Stevie Wonder Easily Leads Day One of Life Is Beautiful
(photo: Getty Images)
The onset of fall, which happened this week, usually signals the end of music festival season – or at least it did before U.S. music festivals became a year-round business. After fans spend a summer watching many of the same lineups throughout the country, how does another three-day weekend of artists taking the stage become any different than the weekend before?
To the organizers’ credit, Life Is Beautiful has managed to distinguish itself by taking over downtown Vegas and turning it into not just a concert, but an art installation and food festival. To prove how much the art and food are a part of the LIB appeal, the festival’s website features art and culinary lineups advertising both. And while AWOLNation played on the Downtown Stage, an artist by the name of Miguel painted on a large canvas. Foodwise, the festival features mixologists and celebrity chefs providing everything from ramen and s’mores to vegan sushi and fried chicken.
All of this augments a strong lineup of more than 80 artists from all genres. A lot of festivals preach eclecticism, but the Downtown Stage day one lineup was a strong parade of alternative stars with outstanding sets, from X Ambassadors and AWOL to Hozier and Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes, all of which led to the day’s headliner, R&B national treasure Stevie Wonder.
If the mix of a current alternative playlist, like X Ambassadors’ “Renegade,” AWOLNation’s “Sail,” Edward Sharpe’s “Home” and Hozier’s “Take Me To Church,” leading into Wonder songs like “I Wish” and “Sir Duke” sounds strange no one standing on Fremont Street between Sixth and Seventh for hours thought so.
Then again Wonder’s music is so much a part of the fabric of modern culture that he could take the stage at Warped tour or after a polka band, country act, black metal group and trance DJ and everyone in the audience would still be able to relate when he leads the crowd in a singalong of “Mon Cheri Amour” as he did last night. His catalogue ranks up there alongside Paul McCartney as being among the most identifiable and enjoyable.
Given Wonder’s lofty status in pop music, his presence and the chance to hear the instantly recognizable and classic intro to “Superstition” live often overshadows all else. But there were three other stages on day one with a lot of highlights.
As is seemingly required by law now at U.S. music festivals there was a heavy EDM presence, led by Diplo’s party outfit Major Lazer, which did attract fans despite playing opposite Wonder, and this year’s breakout festival star, Porter Robinson, who continues to impress with his conceptual Worlds production.
Just as the mainstage mix of Wonder and the alternative hit parade might seem odd; Wonder, Diplo, and Robinson playing opposite each other might not work on paper – but trust us, the fans who basked in the musical variety of day one had no complaints at all.
