The inaugural BeachLife Nights, a two-day “concert in the sand” presented on October 18 and 19 along the Redondo Beach waterfront, was an unmitigated success. A boutique version of the grander BeachLife Fest, which typically takes place in May, it featured eight bands with a concentration on reggae/roots-influenced rock, including Michael Franti & Spearhead, Iration, Fortunate Youth, SOJA, English Beat, and Anuhea. The lineup also included surf-rocker Donavon Frankenreiter and the (very) young rockers, Rookie5.
Refitted into a smaller footprint than its larger spring edition that drew 33,000 fans in spring 2024, BeachLife Nights utilized the on-the-beach stage and sandy expanse in its entirety. Organizers made great use of the area, offering splendid views of the Redondo Beach coastline, which were especially striking each day as the sun set over the ocean. Approximately 3,000 to 4,000 festivalgoers attended daily. The larger spring edition of the BeachLife Fest uses this area as well as a neighboring, slightly inland stage and surrounding spaces.
BeachLife Nights also featured an expanded focus on gourmet food. General admission attendees enjoyed excellent food options for purchase from celebrated Los Angeles-based food trucks, including Roy Choi's Kogi Korean BBQ, Yalla Truck (Middle Eastern food), and Malibu Cove Seafood. VIP guests, who seemed to make up a larger percentage than at most festivals, were treated to daily complimentary tastings by celebrity chef Curtis Stone, whose Beverly Hills and Hollywood restaurants have earned Michelin stars.
Michael Franti & Spearhead, the charismatic pied pipers of roots/reggae hip-hop/rock, raised the spirits of the crowd with a typically standout show that headlined Friday’s festivities, during which Franti ventured into the audience a couple of times to sing and take selfies. Featuring bassist Carl Young, whom Franti noted has been with him for 30 years, and drummer Manas Itiene (24 years with the band), the five-piece’s 75-minute set of positivity and optimism included popular tunes from years past, such as “I’m Alive,” “The Sound of Sunshine,” and closer, “Say Hey.” The performance also showcased material from their latest release, “Big Big Love,” including the title track and songs like “Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down,” “Vibe Check,” “Lost But Not Alone,” and “Hands Up to the Sky.”
As Saturday’s headliner, Hawaii-based Iration delivered a crowd-pleasing set on the sand, blending melodic reggae-rock with island sounds. Formed almost 20 years ago in Isla Vista, a town a little more than 100 miles up the coast from Redondo Beach, the band of native Hawaiians included frontman Micah Pueschel (guitar/lead vocals) and founding members Adam Taylor (bass), Joseph Dickens (drums), Cayson Peterson (keyboard/synth), along with Micah Brown (guitar/vocals), Drake Peterson (trumpet, keyboards), and Tony Rinaldi (percussion/trombone). Iration opened their hour-long set with “Daytrippin’” from their most recent release, “Last Night,” and treated the beach gathering to older favorites, including “Automatic,” “Reelin’,” “Stay the Course,” “Turn Around,” “Summer Nights,” and their closing song, “Falling.” Complementing their music, Iration recently launched a line of hemp-infused lotions, balms, and bath products.
“Iration’s music has a way of taking me to a place of calm, away from any stress in my life,” said Jessica Castañeda. “Their songs don’t just speak to my ears – they speak to my soul. Whether it's the lyrics or the sound, everything about their music helps me relax and escape, reminding me of relationships I never want to forget. … ‘Stay the Course’ reignited my love for the band maybe five or six years ago. I LOVE that song, and the lyrics just made so much sense to me in my life and all that I have been through.” Jessica, who attended the fest with her husband, Andy, lives 100 miles up the road in the San Bernardino Mountain community of Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
Preceding Iration on Saturday were merrymaking reggae rockers Fortunate Youth, whose mission is “to spread peace, love, and unity with music.” First formed in 2009 in Hermosa Beach, Calif., which shares the South Bay beachfront with BeachLife’s Redondo Beach, the band’s performance was led by vocalist Dan Kelly, along with Travis "Travi Bongo" Walpole (percussion, guitar), Jered Draskovich (keyboards, bass), Greg Gelb (bass, guitar), Corey Draskovich (bass), and Revelation Kalauli (drums). Their high-energy set included music from their latest album, “Good Times (Roll On),” including the title track and closing number “The Situation,” as well as “Sunlight” and “Riddim Rydah.” The band also covered Otis Redding’s “(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay,” which segued into “Friends and Family,” along with “No Place Above,” “One Love,” “Vibration Dub,” “Love is the Most High,” “Cali Vibes,” “So Rebel,” and “Burn One.” Hudson Stone, lead guitarist for Rookie5 and son of celebrity chef Curtis Stone, joined the band for a song, with several band members’ children invited onstage to join the festivities.
