Buzz around Life Is Beautiful has Stevie Wonder, Duran Duran joining Imagine Dragons this year

Tom Donoghue / DonoghuePhotography.com

As Rock in Rio USA sets its footing for Pop Weekend at MGM Resorts Festival Grounds, there is some percolation about the next major entertainment festival in Las Vegas.

We speak of the third Life Is Beautiful festival set for Sept. 25-27 in downtown Las Vegas. The latest buzz around the city’s entertainment scene is that Stevie Wonder and Duran Duran are to headline during this year’s festival.

This information can be welded to the previous reports that Imagine Dragons, too, are in this year’s LIB lineup. All of these acts have openings in their schedules that would allow them to appear at this year’s festival.

Nonetheless, the official announcement for this year’s talent at LIB is still in the offing. Founder Rehan Choudhry’s only comment about these reports, and of Imagine Dragons’ expected participation, is: “I can’t confirm anything yet, but our lineup of artists will be a beautiful thing.”

Wonder most recently appeared in Las Vegas in November at MGM Grand Garden Arena as part of a world tour during which he performed “Songs in the Key of Life” in its entirety. Duran Duran was last onstage in Las Vegas at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel in September 2011.

The Joint The Joint, which holds 4,000 people, features seven luxury suites, a VIP studio level, a state-of-the-art sound system and a superior video system. It has received numerous accolades including “Best Concert Venue” in Las Vegas Review-Journal’s “Best of Las Vegas” awards in 2010, 2011 and 2012, “No. 1 Hottest Club in America” award by Billboard Magazine in 2011, “Best New Major Concert Venue” at the 2010 Pollstar Awards, and “Best Live Music Venue” in AOL City’s Best 2010 awards. The Joint has been the venue for concerts by Paul McCartney, Prince , The Killers, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Arcade Fire, Avenged Sevenfold, Guns N’ Roses, Rise Against, Paramore, Muse, Drake and No Doubt. The venue hosted Vegas’s first rock n’ roll residency, "Supernatural Santana: A Trip through the Hits," and in February 2012, Vegas’s first hard rock residency, "Mötley Crüe in Sin City." In 2011, the venue welcomed "Tiësto In Concert," a groundbreaking live show created exclusively for The Joint featuring the world’s No. 1 electronic DJ and producer Tiësto. See Entertainment schedule 4455 Paradise Road Las Vegas , NV 89169 702-693-5000

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 people with excellent lines of sight and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. The Grand Garden Ticket Office is open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. 3799 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas , NV 89109 702-387-1600

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