ALO – Showbams

After a chaotic finish in 2024, BeachLife Festival returns for sixth year with Lenny Kravitz, Sublime & Alanis Morissette headlining

January 7, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

BeachLife Festival //
Seaside Lagoon – Redondo Beach, CA
May 2nd-4th, 2025 //

It’s a new year, and that means a new festival season is almost upon us.

On a day that saw high winds lead to wildfires in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, the organizers of BeachLife Festival just down the coast in Redondo Beach were announcing the lineup for its sixth edition after high winds caused the event’s final day in 2024 to end abruptly and never resume (read our festival review here).

It does feel a bit familiar considering the circumstances we found ourselves in last year when BeachLife had no choice but to cancel scheduled sets by ZZ Top, Fleet Foxes, Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB and headliner My Morning Jacket even with the wind dying down only a few hours to go before curfew. The fest did its best to make things right with fans, offering refunds and turning “lemons into lemonade” out of what was a very unfortunate situation, but there is no doubt it was quite a blow (no pun intended) to the psyche that left a lasting impression despite Day 1 and Day 2 going off without issue and featuring standout performances from headlining acts Sting and Incubus.

But this time around, Seaside Lagoon plans to host Lenny Kravitz, Sublime and Alanis Morissette at the top of another rock-heavy bill that boasts an undercard filled with plenty of top-notch talent. Also joining the aforementioned in LA’s South Bay this May are Train, Pretenders, Mt. Joy, O.A.R., CAKE, Jackson Browne, Aloe Blacc, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, The Beach Boys, The Struts, Skip Marley, Marcus King, Digable Planets, Sugar Ray, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Shovels & Rope, ALO, Lily Meola, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Donavon Frankenreiter, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, Common Sense, Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root and more over the course of three days. Take a peek at the poster above to see who else will be heading down to the beach.

While the music always serves as the main attraction at BeachLife, that’s not all there is to see and do with art installations, onsite activations, giveaways, boutique shopping, games and more very much a part of the whole experience.

Guests will also have the chance for the first time to become acquainted with the full-service California Surf Club opening next month that mixes gourmet cuisine with handcrafted cocktails in a personalized, fine-dining setting overlooking the main stage for both year-round members and festival attendees.

If that hasn’t sold you on attending BeachLife yet, it’s worth mentioning that the festival has continued to make waves in the local community by partnering with key organizations doing important work, including Heal the Bay as well as the Surfrider Foundation, Redondo Beach Education Fund, Wyland Foundation and Redondo Beach Police Foundation.

Looking to buy tickets? They are actually already on sale here! Three-day GA and GA+ passes are listed at $409 or $524, and VIP is available for $999 as well as single-day tickets set for $169 (GA), $204 (GA+) and $399 (VIP). If you’re for something new though, the Captain’s Plus pass will provide exclusive non-member access to a more intimate setting, including an opportunity to dine at the VIP restaurant onsite. BeachLife might be four months away, but it will be here before you know it so get those swim suits and sandals ready!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Alanis Morissette, ALO, Aloe Blacc, Bad Religion, BeachLife Festival, BeachLife Festival 2025, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, CAKE, California Surf Club, Common Sense, Descendents, Digable Planets, Dirk Miller, donavon frankenreiter, Fleet Foxes, Greg Graffin, Incubus, Jackson Browne, Jesse James Pariah, Jim Lindberg, Kyle Smith, Lenny Kravitz, Lily Meola, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Marcus King, Michael Glabicki, Milo Aukerman, Mr. Midway, Mt. Joy, My Morning Jacket, O.A.R., Pennywise, Pretenders, Rusted Root, Saxon Weiss, Shovels & Rope, Sitting On Saturn, Sting, Sublime, Sugar Ray, SULLVN, Susanna Hoffs, The Bangles Skip Marley, The Beach Boys, The Calamatix, The Rookie5, The Struts, Tomorrow's Bad Seeds, Too Rude, Train, Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, ZZ Top

BeachLife Festival hits the sand in May for third edition with Weezer, 311, The Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Miller Band & more performing

January 11, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 5 Comments

BeachLife Festival //
Seaside Lagoon – Redondo Beach, CA
May 13th-15th, 2022 //

The weather outside might be a little chilly right now, but you know what that means? We’re only a few months away from festival season!

Here in California, there has already been plenty of lineup announcements over the past six weeks with Smokin Grooves, This Ain’t No Picnic, Primavera Sound LA, CRSSD and BottleRock all putting out their individual rosters dating from early March to late August. Now, it’s BeachLife Festival’s turn.

The three-day event moved to September in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s back to its normal month of May this year with plenty to get excited about. Leading the fest’s third installment will be Weezer and 311 as co-headliners on Friday while The Smashing Pumpkins and Steve Miller Band will have their own days — Saturday and Sunday, respectively — to shine even after the sun dips into the Pacific Ocean.

