Redondo Beach Welcomes The Inaugural BeachLife Festival!

“We threw a massive, highly curated beach party for thousands of our closest friends all set to a soundtrack of iconic bands and legendary musicians who embody the California beach lifestyle, and it was incredible,” said BeachLife co-founder Allen Sanford. “From the unforgettable performances to the perfect Southern California weather and the never-before-seen mashup of cuisine and music at our SideStage restaurant, BeachLife exceeded all expectations.”

Photo Credit- BeachLife Festival

Indeed for 3 days (May 3-5), the Redondo Beach Pier area was transformed into the FIRST oceanfront multi-day music extravaganza called BeachLife Festival.

Along with a variety of incredible musicians spread throughout the weekend, there was also plenty of food and drink options, art being displayed and created in person, lawn games and much more.

Performers at BeachLife Festival included Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, Southern California reggae-rock favorites Slightly Stoopid, indie-folk trailblazers Dawes, easy-going jam-rockers Big Head Todd and The Monsters, plus reggae rising stars Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds and tropical songstress Anuhea. The festival headliners were Brian Wilson (founding member of the Beach Boys) with guests Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, Bob Weir and Wolf Bros., and Willie Nelson and Family along with Ziggy Marley, Violent Femmes, Steel Pulse, Grace Potter, Blues Traveler, Bruce Hornsby, Everclear, Chevy Metal, Sugar Ray and Donavon Frankenreiter.

This immersive festival experience truly celebrated the legacy and culture of Southern California’s iconic beach lifestyle. There were nothing but good vibes felt throughout the weekend as festival goers were treated to special performances but also perfect sunny weather.

BeachLife was made up of three stages; Lowtide stage where guests enjoyed the show with their toes in the sand, Hightide stage which was the main and biggest stage surrounded by grass and finally Riptide stage where rising and up-and-coming bands performed. Overlooking the Hightide stage was Sidestage, a pop-up restaurant that featured a menu inspired by the festival’s headlining performers prepared by three notable California chefs David Lefevre, Michael Cimarusti and Tin Vuong.

On Friday, Slightly Stoopid performed a full set of acoustic songs plus invited surprise guest Bob Weir on stage for a rendition of “Franklin’s Tower” and Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels.” Later that night, trio Bob Weir and Wolf Brothers welcomed Chris Robinson and Jackie Greene out for an encore of “Not Fade Away.”

SLIGHTLY STOOPID (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

BOB WEIR (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

On Saturday, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath brought the festival back to the late 90’s with a high-energy performance of the band’s hits “Someday” and “Every Morning.” He talked to the crowd a lot about being a father of 9-year-old twins. Later on in the day, Taylor Hawkins (of Foo Fighters) held an enraptured crowd in the palm of his hand as he led his band Chevy Metal through an entire cover set of Van Halen classics. Brian Wilson closed out the day with special guests Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin with hit after hit. The enthusiastic crowd sang along to “California Girls”, “Help Me Rhonda”, “Good Vibrations”, “God Only Knows” and many other favorites from The Beach Boys.

SUGAR RAY (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

CHEVY METAL (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

BRIAN WILSON (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

On Sunday, Men At Work’s front-man Colin Hay performed all the biggest hits from the iconic 80’s band along with his beloved tune “Beautiful World” as the ocean breeze swept across the crowd. Blues Traveler made waves with their harmonica-filled pop-single “Run-Around” and thrilled the crowd with a cover of Sublime’s “What I Got.” Then Ziggy Marley transcended peace, love and unity with his rousing set that even included back-up singing from his children. BeachLife Festival ended with the one and only Willie Nelson. At 86, the musician smoothly delivered classic tunes as the sun was setting behind him with special guests, John Popper (Blues Traveler) and John Densmore (The Doors). He performed classics like “On The Road Again,” “Whisky River” and “Always On My Mind.” 

COLIN HAY (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

ZIGGY MARLEY (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

WILLIE NELSON (Photo Credit- Jessie Lee Cederblom)

A percentage of ticket sales will be donated to several charities, including: Surfrider Foundation, 5 Gyres, and Redondo Beach Police Foundation, with additional non-profits forthcoming.

For more information on the BeachLife Festival, visit beachlifefestival.com

A big thanks to BeachLife Festival and Mason Jar Media for coordination and photos)