Also on Saturday, BeachLife veteran musician, surfer, and BeachLife’s official “Director of Vibe,” Donavon Frankenreiter (guitar, vocals), fittingly brought those vibes to the beach. Frankenreiter, a talented songwriter who has shared the stage with stars like Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, G. Love, and Devon Allman (who, along with Frankenreiter, set a Guinness World Record in 2023 by performing 50 shows in 50 states in 49 days), performed at BeachLife Nights as a trio with Matt Grundy on bass/harmonica and Jara Harris on drums. Frankenreiter brought out Curtis Stone’s 10-year-old son Emerson to jam on guitar with the group. Frankenreiter’s set included “Never Too Late,” “I’ll Come A-Runnin’,” and “Gotta Believe” from his new release, “Get Outta Your Mind.” His set also included “Move By Yourself,” which briefly segued into a portion of the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” along with “Can’t Go On Without You,” “What’cha Know About,” “Heading Home,” “The Way It Is,” “Big Wave,” “It Don’t Matter,” and “Swing On Down.” Frankenreiter and his band also played a pop-up set on a small stage on Friday.
First up on Saturday was Anuhea, a talented singer/songwriter from Hawaii’s Maui, who performed a delightful set perfect for a beach day. She and her band delivered crafty reggae-infused, Hawaiian-influenced contemporary pop. Anuhea’s main-stage set included “Lotus,” the title track of her upcoming release, along with “Big Deal,” “Simple Love Song,” “Galaxy,” “Easier,” “Come Over Love” (which she noted as her favorite song), and “Higher Than the Clouds,” her first and most enduring hit, which closed the show. She also performed “Drown,” a new song dedicated to her son, who was missing his soccer game that night.
Trina Miyahara, who lives in Redondo Beach, was thrilled by Anuhea’s performance. “Through the years, her music has been a soundtrack to our lives in many ways,” said Miyahara, a longtime fan who attended with friends. “From singing ‘Simple Love Song’ to my kids as a lullaby at bedtime, to dancing in our family room to ‘Higher Than the Clouds’ or singing along to ‘Island Inside Me’ in the car. … Her aloha spirit shines through when she performs. I appreciate her soulful vibe and the infusion of R&B and reggae sounds. She sounds just as amazing live as she does on her recordings. Her music has become part of our family life and brings me joy, comfort, and love.” Anuhea’s early set was followed by a surprise acoustic performance at 6 p.m. on a small stage. “Her surprise acoustic set was the real treat of the evening!” said Miyahara. “Getting to sit front row in such an intimate setting was special. She really shined and sounded incredible. We got to meet her and take a photo together afterwards, which was just the icing on the cake.” Anuhea’s pop-up set included “Lotus” (the only repeat), as well as “True Colors” and “Mr. Mellow.”
On Friday, just before Franti & Spearhead, roots reggae-rock and dub band SOJA performed a twilight set. With more than 25 years in the industry, the Washington, D.C.-based ensemble won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2022 for “Beauty in the Acoustic,” the first such award for an American reggae-rock group. Led by co-founder Jacob Hemphill, the stage-active eight-piece band gave an audience-energizing performance of all original songs, including “Not Done Yet,” “Jump” (from “Beauty in the Acoustic”), “Mentality,” “Everything Changes,” “Rest of My Life,” “She Still Loves Me,” and “Sorry.”
The English Beat also performed on Friday. Led since 1978 by Dave Wakeling and joined by long-time toaster Antonee First Class, The Beat delivered a 60-minute set packed with energetic, crowd-pleasing hits. Pioneers of the ska/pop/soul/reggae rock sound, Wakeling and his band opened with Price Buster’s 1968 ska tune, “Rough Rider,” and included Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “Tears of a Clown,” which The English Beat made a hit in 1979. Other songs included the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There,” as well as “Too Nice to Talk To,” Andy Williams’ ballad “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” “Save It For Later,” and “Tenderness,” a big success for Wakeling with General Public in 1984.
Friday’s – and the festival’s – opening performance kickstarted the weekend with a spirited rock/punk-rock set by Rookie5, a group of stylish preteens whose impressive performance echoed The Who’s “The Kids are Alright.” The band, consisting of Zooey (lead vocals, guitar), Hudson (lead guitar, vocals, and son of celebrity chef Curtis Stone), Addie (bass), and Rebel (drums), displayed remarkable talent and cohesiveness. Their lively, danceable set included covers like Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “Bad Reputation,” Green Day’s “When I Come Around,” The Regrettes’ “I Dare You,” The Riveras’ “California Sun,” Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta,” and Blink 182’s “Dammit,” along with two original songs, “All My Life” and “Forgive and Forget.”
Chef Curtis Stone hosted a couple of daily presentations from a small VIP-area stage, with Fortunate Youth’s Dan Kelly assisting in one demonstration that included recipes like Stone’s pulled pork barbecue sauce (which included peach puree and Jack Daniel’s). A tower of pork shoulder slowly cooking over fire was set up beside the stage. Stone, in his engaging Australian accent, also invited couples onstage, where one partner sampled a chocolate dessert, and their partner had to guess, through a follow-up kiss, if the dessert had mint, ganache, or coffee.
The BeachLife Festival debuted in May 2019 and, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued since 2021. Tickets for 2025 are now on sale at https://www.beachlifefestival.com. The organization also hosted BeachLife Ranch in September 2022 and 2023. BeachLife Nights represents a scaled-back BeachLife production, partly due to the construction of the California Surf Club, slated to open in 2025 adjacent to the Seaside Lagoon along the Redondo Beach waterfront.
