers no larger than a 12-pack size
Regular-size/unframed backpacks
Two factory-sealed water bottles up to 1 liter each
Empty Camelbak or other empty plastic container (i.e. Nalgene bottle)
Binoculars
Personal cameras with a detachable lens 2 inches or shorter
What is not allowed into the festival
Weapons of any kind
Illegal substances
Large backpack, purses or bags over 12 inches x 12 inches x 8 inches
Professional video/audio recording equipment
Professional still camera equipment with a detachable lens longer than 2 inches, tripods, big zooms, or commercial use rigs
GoPro attachments like sticks & monopods
Aerosol cans (except sunscreen)
Bicycles inside festival grounds
Drones
Skateboards, scooters, or personal motorized vehicles
Lawn furniture, tents or umbrellas
Fireworks and explosives
Musical instruments
Picnic baskets, large or hard-sided coolers
Pets (dogs that are individually trained to assist a person with a disability are allowed on the grounds of the event)
Laser pointers
Glass or cans of any kind
Markers, Sharpies of spray paint
Outside stickers or flyers
Large chains or spiked jewelry
Large totems (Must be smaller than 6 feet and no thicker than a half inch. Must be made of light material: swim noodles, foam type material, cardboard tubes, fabric, string, yarn, light plastic, balloons and/or blow up items. Totems made of wood, metal and/or PVC material will NOT be allowed. This includes flap poles and heavy sticks.)
WHAT TO SEE/WHERE TO GO:
While the four primary stages get all the headlines, there are actually seven places you can enjoy live performances, including a stage dedicated entirely to local music and two art cars brimming with a full blotter of DJs.
For convenience, we've pasted the full schedule below, broken down by each day by stage (with the exception of the local stage, as we just have the lineup), but really, your best bet here — unless you're a dyed-in-the wool, old-school type of bloke who prefers to have something tactile you can fold up and put in your pocket — is to download the official Life Is Beautiful app.
Conveniently, that also fits in your pocket, obviously, but it's a lot more comprehensive and interactive. You can see the full lineup, with updates if there are any, read about each act and then craft your own itinerary and view a map of the festival.
FULL SCHEDULE OF MUSIC:
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25
DOWNTOWN STAGE
03:00-03:40 - SZA04:15-05:00 - X Ambassadors05:45-06:35 - AWOLNATION07:20-08:10 - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros08:55-09:55 - Hozier10:45-12:55 - Stevie Wonder
HUNTRIDGE STAGE
03:40-04:10 - Andra Day05:00-05:40 - Big Talk06:35-07:15 - Shamir08:10-08:50 - Rebelution09:55-10:45 - Thievery Corporation
AMBASSADOR STAGE
03:05-03:50 - Parade of Lights04:20-05:05 - Dan Deacon05:35-06:20 - Borns06:50-07:40 - Lindsey Stirling08:10-09:00 - Atmosphere09:30-10:20 - Twenty One Pilots10:50-12:00 - Major Lazer
TROUBADOUR STAGE
04:00-05:35 - Ryan Lofty05:35-06:35 - Felix Jaehn06:35-07:35 - Wave Racer07:35-08:35 - Klingande08:35-09:35 - Cashmere Cat09:35-10:35 - Claude VonStroke10:35-11:35 - Robin Schulz11:55-12:55 - Porter Robinson
BOOMBOX ARTCAR
03:00-05:00 - Shr3d05:00-06:30 – Freddy B06:30-08:00 – Peter Shalvoy08:00-09:30 – MIKEATTACK09:30-11:00 – Atom E
WIDEAWAKE ARTCAR
