Well it came and went and now the countdown to Life is Beautiful 2014 is underway. Wow, what a wild year 2013 has been. I don’t know if I can yet fully put into words just exactly what the last 12 months have been like but to go from this idea of a four festival in one weekend to actually seeing it come to life and people having the best weekend ever was truly special. It’s not just the music that stands out to me as the shinning moments but rather the memories of people grinning ear to ear and having the best weekend ever.
It was :
seeing my family come through the gates and out of chance being in front to greet them
witnessing a friend who traveled from London be the first one through the gate
watching some of my best friends in the world rocking out to Capital Cities and me surprising them to finally say hi
people chilling in the secret garden listening to HAIM and scoping out the amazing art murals
a packed group of people gathered waiting for Zarkana to take the street for their performance
people lined up to head into the speaker venues to see some brilliant minds give speeches
Downtown come to life in a way I have never seen before
people finally experiencing this vision we had been talking about
being told thank you by countless supporters
riding the ferris wheel and seeing the footprint from high above
the look on a teenager’s face when we fixed a mistake he made when trying to purchase a ticket to the festival
seeing a community come together
running into friends at the El Cortez after party raving about day one and the excitement for day two
hearing all the comments about the great food there was to eat
seeing artists like Zio Ziegler, D*Face, Bicicleta Sem Freio, Doze Green, Ana Marietta, etc. have their art work taken in by thousands of eyes
meeting a father and daughter on Sunday morning at The Beat and hearing about their different experiences at the festival on day one and how thankful they were to have made the trip
seeing grown adults act like kids getting to bowl backstage at Brooklyn Bowl
seeing Beck don a rhinestone cape a la Liberace
The Killers honoring Lou Reed
Kings of Leon’s first show in Vegas since 2009
capturing a sea of people rocking out to Imagine Dragons
seeing two of my staff get to perform at Life is Beautiful
the copious amounts of confetti that made people happy
the Tibetan prayer flags as you entered the footprint
falling in love with Super Sprowtz activation for the kids
my golf cart not moving for nearly two days but in the perfect place for my 10 minute escape from The Killers set to catch a few moments of Empire of the Sun
Jake Wagner replacing my golf cart sticker with “Shine Bright Like A Nyman”
the moment I saw the first post go up at the Downtown Stage
waking up on festival morning realizing that we were about to do something special
watching people with 3-D glasses check out an amazing mural by Las Vegas artists
seeing the best Vampire Weekend show I’ve ever seen
looking at the joy on the faces of the Mystere characters backstage after just performing “Radioactive” with Imagine Dragons
bringing friends into FOH to catch a couple shows which I know made their experience that much more special
riding a bicycle around the festival footprint when nobody was on it
Dawes performing at Grills & Guitars
hearing about the performances from Robert DeLong, STS9, Big Gigantic, Poolside, Cosmic Suckerpunch from friends who’d never listened to those artists and be blown away
the crowd of people lined up outside of Insert Coin(s) waiting for their limited edition New Era Life is Beautiful hat and a pop up performance by F. Stokes
seeing the Red Bull Tour Bus pull into the festival grounds and a realize that program we dreamed of come to life
witnessing Michael Jackson ONE on the Downtown Stage
bass face
all my people in the box office and credential trailer, thank you!
the good vibes that came from listening to Omar
Team Bacon & Eggs
YB
Nok Hockey
our “let’s have a fucking festival” t-shirts
the countless hugs and high fives
taking in the Kings of Leon show with my family
learning from the best
a dream come true
sure there were a whole lot more memories but I hope this gives you an idea….
Slowly I’m crawling out of the hole I was and getting a chance to see friends, catch up on life and return to the “real world.” Thank you all for you patience as I at times was unresponsive, non committal and sometimes short. I hope you didn’t take it personal, I was just embarking on an adventure that would consume me. Was it worth it? Every second!
Do You Hear The Music? 
It was a joy to be there (only diminished slightly by not actually managing to run into you, so we couldn’t congratulate you in person!). Bring on LIB 2014, and hope to see you soon. xx
It was a JOY to be there (lessened only in that we never managed to run into you so we could congratulate you in person). Bring on LIB 2014, and hope to see you soon! xx
You invented Shot Thursday, too. Just sayin. Seriously though. The goosebumps I got during Killers and Dragons was something I haven’t experienced. Your vision, experience and ridiculous dedication tattooed this city, man. I’m really lucky to have been a part of it.
Thanks, Nate! Appreciate that! And yes, Shot Thursday, now that was an amazing happening and I’m glad we continued it all the way through the year! Now on to planning 2014 🙂
Bravo Craig….Bravo!!! It was amazing and BEAUTIFUL!