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DELIVERS A SONIC MASTERPIECE
May 7th, 2026 Review by Amberlee Meyer
Since 2019, the BeachLife Festival has been drawing more than 11,000 people to beach in Redondo for a three-day music celebration. Each day is packed with talent as diverse as the families, friends, and fans attending. With four stages of bands performing, it was easy to find something for everyone’s musical taste.
Sure enough, it took no time for the crowd to roll in a fill every stage area. As soon as the bands were ready to play, fans were ready to do what fans do, lose their minds!
On day one, catching Jen Pop – Jen Razavi from pop/punk band The Bombpops – at the Speakeasy stage was at the top of my list. She’s got the best scream in punk rock since Kim Shattuck of the Muffs and wowed festivalgoers with a stripped-down acoustic set, performing original songs, Bombpop hits, and an epic cover of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield.”
On the LowTide stage, EDM giants The Chainsmokers got the crowd and vibe up from the moment they took the stage. It was by far the loudest set of the weekend, with ground-shaking bass and definitely the most fun crowd.
Performing hits like “Something Just Like This,” “#Selfie,” “Closer,” and “Roses,” it was as if they turned the beach into a giant open-air dance club, with the crowd jumping and raising their arms high, clearly having a great time. I saw families with young children making sandcastles beside the crowd and thought to myself, I wish I had grown up at the beach!
As I was walking to see headliner Duran Duran on the main stage, I happened to catch the last song from the San Diego-based garage rock band The Schizophrenics on the smaller Riptide stage. I wish I’d known more about them beforehand; they’re definitely a band I plan to explore.
The seminal ‘80s band Duran Duran was the headliner for night one, with Simon Le Bon on vocals, style master and synth player Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, drummer Andy Taylor, and long-time guitarist Dominic Brown. The magic of the new wave and new romantic period of the ‘80s came alive in their set.
Having seen the band earlier this year at a different venue, I knew this show would be outstanding – and it was! The hit parade started with “Is There Something I Should Know?” followed by “The Wild Boys,” and then right into “A View to a Kill” from the James Bond film of the same name. By the time they played “Hungry Like the Wolf,” the crowd was fully engaged and singing along. They performed their latest single, “Free to Love,” a fast-paced pop song with Latin rhythms.
Also in the set were covers of ELO’s “Evil Woman” and Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” The video show was outstanding, and the set was even better! They closed the show with “The Reflex,” “Girls on Film,” all fan favorites, and the biggest cheers came with the encore, “Rio.”
Other Friday artists included Grouplove, Flipturn, Fitz and the Tantrums, BØRNS, Willowake, Triple Bueno, The Only Bay Allstars, and Taft Buckley.
On day two, Sugar Ray was already on stage when I arrived, so I stopped and caught one of their big radio hits, “Fly.” They sounded great as I walked toward the Speakeasy to check out Jim Lindberg, singer of the South Bay punk rock band Pennywise.
Lindberg, a major contributor to the festival, handles booking artists for the Speakeasy stage and the Punk Rock & Paintbrushes Art Show. Longtime Hermosa Beach local Brian Bent was a featured artist this year; his inspiration comes from the life around him. As a beach kid, that meant skateboarding and surf culture.
Lindberg’s set was a mash-up of original songs like “Happy Endings” and many covers. His punk rock version of James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend” was really fun, as was his cover of “Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes.
Mike Watt, a San Pedro local and founding member of the late-‘70s LA punk band Minutemen, performed a set of spoken-word segments and songs over driving bass riffs, which makes sense since he’s a revered bass guitarist. In fact, the Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their most successful album, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik,” to Watt.
Ocean Beach band Slightly Stoopid’s vibe matched the sunny Saturday afternoon perfectly, blending funky reggae, rock, hip-hop, and folk with a dash of punk party songs. Opening with the infectious song “Officer,” a mix of dub, hip-hop, and reggae got the fans up and dancing. The song “2 AM” got more people grooving throughout the crowd, totally into the music.
