2022 Life Is Beautiful: Gorillaz, Lorde & More Best Moments From Day 2

Day two of Life Is Beautiful, the three-day music, art, comedy and food festival that enraptures 18 blocks of downtown Las Vegas, produced electrifying performances from Gorillaz, Lorde, Coi Leray, Bob Moses and Orange County comedy bros Chad and JT.

Saturday’s (Sept. 17) theme of the day-to-night gathering of 170,000 attendees seemed to be ultimate fan interaction as many took their magic from the stage to the crowd.

The day began with Chad Kroeger & JT Parr, from the Netflix hit Chad and JT Go Deep sharing their humor inside the Kicker Comedy Club. Life Is Beautiful’s comedy platform has flourished since its introduction in 2016, welcoming the likes of Michelle Wolf, Bob the Drag Queen, Sam Jay and Nico Santos. Occupying the first performance slot of the day, Chad and JT packed an impressive audience into the well air-conditioned theater, a pleasant break from the 90-degree temperatures outside. Chad and JT offered a moral to every tale when they eulogized Froader, stating that he died due to lack of stoke in life. The message of the tale was “stoke, or croak,” encouraging people to tap into the natural stoke life force in Las Vegas. Low-fi PowerPoint presentation suggests that you take advantage of Vegas’ many neural nutrients. This includes hedonism and bottle service, party drugs, gambling, and parties to avoid becoming like Froader or croaking from lack thereof. They promised to take Froader out into the festival for a post-life stoke session after passing Froader’s urn around. Later, video captured them dancing with Froader’s remains at Fremont stage while listening to a DJ set.

First up on the Downtown stage was Alexander 23, who delivered an outstanding performance in one of the toughest slots of the day. Their eye-catching graphic introduced them as the Beatles with the small print reading: just kidding, it’s Alexander 23. The light pop sound was the perfect way to transition in the crowd, undoubtedly weary from the previous night’s festivities, which had crowds exiting after 1 a.m. Alexander 23 made a big sound that far surpassed what’s expected of a trio. Giving his seasoning since breaking onto the scene in 2019, he could be the new king of sob rock.

Having made a big impact on 2022’s festival circuit, Bob Moses got the coveted sunset time slot on the Downtown stage. “Tearing Me Up” was a powerful performance that energized the crowd. The warm breeze brought a warm glow to the desert night. Bob Moses is the golden hour band.

Lorde looked stunning in pink, sporting a spandex bralet top with pants and strappy spandex pants later in the evening. She reminisced about how nervous she was playing the festival back in 2017. Her stairway to the sun-themed set, which she has taken with her on the festival circuit this year, is a visual delight. Her growth as an artist was evident when she began with “The Path” (Homemade Dynamite) and ended with “The Path.” Encouraging the crowd to “dance for our 15-year-old selves tonight,” she bounced into “Ribs.”

About her evolution, she said, “I’m 25 now, I’m blonde now, and I’m wearing a hot pink outfit. We all change, we all go though phases, and I love celebrating all those phases, they’re all magic.” She also mentioned that five years ago, she was struggling with stage nerves.

She danced musically and ethereally between emotional and emotional. “Royals”, which drew a loud response from the crowd, was followed by “Solar Power”, which she climbed back up to her muse. She explained that the song was written in a wet bikini after a long day at beach.

Also returning from the 2017 lineup, Damon Albarn and Gorillaz released an energy on the crowd that has been unmatched so far during the weekend. Albarn acted as a deity, raising his arms above his followers to give the impression of three shows in one. It was hit after hit, from “Cracker Island” through “MLS”, where Albarn teamed up with fellow festival performer JPEGMafia to “On Melancholy Hill.” Gorillaz are always several steps above everyone else.

Albarn masterfully jumped among instruments, then parted the crowd as if the seas and went for an easy stroll among the people.

All four members of virtual Gorillaz were present, and their visuals were perfectly timed to the music, as well as guns (police badges), golden Xanax bars, and the like.

Albarn loves to travel with people, and Life Is Beautiful was no exception. “Desole” brought Fatoumata Diawara on stage. Her vocals rocked the crowd, as they listened intently. De La Soul’s Pos performed for “Feel Good Inc,” and Albarn, who borrowed a Luffy straw hat from an audience member, blew his large horn in recognition of a job well done. “I only blow this trumpet when s—-‘s good.” He said that s—‘s good tonight. “You are so beautiful. Don’t forget what just happened

Over at the Bacardi stage, Alessia Cara — joined by Blue Man Group– reminisced about her 2015 Life Is Beautiful moment, remarking that it was the first festival she ever played. Then, Gryffin and Kygo kept Bacardi packed until closing. During his set, Kygo brought Gryffin out and they performed “Woke Up In Love.” Gryffin was a master of the electric guitar.

Kygo, well-known for his covers, took a spin at Tina Turner, White Stripes, and Jefferson Airplane.

While both Gryffin and Kygo have residencies at Wynn Las Vegas, the festival gave their fans a chance to see them outside of the club and to touch the under-21 crowd.

Marc Rebillet, Blue Man Group, and Marc Rebillet closed out the night on the Fremont stage.

BACARDI Rum welcomed headlining artist and famed Puerto Rican singer and rapper Farruko to the stage. Farruko performed his greatest hits, including “Pepas”and “Relacion” to a crowd of over 2,000 fans at CASA BACARDI.

Fan-favorite moment was the interactive McDonald’s “Golden Access” experience. Coi Leray made an appearance. Leray relaxed in the McDonald’s ‘Golden Access’ VIP Suite, surrounded by McFlurries and French fries — a great way to enjoy a music festival. Leray told Billboard that she hopes to one day have her own meal at the Golden Arches as many of her contemporaries have recently done. She also revealed that a second album was in the works and will be released in the next few months. She was still giddy after a studio drop-in: “Two week ago, I was in studio with Missy Elliott. She stayed with me for four hours. She is an icon. She is a legend. She was a great source of information. She gave me so many pointers. The best performance by the rapper was “Push Start,” which she performed with French Montana. Her new song “Fly S closing with vital sensation Twinnem .”

was her best.

Day two showed that performers can thrive under the stars in Las Vegas, boosting their energy to match the electric cityscape.