On our page we are Living The Fest Life. At BeachLife Festival, they are living the beach life (#WeLiveTheBeachLife). I thought I was going to be able to draw some sort of clever comparison, but after a long week of work I am out of puns and craving the beach and a vacation. Seems like the best time to look at pictures of the California coast and write a little bit more about BeachLife Festival. Basically it looks like #goals for anyone who loves the beach. Honestly, what could be better than music, a drink, the beach, and the potential for a gorgeous sunset? Nothing! So be there or be square.
BeachLife might be new to the festival scene, but they look to be “bringing it” when it comes to amazing festival experiences. Here are our top 10 reasons why BeachLife is not your average festival. AKA reasons you NEED to come with us to check it out next month!
ONE: The Side Stage Dining Experiences: In case you don’t know, I am bougie – I love exclusive, I love food, and I love unique experiences at festivals. BeachLife has put together an opportunity that exceeds even my champagne tastes. SideStage, is a 50 seat pop up restaurant featuring meals made by top Cali chefs. Best part, your meal will literally be on the side stage (you probably guessed that) – allowing you to indulge in a fantastic meal while watching the performance of your choice. If you ever feel like you are missing out on music when you go to grab a bite, this experience is for you. For info on how to get tickets and to see the seatings and to see the artist/chef pairings check the website here
TWO: Surfing!!! BeachLife has partnered with the World Surf League to bring festival goers an excellent kick off opportunity. The Festival grounds will host the Big Wave Surf Awards before the festival starts. This is an annual pro surfing event, showcasing some of the world’s most talented surfers. In addition to surfing, it is also accompanied by a party/awards the night before the Festival starts, so you will get an extra day to party!! On a related note, from what we hear the festival will also feature skateboarding and other vendors and experiences aimed at sharing the Southern California lifestyle.
THREE: Parties! BeachLife is hosting a WSL after party that will feature lots of fun, but most importantly a performance by Punk rock group X and will also showcase surf movie White Rhino. If you ask us, there’s nothing better than a good pre-party.
FOUR: Location, Location, Location. BeachLife Festival will be located at the scenic Seaside Lagoon park nestled on the Redondo Beach waterfront. The area is already beautiful, but the Festival’s producers have also entered a long-term partnership with plans to help transform the area and the beach into a more atmospheric beach village vibe. In other words, they are doing the exact opposite of paving paradise and putting up a parking lot. I mean just look at this place – could it be more gorgeous?! Apparently, the answer is yes.
FIVE: The Lineup. You know you are coming into something special when the lineup (which is amazing) takes some time to get around to. Once again, the festival may be new, but in my opinion they have put together what looks like a carefully curated beach vibey lineup that fits its SOCAL location. The lineup only got better when BeachLife announced some big additions a few weeks ago. If you haven’t checked it out – we have dropped a picture below. There are the headliners of course, but some other names that stick out to us right off the bat are – Jason Mraz, Grace Potter, Ziggy Marley, Blues Traveler, Everclear, Sugar Ray, and Dawes. We strongly recommend taking a spin through the lineup or checking out the official playlist. I had the opportunity to see Blues Traveler earlier this year and as seasoned pros they were phenomenal despite dealing with some equipment issues. They will definitely put on a good show. As a 90s kid, I am also super excited to see Everclear back on some lineups this summer, they are one of my faves. Check out the lineup and let us know in the comments or over on social media who you all are most excited to see or if you have a band that we should check out.
SIX: Giving back: One of the best parts of researching and writing posts to share festivals with our LTFL audience, is finding out about the back story and about how festivals are run. One aspect of that we are seeing more and more the trend in festivals “giving back.” This could come in several forms. Some festivals are working hard to give back to the local communities with events and giveaways. Others, especially those located in coastal regions are aiming to make sustainability part of their core plan. BeachLife is not only investing in its lagoon location, it is giving a percentage of the proceeds from each pass (and from related events) to six local and regional charities, including the Redondo Beach Police FoundationFestivals bring big profits and attention to communities, but they also mean more work and security concerns for local police. Given the crossover from my real life job – I think this is a special thing to recognize. It is nice to see festivals, including BeachLife, recognize the charitable power they can bring to a community. That is an impact that lasts well beyond the weekend of any festival.
SEVEN: You Can Bring Your Boat. I think this is the only festival we have ever heard of where you can bring your boat . . . no I am not kidding. BeachLife is selling passes that allow you to moor your boat overlooking the festival grounds. If you make a reservation for your boat, you also get tickets and access to the pre-parties. I obviously don’t have a yacht (or believe me I would be out on it doing fabulous boat things instead of sitting inside on this gorgeous day telling you all about festivals) but if you do and you love music this is a pretty cool idea. For those of us land lovers, the boats will create an awesome looking backdrop and some excellent picture opportunities. Side note – I had to stop myself from describing it as parking your boat repeatedly during this section.
EIGHT: Southern California is known for great food and drink – and BeachLife will be no exception. The festival has been promoting not just the SideStage dining experience we talked about earlier – but also a boutique wine village, craft brews, and a variety of culinary options. BeachLife was founded by Los Angeles native Allen Sanford, a restaurateur turned music entrepreneur, so we are guessing the food and drink options are going to be pretty delicious!
NINE: Make it a Trip! Redondo Beach is located in the greater Los Angeles area, providing tons of opportunities to extend your trip and do some California sightseeing. If you don’t have time to go far, Redondo Beach (and the Southern California South Bay Area) have a lot to offer without going to far. The area is famous for year round surfing, beach volleyball, and the Redondo Pier. There are awesome bike paths connecting the area to neighboring beaches, and prime shopping opportunities. For anyone who is a cinephile or loves TV – there are any number of shows and movies that were filmed either in whole or at least partially in the area, providing plenty of fan photo ops to check out. All of that and we haven’t event started to describe the gorgeous beach front views.
TEN: BRIAN WILSON FROM THE BEACH BOYS!!!! There is nothing more to say. Ahhh!!!
Alright, alright, I will get over my fangirling and expand on my enthusiastic all caps computer yelling. Everyone has that band your parents listened to, maybe it was the first music you remember hearing. For me, that’s the Beach Boys. Both of my parents were fans and some of my earliest music related memories involve Beach Boys songs. So . . . this set is pretty much going to be pure nostalgic bliss and I am all about it.
I am totally in a beach mood after looking at all the awesome pictures and experiences BeachLife has in store for us in a few weeks. Sticking with that theme and stealing their sign off – I will end this post by saying See you in the sand!
Let us know if you will be at BeachLife! We would love to hear your tips and experiences afterwards. We will be sending two of our favorite west coast correspondents to take it all in and report back, so come back to livingthefestlife.com after the Festival for our recap.
For more information on BeachLife Festival or to purchase tickets, visit the BeachLife Festival website at https://beachlifefestival.com/.