Las Vegas’s music and arts festival, Life is Shit Festival, will return for the sixth year Sat., Sept. 22 at The Dive, 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy.

The festival will include performances by out-of-town acts such as Southern California glam garage punks The Flytraps, legendary Tucson, Ariz. prog-punk maniacs Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout, and Phoenix, Ariz. electro-hip hop duo Snailmate, playing alongside local Las Vegas fixtures including Ted Rader & the Magic Family, The Acid Sisters, Same Sex Mary, DANGERBONER, and more. Reno, Nev.-based Loud As Folk Records will curate acoustic performances on a second, outdoor stage. 

Despite its name, Life is Shit Festival tries to make 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 underprivileged, adolescent girls in Las Vegas how to develop a positive self-image by playing rock music. Fundraising is achieved through an instrument drive and a raffle, with prizes donated by bands and many Las Vegas businesses, including recording studios, record stores, and tattoo shops. 

Life is Shit also features food trucks, artist booths and contests for prizes. Additionally, 2018 will mark the festival’s third year publishing the Life is Shit Zine, a 64-page zine available at the festival and online, featuring band interviews, writing, art and more. 

Founded in 2013 by members of the Las Vegas music community, Life is Shit was created as a grittier, heavier, and more affordable alternative to the massive, pop culture-oriented Life is Beautiful Festival, which occurs in downtown Las Vegas the same fall weekend. 

Each year, the homegrown festival features acts from the thriving Las Vegas music scene, playing alongside select national acts. Past national acts have included 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). New York’s politically-charged anti-folk artist Hamell on Trial headlined Life is Shit Festival in 2017, shortly after his album Tackle Box was given an “A” rating by legendary rock journalist Robert Christgau

Despite competing with a multi-day, corporate music festival, Life is Shit Festival has grown each year, receiving overwhelming community support, as well as media coverage from nearly all major Las Vegas media outlets, local blogs, and even The Washington Post.

Here's the schedule:

4:00pm PARTY STARTS! Loud As Folk!
4:20pm FARANGS
5:00pm The Acid Sisters
5:45pm Poison Boys
6:30pm Ted Rader & The Magic Family
7:15pm Same Sex Mary
8:00pm Snailmate
8:45pm Jack Evan Johnson
9:30pm SHIT DOGMA
10:15pm The Flytraps
11:15pm Tight Fright
12:00am DANGERBONER
12:45am Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout!
1:30am Kurumpaw

Loud As Folk Outhouse Stage hosted by Spike McGuire Music:
4:00pm MariposA
4:45pm Max Troublefield
5:30pm Charles Norris
6:15pm The Midnight Disease
7:00pm Christine Corey
7:45pm Greg Gilmore
8:30pm Alex Higgins
9:15pm Kat Kalling
10:00pm Paige Overton
11:00pm Brock Frabbiele
11:45pm Buffalo Moses Music
12:30am K. Kilfeather
1:15am Labrador

More Info:

https://www.facebook.com/lifeisshitfestival