The annual celebration of everything shitty is returning for its 12th year to The Dive Bar September 27-28. Check it out!
Las Vegas’s longest-runny music festival,” Life is Shit Festival, will return for its 12th year, Saturday, Sept. 28 at The Dive Bar, 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy. The festival is expanding this year to add the “Shitkicker Kickoff” pre-party, featuring country/blues artists (and country karaoke after the bands), Friday, Sept. 27, at The Dive.
Life is Shit Festival was founded in 2013 by members of the Las Vegas music community, as a free, DIY, locals-centric, punk/rock alternative to the corporate, mainstream Life is Beautiful Festival. However, Life is Shit quickly became a cultural institution of its own, and has been featured by The Washington Post, Las Vegas Weekly, KNPR 88.9 FM’s “State of Nevada,” KUNV 91.5 FM’s “Our Kind of Music,” and other media outlets.
Despite its cheeky name and the humorless souls who decry it, Life is Shit makes life less shitty for some, serving as a fundraiser each year for local charity Girls Rock Vegas — a summer camp and after-school program which teaches adolescents in Las Vegas how to develop a positive self-image by playing rock music. Fundraising is achieved through donations at the door, and an instrument drive/raffle, with prizes donated by bands and Las Vegas businesses, including recording studios, record stores, and tattoo shops.
Friday “Shitkicker Kickoff” lineup (starts at 8 pm):
Zach Wilson (Nashville, Tenn.), Dedd Horsemen (Tucson, Ariz.), Dry Heat (featuring Larry of The Rhyolite Sound/Buffalo Larry and The Mighty Stampede). “CarlOke” karaoke, hosted by Hot Carl, to follow the bands.
Saturday lineup (starts at 4:20 pm):
Las Nalgonas, Switterbeet, Kings/Kings, Ol’ Jimmy Vagabond and the Peanut Gallery, Trash Animals, Style Cramps, Same Sex Mary, Pussy Velour (Reno), Jack Shit (Nashville), Total Ghost, The Mormon Church, Faceman (Denver), MSMRS, Detective Frog.
Life is Shit 2024 will also see the return of the “Outhouse poetry stage” on Saturday, hosted by Las Vegas poet Andrew Romanelli, where the best of Las Vegas’s poetry community will read. And as always, Life is Shit Festival will include artist booths, vendors, and food.
Additionally, Life is Shit 2024 will mark the festival’s sixth year publishing the Life is Shit Zine, a physical zine available at the festival and online, featuring band interviews, writing, art and more. (Read past zines here).
Past performers include legendary U.K. punk band The Vibrators, Detroit’s Timmy’s Organism (which signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records shortly after its 2014 Life is Shit Festival appearance), and Chicago’s White Mystery (which filmed part of its feature-length dark comedy “That Was Awesome” at Life is Shit Festival), and legendary New York anti-folk artist Hamell on Trial.
The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on Life is Shit Festival’s in-person show. However, the festival transitioned to an online format for two years. In 2020, festival organizers hosted a 24-hour telethon, or “Shit-A-Thon,” broadcast live from Downtown Las Vegas. It featured pre-recorded performances from over 100 bands, including a performance and live interview with Joe Jack Talcum of legendary punk band The Dead Milkmen. Through online and call-in donations, the Shit-A-Thon raised over $3,500 for Girls Rock Vegas. In 2021, Life is Shit produced a 30-min television special, the “Life is Shit Shitshow Shitacular” (watch it here).
Life is Shit Instagram: www.instagram.com/
“What is Life is Shit Festival” video: https://youtu.be/hQaa2ySlDP4
Girls Rock Vegas charity: https://www.girlsrockvegas.
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