Under sunny skies and with the ocean as the background, the third installment of the BeachLife Festival returned to Redondo Beach as day one of the weekend concert attracted thousands of music fans to Seaside Lagoon on Friday, May 13.
“It’s like a perfect day. The beach, the sun, the music,” said 42-year-old Jackson Miller, who drove from San Diego and was one of the first to enter the festival grounds when gates opened at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The three-day festival includes a lineup of more than four dozen bands that cover the musical gamut from modern rock, nostalgic ’90s bands, chill reggae and laid-back musical acts.
Opening day was made up of more than a dozen bands performing on four stages with Weezer headlining and other bands such as 311, Black Pumas, Cold War Kids and Long Beach Dub All Stars performing in front of a mostly older laid back crowd.
Chill vibes ruled the day with people playing lawn games like cornhole as well as ping-pong and, as has become tradition, there was a competitive game of Beer Pong played with trash-can size red cups near the sand in front of the Lowtide Stage.
People pretty much breezed through the line at the main entrance throughout the day and the crowd varied from families with kids to older couples sitting on blankets on the lush green turf in front of the Hightide Stage to tattooed punk music fans who got here early to see a punk legend.
“Pennywise, I’m a huge Pennywise fans and I’m here for Jim,” said 42-year-old Orange County resident Richard Villanueva, referring to Pennywise front man Jim Lindberg, who launched the weekend of music with a 1 p.m. set on the festival’s Lowtide Stage.
Lindberg performed songs off his 2021 solo album, “Songs from the Elkhorn Trail,” including “Hello Again,” “Blood on Your Hands” and “Long Way to Go.”
He also shared a hot tip with those who arrived early: Everyone 21 and older would be treated to a free ice cold Tecate beer and other swag for being dedicated music fans.
Other early performers included Los Angeles rock band Velvet Starlings on the smaller Riptide Stage and Australian rockers Atlas Genius on the Hightide Stage, plus Tomorrows Bad Seeds, which delivered an intimate acoustic set that included covers by artists like Bob Marley and Chris Stapleton.
Other weekend headliners on the bill are the Smashing Pumpkins on Saturday May 14 and the Steve Miller Band closing it all out Sunday May 15 plus Vance Joy, Sheryl Crow, Capital Cities, Ozomatli, Sugar Ray and UB40 playing throughout the weekend.
Besides taking the crowds back in time, the festival also filled their bellies with the return of the approximately 100-seat SideStage pop-up restaurant, which features a $90-$250 per person prix fixe menu crafted by a different chef each night on the side of the main stage as bands perform.
Friday afternoon chef Ray Hayashi of Hermosa Beach’s modern Asian restaurant RYLA while on Saturday Michelin-Star chef Kevin Meehan of Kali in Los Angeles takes over the kitchen and on Sunday Jacob Ramos, the festival’s executive chef. Serves the final meals of the weekend.
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