BeachLife Festival May 13-15, 2022. Here we go! #WeLiveTheBeachLife #RedondoBeach #MusicFestival @Weezer @SmashingPumpkin @SMBofficial @SherylCrow @311 @vancejoy +more! tix here: https://t.co/1vES7FNs0h pic.twitter.com/hoTSbZ9wZl

— BeachLifeFestival (@BeachLifeFest) January 10, 2022

If all or some of those names hitting the stage at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach don’t exactly wow you though, don’t stop reading just yet.

BeachLife, which leans heavily in the direction of rock ‘n’ roll and reggae but also incorporates jam, funk and punk acts, has plenty of other talent booked for 2022. Black Pumas, Vance Joy, Sheryl Crow, Stone Temple Pilots and Lord Huron anchor an impressive undercard, but they aren’t the only ones deserving of being mentioned with Cold War Kids, Capital Cities, UB40 feat. Ali Campbell, Milky Chance, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Cannons, Matisyahu, The Allman Betts Band (made up of Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Duane Oakley), Atlas Genius, Sugar Ray, Ozomatli and more on the bill. Check out the poster above for the rest of the scheduled artists and bands.

Want to buy tickets? They’re already on sale here! Three-day GA and GA+ passes can be purchased for $419 or $449, and VIP is available for $899 as well as single-day tickets for $159 (GA), $189 (GA+) and $349 (VIP). And if you’re really looking to throw down some cash, there’s always the three-day Captain’s pass for $2,999 or $1,250 (single-day) so don’t miss the boat on securing your admission to a weekend of live music on the beach before it’s too late.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: 311, Ali Campbell, ALO, Animal Liberation Orchestra, Art Alexakis, Atlas Genius, BeachLife Festival, BeachLife Festival 2022, Berry Duane Oakley, Berry Oakley, Black Pumas, BottleRock, BOTTLEROCK 2022, BottleRock Napa, BOTTLEROCK NAPA 2022, BottleRock Napa Valley, BOTTLEROCK NAPA VALLEY 2022, Cannons, Capital Cities, Cold War Kids, CRSSD, CRSSD 2022, CRSSD Festival, CRSSD Festival 2022, Cubensis, Dan Kelly, Devon Allman, Dickey Betts, donavon frankenreiter, Duane Betts, Everclear, Feed the Kitty, Fortunate Youth, Gregg Allman, Hoist The Colors, Jim Lindberg, joe russo, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Joey Cape, Karl Denson, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Lagwagon, Landon McNamara, Latch Key Kid, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Lord Huron, Magic!, Matisyahu, Michael Franti, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Milky Chance, Ozomatli, Pennywise, Phantom Planet, Primavera Sound LA, Primavera Sound LA 2022, Rita Wilson, Sheryl Crow, Steve Miller Band, Stone Temple Pilots, Sugar Ray, The Aggrolites, The Allman Betts Band, The Allman Brothers Band, The Charities, The Hip Abduction, The Record Company, The Smashing Pumpkins, This Ain't No Picnic, This Ain't No Picnic 2022, Tom Hanks, Tom Waits, Tomorrow's Bad Seeds, UB40, Vance Joy, Wall of Sound, Weezer, Yotam Ben Horin

High Sierra celebrates 25 years in grand fashion

July 15, 2015 by BenJamin Wallen 1 Comment

By Benjamin Wallen //

High Sierra Music Festival //
Quincy, CA
June 30th-July 3rd, 2015 //

High Sierra is an intimate music festival nestled in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains. Held every year around the Fourth of July in Quincy, Calif., people come from all over to get down in the sun and have some fun.

Celebrating the festival’s 25th year brought the return of jam-band giants The String Cheese Incident and Umphrey’s McGee, both of which are no strangers to High Sierra. Tearing the roof off of festivals and causing the earth to shake from fans dancing is what String Cheese and Umphrey’s do best, after all.

The String Cheese Incident

San Francisco locals The Sam Chase & The Untraditional were another highlight at the festival. The Wood Brothers, meanwhile, brought their special sound to Quincy and had lots of new fans talking about them afterward. The Word, a mash-up of amazing musical talents from John Medeski to Robert Randolph, impressed by surprisingly only playing instrumental gospel tunes.

Pennsylvania bluegrass band Cabinet also left a heavy mark at High Sierra, as did T Sisters, who seemed to be everywhere. Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO), Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers, The Brothers Comatose, Steve Poltz and Surprise Me Mr. Davis shared the stage for a memorable, mid-day set of California-inspired tunes in the indoor, air-conditioned music hall. On the final day of High Sierra, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead closed things out on the main stage with two full, vibrant sets.

On the whole, this year’s festival was very well-handled and maintained. High Sierra is a special event, made special by all of those who make it what it is. The festival never feels too crowded or overpopulated — it’s just right between the music, the people and the area amid everything else. It’s exactly what many want in a festival and so much more.