Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson & Bob Weir Headline Inaugural Music Concert
For decades, the mostly simple South Bay Beach Cities of Los Angeles have feasted on a steady diet of music festivals that involved local musicians mixed in with themed party cover and tribute bands.
There has been the likes of tribute bands for The Who, the Beatles, even Elvis, 80s bands and locals Joe’s Band, Shari “El” Purto and Barley at events such as Fiesta Hermosa, the Redondo Beach Lobster Festival, and the most popular of them all, the free Summer Concerts on the sand every Sunday in August at the Hermosa Beach Pier.
But this spring, Saint Rocke owner Allen Sanford – who put on those Summer Concerts – is putting on an event unlike anything the South Bay has ever experienced, at least as far as I know. His BeachLife Festival has some big-time rock legends in a three-day music extravaganza that is less like Fiesta Hermosa and more like the Coachella of the South Bay.
Actually the musicians – consisting of bands involving Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson and Bob Weir – are more like Oldchella” – but it’s the entire bigness of the event that makes me associate it with the popular music festival in the Southern California desert.
To be held May 3-5 in Seaside Lagoon, there are a total of 35 bands on three stages. The only local band is Barley, which a couple years ago played San Diego’s massive Kaaboo.
The ticket prices certainly match big-time music festivals. Most South Bay’ers balk about paying $30 or so for Lobster Festival and $7 for a beer in the free Fiesta Hermosa beer garden, so I’m curious to see their reaction to the $275 price for three days of BeachLife (Coachella,, one of the most expensive music festivals anywhere, is $429. Kaaboo is $259).
As far as I can tell, there are no single-day tickets available and the website shows two-day tickets are sold out (so apparently some people are buying into this concept).
A few people I talked to about BeachLife wonder why it’s so big and expensive right off the bat for its inaugural event. “Why don’t they ease into it and build a crowd,” is a common response.
But there’s also a South Bay mantra of “go big or go home” and this is certainly going big. Very big.
Here’s the complete lineup of the bands.
Friday, May 3
Bob Weir & Wolf Brothers
As The Crow Flies
Steel Pulse
Bruce Hornsby & The Noise Makers
Donavon Frankenreiter
Timmy Curran
Roots Of Creation
The Cordovas
Clayton Joseph Scott
The Higgs
Saturday, May 4
Brian Wilson w/Al Jardine & Blondie Chaplin
Violent Femms
Chevy Metal
Everclear
Best Coast
Sugar Ray
Berlin
His Eyes Have Fangs
V Torres
Barley
Latchkey Kid
Sunday, May 5
Willie Nelson & Family
Ziggy Marley
Grace Potter
Blues Traveler
Colin Hay (Of Men At Work)
Keller Williams Grateful Grass
Matt Costa
Pancho Sanchez
Venice
Lost Beach
Chris Pierce
The Hollow Legs
Charlie Overby
The event will feature three stages, food trucks and, of particular interest to those in the South Bay, bars with spirits, beers and wines.
A three-day ticket is $249. The two-day tickets sold out even before the full lineup was announced in January. The three-day VIP is $795 and a Captain’s Pass is $2,000. There are no single-day tickets. That is something else new with South Bay music festivals.
The event’s website is: beachlifefestival.com
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