By Josh Herwitt //
My Morning Jacket //
BeachLife Festival – Redondo Beach, CA
May 3rd, 2026 //
When the lineup for BeachLife Festival’s fifth edition was announced in early 2024, fans of My Morning Jacket could not have been more excited to see the Grammy-nominated rockers listed atop the poster as the South Bay event’s third and final headliner.
Not only did the two other headlining acts that year in Sting and Incubus differ significantly when you compare their overall sound and reach, but the Louisville quintet that’s widely regarded as one of the best live bands in the business had also never headlined a music festival in Southern California after forming more than a quarter century prior. The fact is, music festivals in California and along the West Coast haven’t been a big part of MMJ’s touring schedule (we had made it out to 20 shows in the past decade and a half but have never seen them previously at one for example). Given where the band is now and the limited amount of options in today’s scene though, most headlining slots at a festival can’t rival the two-and-a-half hour auditory rides we have become accustomed to from these road warriors.
There’s no doubt Jim James (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) were worthy of such a billing having played at the Hollywood Bowl for the first time — despite being booked as a co-headline performance with Fleet Foxes — just a few months before BeachLife revealed its roster (read our show review here), and with Dirty Heads, Devo, Seal, Local Natives, City and Colour, and Santigold, among others, gracing the stage for the fest’s first two days, it was shaping up to be a stellar weekend of live music in Redondo Beach.
By the time Sunday had arrived, the anticipation was certainly palpable. We hadn’t caught Jacket in the flesh since that night at the Bowl, and considering they only had 75 minutes to work with then, we were looking forward to having some more time for this encounter with the psychedelic-leaning, jam-adjacent five-piece. Of course the appeal of having Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, Fleet Foxes, ZZ Top, Courtney Barnett and Margo Price on the docket as well made it feel like we were in for a banner day down at the beach. That is, until we weren’t.
It can sometimes be easy to forget and hard to remember it’s Mother Nature who ultimately calls the shots as we are all temporary visitors here on Planet Earth. Nonethess, a “high-wind emergency” that forced everyone to evacuate from the premises is not something you experience very often in sunny SoCal and let alone during the month of May. The decision by organizers to cancel the remainder of BeachLife roughly an hour later left thousands of folks stunned, frustrated and disappointed, especially because the winds had completely died down at that point. An announcement after more than a week stating that refunds would be issued to ticket holders offered some consolation, but not for those from out of the area who had traveled long distances to be there. Moreover, nothing could truly replace the hours that went into compiling such a well-curated bill, leaving us and plenty of others wondering if we would ever attend again (read our festival review here).
That unfortunate day hasn’t stopped us from witnessing a number of MMJ concerts subsequently, even if it meant a visit to the Bay Area for their four-night run of no repeats at The Fillmore in San Francisco three weeks after the entire BeachLife fiasco (read our First Times coverage here). Last year’s release of is to mark the group’s 10th studio album provided more opportunities with its summer tour wrapping up in California, and we made sure to not miss all three dates — from Hollywood to Santa Barbara and Berkeley (see more photos from the shows here) — following another epic and awe-inspiring two-night stand at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre (read our show review here).
Jacket’s appearances in and around Los Angeles have become fewer and farther between if we think about those first three shows at The Wiltern we covered way back in 2012, and with their most recent one coming last August, any expectation for a return to the City of Angels this year felt rather unlikely. But having MMJ included in BeachLife’s plans for 2026 came as a pleasant surprise when its seventh installment was officially unveiled, and although some of the circumstances weren’t quite as ideal as they were previously (more on that below), there was real hope that the show would happen this time.
As we alluded to, BeachLife didn’t exactly give Jacket buffs the kind of do-over they arguably deserved. James Taylor, instead, had earned the honor to be one of BeachLife’s main attractions, relegating MMJ to sub-headliner status for 2026 and landing talent that wasn’t anywhere as enticing as it was a couple of years ago. Neither of those drawbacks were going to prevent us from making it to Seaside Lagoon where the Lowtide Stage had been designated for Jacket’s set, however. A “swatting” threat due to “a reported hostage situation involving possible explosives” at the Redondo Pier that morning nearly did believe it or not, sparking another moment of despair and uncertainty surrounding Sunday’s festivities that caused them to be delayed for almost two hours.
But any feelings of déjà vu would shortly thereafter be erased by 2 p.m. when the gates finally opened and the music got underway. For us, the preceding trio of Poolside, Peach Pit and Sheryl Crow merely represented a chance to warm up our ears until James and company totally infiltrated them with MMJ’s scintillating songwriting, poignant lyricism and electrifying guitar solos as the sun slid gradually into the Pacific Ocean and day turned to night.
No matter how many times we have seen Jacket or how long it has been between instances, there is something cathartic and genuinely uplifting when they let loose onstage. Z standouts “Off the Record” and “Lay Low” at the outset received loud cheers from the crowd, buttering us up for one of their most extended tunes in “Phone Went West” — except this iteration gave a nod to the late George Harrison with “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” tacked on at the end. Yet, the biggest highlight of the evening might have been the jam on “Everyday Magic” that has elevated the is track to be a new live favorite of ours. After all, the element of surprise is what has always made each MMJ gig special in its own way because when we step back and look at the current landscape, there aren’t a whole lot that you can say are still going this strong in the name of rock ‘n’ roll these days. BeachLife has made it a priority to shine a light on these artists since its inception and in this case, allow Jacket the chance to deliver some sweet redemption.
Setlist:
Off the Record
Lay Low
Phone Went West / Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)
Time Waited
Golden
Everyday Magic
Mahgeetah
Victory Dance
Circuital
Dancefloors
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