Life is Beautiful 2023: What to Eat and Drink During the Las Vegas Music Festival

September 13, 2023
2:29 am

The Life is Beautiful festival returns to downtown Las Vegas on Friday, September 22 for the tenth year of the music and art festival. This year is heralded by headliners including the Killers, Kendrick Lamar, Rina Sawayama, and Odesza. And with three full days of concerts, comedy shows, larger-than-life art installations, and a footprint that encompasses much of the Fremont East neighborhood, it’s worth thinking about how you’ll keep yourself fed and hydrated over the weekend.

Pizzeria and Omakase Kitchen

Popular food experiences are returning this year, with many of the city’s most coveted pizzaiolos descending on the lawn near the Rolling Stone Stage for the Pizzeria. Good Pie owner and chef Vincent Rotolo is curating the pie-focused food court, which will see a rotating menu crafted by Metro Pizza, Yukon Pizza, Rebellion Pizza, Pizza Rock, Good Pie, Esther’s Kitchen, and more. If you’re craving a slice, stop in early — they’ll only sling pies until they sell out.

The Omakase Cantina also returns to what used to be the Vegas Test Kitchen. Curated by Jolene Manina of Secret Burger, chef Mike Rubenstein from Vetri Cucina, chef Oscar Amador of Anima by EDO, and chef Josh Smith of Delilah will each host a high-concept dinner featuring foods one wouldn’t expect to find at a music festival. Tickets for the add-on can be found online.

Omakase Cantina at Life is Beautiful 2022.

The Full Line-Up

Dozens of Las Vegas restaurants will be present inside the culinary villages, including Delilah, Anima By EDO, Metro Pizza, Vetri Cucina, Sparrow + Wolf, La Strega, Momofuku Las Vegas, Harlo Steakhouse & Bar, Pizza Rock, Main St. Provisions, Casa Playa, Echo & Rig, Jaleo By José Andrés, Afters Ice Cream, Night + Market, Tacotarian, Temaki Time, China Poblano By José Andrés, Esther’s Kitchen, Cousins Maine Lobster Las Vegas, and Shake Shack and more.

Life is Beautiful food. — Life is Beautiful.

All-in and VIP+ ticketholders will also get to choose from offerings by China Poblano, Jaleo, Echo & Rig, Casa Playa, Main St. Provision, Sparrow + Wolf, Momofuku Las Vegas, La Strega, and Harlo Steakhouse and Bar.

Life is Beautiful food lineup. — Life is Beautiful.

Drinks

Big Dog Brewing Company is brewing specially marked beer just for the 10th anniversary. The Cool as a Cucumber is an American craft lager infused with cucumbers and limes. The Beautiful Haze is a West Coast-style IPA with notes of a citrus.

Activations are also set up to grab a drink — and escape the chaos for a few minutes between sets. Located near the Pizzeria, the Aperol Spritz Piazza will serve cocktails in a photo-ready backdrop with photo booths, a bar designed to look like an Italian city tram, trivia games, and an orange-shaped photo dome equipped with a slow-motion camera and fun lighting.

Monkey Shoulder Whisky is towing its concrete-mixer-turned-cocktail-shaker into the festival. White Claw will offer cans of seltzer and branded merch at its brand activation. And Tito’s, Bacardi, and Tequila Corrido will have bars set up for ordering cocktails made with their respective liquors.

Food Outside of the Life is Beautiful Festival Grounds

There’s tons of great eats throughout the Fremont East neighborhood. And on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., two restaurants will serve brunch just outside the festival gates. Stop into Park on Fremont for Butterfly Brunch with sweet and savory breakfast options, burgers, and cocktail in the shade of the outdoor garden. La Mona Rosa will host its Pink Bruch with food and cocktails in varying hues of pink. Customers are encouraged to dress in the themed color and will receive heart-shaped sunglasses and paper fans.

An outdoor table decorated for Butterfly brunch at Park on Fremont. — Butterfly brunch at Park on Fremont.

For other pre-fest dining, find Las Vegas’s most essential weekend brunches here. Or branch out with Vegas’s hottest, newest brunch offerings.

After the Festival

Bars and restaurants operated by Corner Bar Management located in the Fremont East neighborhood, near the Life is Beautiful footprint, are hosting several late-night parties and events all weekend, for folks looking to extend their evening after the event’s headliners finally close down their sets. Among the events that comprise the Block three-day slew of after-parties, find a party at We All Scream — which serves the popular Secret Creamery ice cream — from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m on Friday. Esentrik and the Trash Pandas will perform at Commonwealth from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Saturday and Ship Wrek will produce a high-energy set at Discopussy, from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday.