Vegas festival downsizes for 2024 edition
The organisers of the Life Is Beautiful festival in downtown Las Vegas have stepped back from plans to take a year off by rebranding the event for 2024, and moving to a different site with a slimmed down two-day electronic music gathering.
Renaming the 27-28 September gathering, Life Is Beautiful Presents: A Big Beautiful Block Party, it will move to a site close to The Arts District in Las Vegas, and will feature 14 electronic acts including Badbadnotgood, James Blake, Jamie xx, Jungle, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, LP Giobbi, Neil Frances, Peggy Gou, and Thundercat.
Organisers promise that sets will not overlap, with performances starting each evening at 5 pm and continuing until 2 am.
“If you look at the festival landscape, I think this is a product there should probably be more of”
Life Is Beautiful is now owned by Rolling Stone, whose CEO Gus Wenner says that the intention is to bring back the full-scale festival in the future, while they are also considering hosting more block party events.
“It was exciting for us to put something a little more focused together that wasn’t so multi genre,” Wenner told Billboard – a sister publication of Rolling Stone. “If you look at the festival landscape, I think this is a product there should probably be more of, as opposed to these big box festivals where you’ve got huge pop acts that are all playing the festival circuit with little permutations.”
A Big Beautiful Block Party happens on the same days at San Francisco’s electronic festival Portola, which will also feature performances by the likes of Justice, LP Giobbi, Neil Frances and Jamie xx.
Life Is Beautiful was founded in 2013 by Tony Hsieh, who died in 2020 at the age of 46, and Wenner has pledged that this year’s block party will honour Hsieh’s legacy.
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Major fests put finishing touches to 2023 bills
One of Europe’s largest festivals Roskilde this week added Lizzo, Busta Rhymes, Loyle Carner, Biig Piig, Dry Cleaning and more than 100 other acts to its 2023 lineup.
They join previously announced acts Kendrick Lamar, Caroline Polachek, Lil Nas X, Rosalía, Burna Boy, Christine and the Queens, Blur, and Queens of the Stone Age.
The 51st edition of Roskilde will take place between 24 June–1 July in the Danish town of the same name. Tickets start from DKK 2400.
Elsewhere in Denmark, promoter Down the Drain has revealed full lineups for its festivals NorthSide and Tinderbox.
Little Simz is the newest addition to the NorthSide bill, which already includes Muse, The 1975, The Chemical Brothers and more.
NxWorries (feat. Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge), Lukas Graham, First Aid Kit, Sam Fender, LP, Yemi Alade and Pusha T are also slated to play the Aarhus festival between 1–3 June.
Little Simz is the newest addition to the NorthSide bill, which already includes Muse, The 1975, The Chemical Brothers
Simz is among the acts set to play the second-largest stage Echo, which this year will be covered by a 20,000-capacity tent.
“This time of the year in Denmark is very bright, in the evenings as well, and a lot of the bigger acts ask for a slot in darkness to get the full effect of their production. We’ve talked about doing this for years, but the pandemic got in the way. Now, we’re finally launching this change and creating an amazing setting for more intimate live experiences – and we can’t wait to see it in action!” says festival CEO Brian Nielsen.
Tinderbox (cap. 45,000), meanwhile, has confirmed Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas and Armin van Buuren for this year’s edition, taking place in Denmark’s third-largest city, Odense.
George Ezra, Dean Lewis, Lukas Graham, Mimi Webb, Cat Burns, Gogol Bordello, bbno$, Dylan and Oliver Malcolm will also appear at the festival between 22–24 June.
“Last year, we broke records at Tinderbox, and we’ve tried our very best to give back to our loyal guests by chasing some of the world’s biggest acts,” says Nielsen.
Elsewhere in Scandinavia, Finland’s Flow Festival has unveiled a third wave of acts led by Lorde and Christine and the Queens.
Finland’s Flow Festival has unveiled a third wave of acts led by Lorde and Christine and the Queens
They join a blockbuster bill comprising Pusha T, High Vis, Caroline Polachek, Blur, Wizkid, Tove Lo and more.
The Superstruct-backed festival will return to the capital city of Helsinki between 11 and 13 August. Tickets start from €119 for a one-day ticket, €189 for two days and €225 for three days.
In the UK, Truck festival has added Mae Muller, The Reytons, Gengahr, English Teacher, Feet and Chappaqua Wrestling to this year’s edition.
The Oxfordshire festival previously announced headliners Royal Blood, Alt-J, Two Door Cinema Club and The Wombats.
