“Cultural Staple” Life Is Shit Festival Returns Sept. 20 at The Dive Bar
Photo by Danielle Dixon
“Las Vegas’s longest-runny music festival,” Life is Shit Festival, will return for its 13th year on Sept. 20, bringing the best of Las Vegas’s underground music and poetry to The Dive Bar, 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy.
This year’s music lineup will feature over a dozen touring and local bands, including Los Angeles garage rock outfit Oog Bogo, Portland, Oregon’s freak-soul ensemble Family Worship Center, New York City’s experimental punks Peachole, Scott Collins and the Sovereignty from Nashville, and a rare performance by legendary Las Vegas singer/songwriter Jacob Smigel (now based in Austin, Tex.). Local bands include The Crotches, The Mormon Church, Same Sex Mary, Sector 7G, and more.
The Mormon Church. Photo by Danielle Dixon
A favorite addition in recent years, the festival’s “Outhouse Poetry Stage,” hosted by Las Vegas poet Andrew Romanelli, will see a stacked lineup of poetry readings. Poets include Bruce Isaacson, Rodney J. Lee, Charlene Stegman Moskal, Harry Fagel, and more.
A recent feature by Devoid magazine calls Life is Shit Festival “a cultural staple in Las Vegas… an experience that is unlike anything you have attended in this city before…”
Life is Shit Festival was founded in 2013 by members of the Las Vegas music community, as a free, DIY, 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.
This year’s Life is Shit Festival, as before, will include artist booths, vendors, and food. This year will mark the festival’s seventh 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 years’ 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).
2025 poster and past years' photos: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/s46ewc919dz386yffrr4l/AHkH4V-d1SdyH-SfkOKKa88?rlkey=hjrgd2lhxjxt940pfpy7baq26&st=w9ld9jdk&dl=0
Life is Shit Instagram: www.instagram.com/lifeisshitfestival
"What is Life is Shit Festival" video: https://youtu.be/hQaa2ySlDP4
Girls Rock Vegas charity: https://www.girlsrockvegas.org
