As my coverage from Day 1 and Day 2 of Beachlife Festival may have shown, despite some growing pains, the Redondo Beach festival was still a great event for music lovers. As Day 3 began, it seemed like this would continue to be the case.
Starting the day was Australian alternative rock band of brothers Atlas Genius. Back in the states for the first time in over four years, the group is gearing up to release a new album (they released two new songs just in time for the show last week). Having only been familiar with their platinum single “Trojans”, which I’ll admit wasn’t a song I gravitated towards much upon release, I came to the set with an open mind. The group’s sound fits perfectly in the “alternative” space, with crunchy guitar chords powering 80’s-inspired melodies with a modern sheen. The tracks were all perfectly solid headbangers, with older tracks like “Symptoms” and “63 Days” getting great responses from the audiences. They even threw in a couple 80’s covers (“Don’t You Want Me” and “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”) that got the older audience members not as familiar with them something to sing along to. Overall, I can now places myself in the pro-Atlas Genius camp.
And then was Beachlife’s unofficial house band, Sugar Ray. What can I say about the group that I haven’t said about them the last two years? You gotta love ’em. Festival curators Jim Lindberg and Donavon Frankenreiter seemed to, as they were both there to watch the set. Sugar Ray played all the hits you would expect (minus “Falls Apart” this year). The surprises? First was “Make it Easy” from 2019’s Little Yachty. It’s rare when they play anything post-Sugar Ray. They included “Words to Me” from that album (sadly no “Waiting” yet), and the nicest surprise was a cover of Los Angeles ska heroes The Untouchable‘s “What’s Gone Wrong”. Having seen that band earlier this year, it was a cool tribute to see Mark McGrath share his love of the band (and ska in general). Video at the top of the page.
Next up: St. Paul and the Broken Bones. This Alabama-based soul band, fronted by powerhouse vocalist Paul Janeway, blew the audience away. The band’s tight grooves and playing were plenty impressive, but what makes the band the touring favorites they are is the voice that comes out of Janeway’s mouth. His range is incredible, and paired with his lively performance dancing down the stage extension, or donning a sparkly cloak like a megachurch preacher, he had audience members gasping when he let loose with his full-throated singing.
I stuck around the High Tide stage following St. Paul’s exit, using the moment to eat a poke bowl and await Courtney Barnett. The seconds Australian act of the day, Barnett’s indie slacker rock has never fully won me over as much as it has most critics. She certainly has good songs and her plainspoken lyrical style is enviable, but there aren’t many songs of hers that have really stuck with me. With the ocean winds blowing across the stage, sending Barnett’s hair across her face, her folksy delivery and expansive guitar sounds took on a new resonance. I could hear Dylan in her vocal delivery; a weary troubadour relaying small stories from everyday life that have hold more meaning than the words display at face value. At times the guitar distortion overpowered the song, creating more noise than tunefulness, but I was happy to experience the songwriter in this setting.
There seemed to be a heightened anticipation for ZZ Top. Despite the loss of founding member Dusty Hill, the idea of seeing the classic blues rockers, in the fifth decade of their existence, still felt special. This was one of those groups you have to see at least once in your life if you consider yourself a music fan (which I do). Billy Gibbons hit the stage with drummer Frank Beard and the audience were cheering before a note was struck. I believe the person replacing Dusty was Elwood Francis, rocking a huge bear of his own and an even bigger guitar. They launched into “Got Me Under Pressure”, and pressed forward with their collection of dirty blues rock songs from there. The wind was picking up, and Gibbons commented on wanting it to chill out, but they kept playing despite it. The synchronized dance moves the band is famous for still played well on stage, and “Sharp Dressed Man” had the whole audience shouting out the chorus. “Legs” flew high and mighty across the sand.
And here is where things took a turn. As Gibbons was getting ready to play “Tush”, the sound cut out and a different voice came across the speakers across the festival. Organizers were asking concert goers to evacuate due the danger of the increasingly high winds. The initial reactions to this were disbelief. From the ground, the wind didn’t seem that bad, and no one seemed eager to leave. After the initial plea to leave failed to generate movement, the voice returned, again insisting audience members leave for an hour until the winds had passed. Eventually, people made their way to the emergency exits.
Waiting around back in the media HQ, there was an air of confusion as to whether an hour would be all that was needed to get the fest back up and running. Knowing the curfew for Sunday was 9:30pm, how much time would really be left for the remaining acts? As the clock hit 7:00pm, the word from those at the gates was that the remaining time of the festival was being canceled!
This is the second time high winds have canceled a show I was at (When You Were Young Fest 2022 is still a sore spot for me). While I had been looking forward to seeing Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket, it seemed that it was not to be. And so I left, still feeling overall pleased with the weekend of incredible music and experiences I had at Beachlife 2024. Thank you to the team at Falcon Publicity for everything you did to make the media experience smooth and welcoming. And now I’m looking forward to what’s to come in 2025. Follow us on socials (@TheIndyReview) to see more photos and videos from the fest!
And JUST IN CASE anyone from the festival is reading this, I wanted to give my own suggestions/recommendations of who I would love to see on next year’s bill that I feel would fit the demo. I am vowing this: for every one of these acts that is on the 2025 line-up, I will give $1 to charity (I’m a poor media journalist, so please know that could be a lot for me).
Potential Headliners:
Vampire Weekend
Stevie Wonder
The Strokes
Alicia Keys
Phoebe Bridgers
Other Name Acts:
Billy Idol
The Go Go’s
Lenny Kravitz
Ray Davies
Paul Westerberg
Augustana
X Ambassadors
H.E.R.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Koffee
Broken Bells
Adrianne Lenker/Big Thief
Madi Diaz
Hurray for the Riff Raff
The War and Treaty
Gin Blossoms
Third Eye Blind
Fastball
The Strumbellas
Lesser-known but Great Bands/Artists:
Pacific Radio
Alpheus
Beatenberg
Baby Rose
Holly Humberstone
Kate Clover
Gallowstreet
Stephie James
Jalen Ngonda
Chaz Cardigan
Okay Jim Lindberg, Donavon Frankenreiter and the rest of you Beachlife line-up curators, the ball is now in your court! For those of you who are sad that you didn’t get to see My Morning Jacket this year, here’s a playlist to assuage your pain for now.
The Indy Review 
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