Self Esteem, The Vaccines, Circa Waves, Pale Waves, Everything Everything, Kate Nash and Squid are also due to play the Superstruct-backed festival, taking place at Hill Farm between 21 and 23 July. Final Tier tickets are on sale now from £160.
Elsewhere, the UK’s Standon Calling has announced two stage headliners, with Shygirl joining the all-female lineup on the Laundry Meadows stage and Sainté and D Double E heading up a new rap and hip hop night called FutureFlow on The Cowshed stage.
Las Vegas-based event Life Is Beautiful is set to host The Killers, Kendrick Lamar, Odesza, Khalid and The 1975
Previously announced headliners for the 2023 event include Years & Years, Self Esteem, Bloc Party and The Human League.
Anastacia, Confidence Man, Dylan, Squid, Katy B, KT Tunstall and Melanie C will also perform at the 17th edition of the boutique music and arts festival.
Festival founder and director Alex Trenchard says “We’re so proud of this year’s progress in booking a gender-balanced headline bill.”
The Broadwick Live-owned festival will return to the Hertfordshire countryside between 20 and 23 July 2023.
Across the Atlantic, Las Vegas-based event Life Is Beautiful is set to host The Killers, Kendrick Lamar, Odesza, Khalid and The 1975 for the September edition.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Omar Apollo, Kim Petras, FLUME, Nelly and Bebe Rexha are also lined up to play the 10th-anniversary edition of the music and arts festival.
Las Vegas mainstays such as Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Jabbawockeez, Magic Mike Live, Piff the Magic Dragon and Tape Face will also be on hand for performances and appearances.
The Rolling Stone-owned festival will return to downtown Vegas between 22 and 24 September.
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Sam Fender cancels US dates, citing mental health
British singer-songwriter Sam Fender has cancelled his upcoming US tour dates, citing mental health concerns.
The 28-year-old from Newcastle announced that he is “taking some time off the road” to look after his mental health, after admitting that he was “burnt out” from touring.
The news comes soon after Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes cancelled the remaining dates on Wonder: The World Tour to focus on his wellbeing.
Fender’s scrapped US dates include three remaining headline shows in the US, support slots with Florence and the Machine, and a performance at Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas.
“It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate discussion on mental health and write songs about it if I don’t take the time to look after my own mental health,” reads a statement on Fender’s social media channels.
“It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road”
“I’ve neglected myself for over a year now and haven’t dealt with things that have deeply affected me. It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road, and it’s exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business. My friends and colleagues have been worried about me for a while and it’s not going to get better unless I take the time to do so.”
Apologising to fans, Fender has also cancelled a number of rescheduled UK record store dates. However, the singer-songwriter said that he is “super excited” for his Australia dates in November and “everything to come in 2023″.
Earlier this month, Fender announced a 2023 headline show at St James’ Park in his hometown of Newcastle. He will become the first Geordie to top the bill at Newcastle United Football Club’s ground.
Fender’s agent Paul Wilson spoke to IQ earlier this year about the artist’s long-term ambition to perform at St. James’ Park, among other things.
— Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) September 12, 2022
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Rolling Stone/PMC acquires Life is Beautiful festival
Penske Media subsidiary Rolling Stone has acquired a majority stake in Life is Beautiful, a music and arts festival held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The festival was founded by the late entrepreneur Tony Hsieh in 2013, in a bid to revitalise the underserved downtown Las Vegas community.
In the nine years since, it has played host to 600-plus artists and more than one million fans, injecting upwards of US$350 million in economic impact and cultural capital into the local area.
The 2021 edition of the three-day festival, headlined by Billie Eilish, Green Day, and Tame Impala, was attended by an audience of more than 170,000, making it one of the highest-grossing events of its kind in the nation that year – despite the pandemic.
“There are infinite possibilities to grow Life Is Beautiful in unique and impactful ways”
“Live events are an integral part of Rolling Stone’s future and Life Is Beautiful is an incredible platform to realise this vision,” says Rolling Stone CEO, Gus Wenner. “Coupled with our significant digital scale and deep journalism, there are infinite possibilities to grow Life Is Beautiful in unique and impactful ways. I am grateful to have worked with Tony on this partnership and am proud to have Rolling Stone help carry forward his mission.”
Rolling Stone and PMC plan to “expand Life Is Beautiful into new territories and broaden its digital footprint”. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to realise the potential of Life Is Beautiful in partnership with Rolling Stone,” says David Oehm, CEO of Life Is Beautiful. “As a landmark institution and touchstone of the music industry for over 50 years, the Rolling Stone team will help to deepen our connection to fans of music everywhere, while also championing the cultural initiatives that make Life Is Beautiful so much more than a music festival.”
