In this its fifth incarnation, the BeachLife Festival, May 3 to 5, brought a splendid mingling of ocean vibes, colorful people and unique, multi-genre mélange of music to the Seaside Lagoon at Redondo Beach, Calif.

As a high school student in Des Moines, Iowa during the early 90s it was difficult to hear about new or good music.  The internet as we know it today did not exist yet and therefore the only way to learn about such things was via print, commercial radio, or word of mouth; most all of which only focused on popular or classic music.  You can only turn on the radio so many times and hear the same crap before you get jaded.  Around my sophomore year a friend obtained a copy and played for me an album by this roots-rock-reggae act from Colorado called

I have to admit, when I heard several months ago that the Mile High Music Festival would be recycling headliners, and only a few years into its tenure on the festival scene, I rolled my eyes and considered skipping the whole thing this year.  I mean, Dave Matthews is only one of thousands of musicians suitable for headlining a festival with

97.3 KBCO & Boulder Weekly present THE SAMPLES w/ guests Sunday, July 5. Show time: 8PM

Sean Kelly returns to Boulder with his latest incarnation of The Samples. The music has been described as "reggae influenced rock/pop" and a cross between The Police and the Grateful Dead. With their relaxed, slightly jazzy pop, the Samples were one of the most popular touring bands of the early '90s. Line up features Sean Kelly (Lead Singer, Guitar), Jared Johnson (Bass), Karl Dietel (Keyboards), and Billy Mulcher (Drums).

GA / 21+ / $24.00