Gorillaz coming to Life is Beautiful in downtown Las Vegas

The world’s biggest virtual band will soon be coming to life in Vegas.

Gorillaz, the alt-rock supergroup consisting of animated characters voiced by blood-and-flesh musicians, is the first band to be announced for this year’s Life is Beautiful festival, which will take place Sept. 22-24 in downtown Las Vegas.

Gorillaz will be touring in support of their first new album in seven years, “Humanz,” due April 28.

The band, which was founded by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and comic-book artist and “Tank Girl” creator Jamie Hewlett, rocketed to stardom in 2001 when their self-titled debut sold over 7 million copies worldwide thanks in large part to hit single “Clint Eastwood.”

The group’s fusion of punchy hip-hop, trip-pop and alt-pop was a then-fresh melange of styles that propelled Gorillaz to international notoriety.

After a five-year hiatus, Gorillaz’s much-anticipated return is a big score for Life is Beautiful, as the band, which seldom tours, will be making its Vegas debut.

Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @JasonBracelin on Twitter.