In addition to Rolling Stone, PMC is also the parent company for Billboard, Art in America, Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Spy.com, among others. Last year, the company made a deal with SXSW (South by Southwest) that would make the media company a long-term partner and shareholder of the Austin new music festival.
PMC is headquartered in New York and Los Angeles with 14 offices worldwide.
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Festival Focus: Life is Beautiful, Off the Record
Las Vegas street festival Life is Beautiful has released details of its daily music line-up ahead of day tickets going on sale tomorrow.
The festival, promoted by Another Planet Entertainment and Las Vegas-based Life is Beautiful LLC, takes place from 23 to 25 September across 18 Las Vegas city blocks and will this year feature performances from Mumford & Sons, J. Cole, Major Lazer, The Lumineers, G-Eazy, The Shins, Flume, Empire of the Sun, Jane’s Addiction, Bassnectar and more.
Life is Beautiful launched in October 2013 and bills itself as an “annual celebration where people from all walks of life – generations, orientation, race, religion and nationality – come together and create an experience centred in music, art, taste and ideas”. In addition to live music, it includes art installations, gourmet food stalls and seminars from “thinkers, doers and talkers” from the worlds of entertainment, business and science. (Major Lazer photo by Jared Eberhardt.)
The teams behind three independent UK festivals, From the Fields’ Kendal Calling and Bluedot and Liverpool Sound City Ltd’s Sound City, have partnered with music magazine Louder than War for a new multi-venue festival for emerging music.
Off the Record, taking place in the Northern Quarter, Manchester, on 4 November, will feature a line-up chosen by 30 ‘national curators’ (including Guy Garvey, Lara Baker, Huw Stephens, John Kennedy and Tim Burgess) and also include a conference segment with delegates from the agency, promotion and label/publishing A&R.
Dave Pichilingi, Sound City CEO, says: “We’ll be keeping the line-up top secret until the morning of the event because we know that you trust us and we trust you to be interested in the future,” adding that festival will be a celebration of the new, and not the comfy cushion of the old”.
Afropunk and FYF Fest headliner Grace Jones will headline the second Metropolis festival in Dublin this November.
The indoor event takes place in array of warehouses and venues in the Royal Dublin Society Showground from 3 to 5 November. Also on the bill are DJ Shadow, Solomun, Moderat, SBTRKT (DJ set), Booka Shade, BadBadNotGood, Crystal Castles, The Sugarhill Gang, Fatima Yamaha, Fakear, Girl Band and more “to be announced”. (Grace Jones photo by Bruce/kingArthur_aus on Flickr.)
This week’s Boardmasters festival in Cornwall will be the venue for the debut of the “UK’s first immersive music video”.
Created by Biffy Clyro and Samsung using virtual reality (VR) technology, the installation will allow viewers wearing Samsung Gear VR headsets to appear alongside Biffy Clyro in their video for ‘Flammable’, which sees the band playing in a perspex box suspended above an abandoned warehouse.
The ‘Hypercube’ will also appear at Glasgow Summer Sessions and Bestival.
Ross Cairns, creative director at Samsung, says: “This project was born out of a desire to bring the best parts of live music to an audience so people can feel closer to the band than ever before. Biffy were the perfect partners for this.
“From inception we focused on marrying music and technology to appear effortlessly synchronised. We’re delighted to bring the wonders of virtual reality to a generation of music fans in this way and demonstrate how we are empowering people to use technology in a way that allow them to experience the extraordinary.” (Biffy Clyro photo by Kmeron.)
Close to 1,200 people have signed a petition addressed to ‘music festival organisers’ calling for the minimum age for UK festivalgoers to be raised to 21.
The petition was created by Chris Bell, the father of 17-year-old Megan Bell, one of two people who died at this year’s T in the Park.
“I strongly believe that an adult would not experiment [with drugs and alcohol] or adhere to peer pressure like a child would,” writes Bell. “Children as young as 14–55 are attending these events unsupervised [and] parents are not aware of what they are up to while they are [there]. Please help me in changing all of this.”
Another 10 names have been added to the 10th-anniversary edition of Welsh metal festival Hard Rock Hell.
Molly Hatchet, Warrior Soul, White Miles, Leader of Down, Broken Witt Rebels, Cherry Grind, Red Spektor, Cross Eyed Mary, Bright Curse and The Bad Flowers are the newly announced acts for the festival, which takes place from 10 to 13 November at the Haven Hafan y Mor holiday park in Pwllheli. (Molly Hatchet [top] and White Miles photos by Alberto Cabello and Julio Gómez Braojos, respectively.)
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