07:00-08:00 – DJ Pdot08:00-09:00 – DJ Jami09:00-10:00 – Paolo10:00-11:00 – F3R
SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
DOWNTOWN STAGE
03:30-04:15 - New Politics04:45-05:30 - Royal Blood06:15-07:00 - Glass Animals07:45-08:35 - Metric09:20-10:35 - Duran Duran11:30-01:00 - Imagine Dragons
HUNTRIDGE STAGE
03:00-03:30 - Mercy Music04:15-04:45 - Leikeli4705:30-06:10 - Meg Myers07:00-07:40 - Ab-Soul08:35-09:15 - Soja10:40-11:25 - Future Islands
AMBASSADOR STAGE
03:00-03:40 - Alessia Cara04:05-04:50 - Night Terrors of 192705:15-06:00 - Big Data06:25-07:10 - Clean Bandit07:40-08:30 - Griz09:00-09:50 - Chance the Rapper10:20-11:35 - Snoop Dogg
TROUBADOUR STAGE
04:35-04:55 - Pia Mia04:55-05:55 - MIICS05:55-06:55 - Giraffage06:55-07:55 - The Magician07:55-08:55 - Salva08:55-09:55 - Jauz09:55-10:55 - What So Not10:55-11:55 - Audien11:55-12:15 – Carnage
BOOMBOX ARTCAR
03:00-05:00 – Supra05:00-06:30 – DJ Hollywood06:30-08:00 – DJ Shift08:00-09:30 – Mr. Brown09:30-11:00 – DJ Wizdumb
WIDEAWAKE ARTCAR
07:00-08:00 – Javier Alba08:00-09:00 – Roger Gangi09:00-10:00 – DJ Stretch10:00-11:00 – Joey Mazzola
SUNDAY, SEPT. 27
DOWNTOWN STAGE
03:10-03:55 - The Green04:30-05:15 - Saint Motel06:05-06:55 - Walk the Moon07:40-08:40 - Brandon Flowers09:25-10:35 - Weezer11:25-12:55 - Kendrick Lamar
HUNTRIDGE STAGE
03:00-03:30 - Jill & Julia03:55-04:25 - The London Souls05:15-06:00 - Two Gallants06:55-07:35 - Halsey08:40-09:20 - Against Me!10:35-11:20 - BadBadNotGood
AMBASSADOR STAGE
03:00-03:45 - Jared & the Mill04:10-04:55 - Kaleo05:25-06:10 - Ryn Weaver06:40-07:25 - Best Coast07:55-08:45 - Run the Jewels09:15-10:05 - Kygo10:35-11:45 - Death Cab for Cutie
TROUBADOUR STAGE
04:00-05:00 - Lassi05:30-06:30 - Peking Duk06:30-07:30 - 4B07:30-08:30 - Mercer08:30-09:30 - Tchami09:30-10:30 - Madeon10:30-11:30 - Knife Party
BOOMBOX ARTCAR
04:00-05:00 – Turf Yard05:00-06:30 – DJ Five06:30-08:00 – J-Class08:00-09:30 – DJ Ravi Drums09:30-11:00 – Shelco Garcia & Teenwolf
WIDEAWAKE ARTCAR
07:00-08:00 – DJ Que08:00-09:00 – DJ Karma09:00-10:00 – DJ Ikon10:00-11:00 – Kid Conrad
LOCALS STAGE
Bee MasterBrumbyDaniel ParkEliza BattleElkoElvis MonroeGina GleasonHassan HamiltonIllicitorJeff Mix and the SongheartsKitze + the CPUsThe LiqueMarion WriteRockie Brown Band
LEARNING SERIES SPEAKERS
One of the many things that sets Life Is Beautiful apart from other festivals across the country is there are multiple engaging elements to captivate your attention besides the music. The Learning Series, curated by the CatalystCreativ, offers you a chance to listen to guests give talks on a variety of subjects. This year, there's a full slate of interesting speakers, including Bill Nye the Science Guy, Coach Carter, actress Rosario Dawson and a whole lot more. Page down for the full lineup.
FRIDAY 9/25
Tony HsiehErin SchrodeJordan BrownSinan KanatsizMaya WatsonDan PriceRich RollJon RoseCaitlin CrosbyD.J. AllenBill Nye
SATURDAY 9/26
Jeff HoffmanMelody McCloskeyKina McAllisterJustin BaldoniTiffany ShlainKimbal MuskMonika WielaLane WoodErica Williams SimonMarije VogelzangIN-Q
SUNDAY 9/27
Sam KavanaghAnastasia AshleyMichael SkolnikMarlon ShirleyKristen UlmerCoach CarterChris ColeKat GrahamGeena RoceroRosario Dawson
— Read more from Dave Herrera at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at dherrera@reviewjournal.com.
