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Life Is Beautiful’s Las Vegas festival bill shines with female star power

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(Clockwise from top left) Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, St. Vincent, Brittany Howard and Haim
Illustration: AP Photo

Billie Eilish

(Sunday, 11:15 p.m., Downtown Stage)

Some artists are so in demand, they have to play two festivals in the same Vegas weekend. Billie Eilish, the pop music wunderkind, heads up both Life Is Beautiful and the iHeartRadio Music Festival, for reasons obvious to the music-loving world.

She defied genres when she released 2019 debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Inspired by nightmares and lucid dreams, the album tripped up and down the scale of electro-pop, hip-hop and somber, beautiful balladry. At age 18, Eilish became the first woman and the youngest musician to win Grammys for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist in a single night. That January 2020 evening affirmed what fans already knew: We were listening to one of the most influential artists of this generation.

In July, Eilish released her second album, Happier Than Ever, symbolically shedding some of that “Bad Guy” skin in favor of jazz-infused arrangements and hushed, spoken-word masterpieces like “Not My Responsibility,” which directly addresses the people all too obsessed with the 19-year-old’s body and what she chooses to do with it. Eilish’s work was, and remains, rife with mature themes, but Happier Than Ever feels more sophisticated. It brings the pop star to new heights, and with brother and music producer Finneas at her side, the young icon appears unstoppable.

Megan Thee Stallion

(Friday, 11:30 p.m., Bacardi Stage)

The Houston native hits LIB as one of the hottest female rappers in the game, making Time’s Most Influential People of 2020 list and becoming the first female hip-hop performer to win the Grammys’ Best New Artist award since Lauryn Hill in 1999.

Megan’s acclaimed 2019 mixtape, Fever, established her place in the rap world as a confident, lyrical genius with relentless sex appeal and a knack for making certified freak anthems. The rapper flexed her influence on pop culture with that year’s “Hot Girl Summer,” the viral hit and catchphrase heard ’round the world. A year later, she did it again by contributing vocals to Cardi B’s “WAP,” a sexually liberating track that even sparked conversation from U.S. representatives.

Megan’s entire brand speaks volumes, and she’s been using it for good. In 2020, the 26-year-old musician launched a college scholarship fund for women of color, while revealing that she’s studying health care administration at Texas Southern University with plans to open assisted-living facilities in Houston.

Hot Girl Meg is a rapper for the people. One minute she’s freestyling on her Instagram story, the next she’s tweeting about The Vampire Diaries. Her festival set seems sure to be just as unpredictable.

Haim

(Saturday, 9:20 p.m., Downtown Stage)

As with Eilish, this isn’t Haim’s first Life Is Beautiful, but the sibling pop-rock trio is good at making every performance feel like the first time. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Danielle, Alana and Este in action, but the festival should serve as a great opportunity to experience their body of work, which continues to grow.

The pandemic prevented the sisters from touring behind last year’s Women in Music Pt. III, but critics adored it. The sisters dug deep on that junior LP, staring down depression in “I Know Alone” and channeling Joni Mitchell on “Man From the Magazine.” It’s music that deserves to be heard, especially from a giant stage.

St. Vincent

(Sunday, 7:50 p.m., Downtown Stage)

The Dallas-raised empress of experimental art rock subverted genre norms with 2007 debut Marry Me, and the world has been spoiled ever since. St. Vincent serves as a moniker for 38-year-old Annie Clark, whose musical prowess and quirky-but-electric stage presence carries forth the spirit of icons like Prince and David Bowie.

Clark’s eclectic discography now spans seven studio albums, each standing comfortably on its own, driving the narrative forward and raising the bar for style and sound. The rock star also looks the part onstage, evoking different archetypes with her outfits, from the latex and leotards of her Masseduction days to sleazy, New York ’70s glam for latest release Daddy’s Home.

St. Vincent’s show promises something special, if not a little weird. In a September interview with NME, she told the publication, “I want people to be like, ‘What the hell just happened to me?’ If people walk away going, ‘Oh, that was a nice show,’ then I’ve failed.”

Brittany Howard

(Friday, 6 p.m., Downtown Stage)

It takes guts to switch directions, especially when the path you’re on has produced four Grammys, an invitation to the White House and a performance with Prince. But in 2018, Alabama Shakes lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard put that blues-rock outfit on indefinite hold to pursue a solo career.

The Alabama-based belter told NPR it’s a dream she has entertained since she was 11 years old. Howard’s 2019 release, Jaime, emerged from that dream. And if listeners thought the singer pushed musical boundaries before, this soulful record proves she has learned how to bend them to her will. There’s no skipping this monumental set, or any of the others mentioned above, unless you’re cool with a serious case of FOMO.

Life is Beautiful September 17-19, Downtown Las Vegas, official ticket exchange at lifeisbeautiful.lyte.com.

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Amber Sampson

Amber Sampson is a Staff Writer for Las Vegas Weekly. She got her start in journalism as an intern at ...

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