Located in Redondo Beach, BeachLife Festival hosted thousands of music fans of all ages across three days on the city’s marina. People from every generation could be found, reminding us all of how music truly brings people together, but most of the audience consisted of Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers. 

As a first-timer at the fest, I went in without expectations to see how it was set up. To my surprise, half of it was on the beach, meaning you could sit or stand in the sand watching your favorite band. There were four stages — two main stages and two smaller ones. The fest wasn’t very big at all, which was a plus for someone in my position, so it wouldn’t be a hassle getting from one stage to another, even if you got caught in the crowd after a set.

The lineup was great and felt perfectly curated for a festival in Redondo Beach, with genres ranging from surf rock, reggae, folk, soul, indie rock, and more. The sound could’ve been better since the only speakers were hanging off the sides of each main stage, so you could easily feel left out if you were farther back in the crowd. The production for sets around sunset and on was nice to experience, especially Incubus’ — I was blown away and impressed with their visuals' creativity and thought.

Performance-wise, City and Colour stole my heart with their incredibly emotional music and lyrics. I’d never listened to them before BeachLife, and they played the best set over the entire weekend for me personally. Plus, they all looked amazing in their outfits. I highly recommend seeing them in town if you ever get a chance! 

The lack of space for the press in the photo pits stood out most to me as a photographer. The promoter sold high-tier VIP tickets, giving people access to the pit during our time to shoot, which affected our ability to get our jobs done properly within the first three songs. On the third day, moving in the photo pit during sets and getting closer to the headliner, My Morning Jacket, was virtually impossible. ZZ Top’s set was the most disappointing in that way because we couldn’t move without physically having to push through people – there was no space for us at all. I’d never dealt with something like that before and hope I never do again, but I’m surprised there wasn’t thought to give these people access after the first three songs if that was a part of their package, but I digress.

The weather over the weekend wasn’t too bad, with cloudy mornings and then sunny skies easily sunburning festival-goers as the days went on, but by the time day three rolled around, there were high wind advisories since it was forecasted to have winds go up to 30mph in the area. Palm trees and peoples’ hair were blowing in one direction, wind could be heard in the microphones during performances, and the hanging speakers and giant screens were swinging in the wind. With five sets to go, announcements from each stage instructed us to evacuate for an hour for our safety and said to check their social media platforms for updates. People were not as happy as you could imagine, but the thought of getting thousands of people back in if the weather got better sounded even worse. 

BeachLife announced online that the festival was canceled due to high winds, with five performances left to spare. People in the comments expressed their frustrations for not being able to see Fleet Foxes, Asiatica, Trey Anastasio, Sashamon, and My Morning Jacket. Still, others showed their appreciation for considering everyone’s safety. 

Overall, BeachLife was quite the experience as my first festival to shoot, and I will never be forgotten. The lineup, vendors, and location were all things to remember, and I look forward to seeing how they improve. I think it’s safe to say all of us were blown away by this year’s fest — pun intended.

DAY 1

DAY TWO

DAY THREE