Playing hits like “Closer to the Sun,” and covers like “Jamaica Nice,” (a Yellowman song), were all fantastic, but the biggest highlight for me was watching them play Minor Threat’s “Salad Days” with Jim Lindberg on the mic!
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts drew a massive crowd, and this rock and roll rebel is as edgy as ever! Starting with “Cherry Bomb” – from her first band, the all-girl punk band The Runaways – she immediately grabbed the crowd’s attention!
Her set included hits like “Crimson & Clover,” a Tommy James & the Shondells cover, “Bad Reputation,” which had everyone going crazy, and of course “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” another giant hit for Jett. I always enjoy a good cover, and her sped-up, rocked-up version of The Replacements’ “Androgynous” was phenomenal.
Ben Harper was next on my list, and he did not disappoint. His band, The Innocent Criminals, is extremely talented. They performed a beautiful vocal arrangement and offered a prayer before starting.
Harper is a master of the guitar; his lap steel playing is unparalleled. The set was more “sanctified” and featured more soulful gospel songs than I had heard from Harper’s past performances, but he did play “Steal My Kisses,” his most commercially successful song. Harper is a talent like no one else, and it was interesting to be introduced to songs I wasn’t familiar with, including “Diamonds on the Inside,” “The Will to Live,” and “Faded.”
The Offspring, as the main headliner on day two, closed out the festival with a hard-hitting, energized set. I’ve seen The Offspring more times than I can count in the past 35 years, and like many bands at the festival, they have so many hits – and they played them all!
Starting with “Come Out and Play,” they followed with “All I Want” and other classic hits, including “Bad Habit,” “Gotta Get Away,” and “Gone Away.” They also gave the audience a treat with a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne by performing “Electric Funeral / Paranoid” and “Crazy Train.”
The Offspring threw in some other interesting covers – “I Wanna Be Sedated,” Ramones, and “Hey Jude,” The Beatles – but then finished their set with their own hits: “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy),” “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” and “Self Esteem.”
Other bands included on Saturday were Switchfoot, Jason DeVore, Landon McNamara, Fortunate Youth, Water Tower, Bad Suns, PawnShop Kings, Easy Honey, Surfer Girl, and Makua.
Sunday had a mellow, almost reverent vibe, both in the lineup and the crowd, but when Sheryl Crow took the stage, it was clear she came to play! Now 64 and in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she played all her biggest hits: “If It Makes You Happy,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” “My Favorite Mistake,” “All I Wanna Do,” “Can’t Cry Anymore,” and “Soak Up the Sun,” plus an excellent cover of “The First Cut Is the Deepest.”
She’s a talent beyond measure. Make no mistake, this singer-songwriter can seamlessly fit between rock, pop, and country.
My Morning Jacket, though billed as a Southern rock/psychedelic band, reminded me more of a mix of post-punk artists like Sisters of Mercy and the American psych band The Quarter After, with a touch of The Byrds. There’s no doubt that their guitar-heavy jams make this band interesting. The fans went crazy for “Off the Record,” “Golden,” “Victory Dance,” “Circuital,” and “Dancefloors.”
The main event for the last night of the festival was the iconic singer-songwriter, James Taylor. This is my parents’ music, which is how I became familiar with Taylor’s catalog. Opening with “Mexico,” I was instantly brought back to childhood.
As he prepared to sing “T-Bone,” he dedicated it to actor John Belushi, a friend he lost very early in life. “Shower the People” was beautifully done. Mid-set, he performed his most famous works starting with “Carolina in My Mind,” then moving into “Fire and Rain” and “Country Road.” The crowd was thrilled!
Taylor finished off his set – and the festival – with a rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” and, finally, “Sweet Baby Jane,” which had everyone singing along and swaying to the music.
Final verdict? BeachLife definitely lives up to its reputation! Well attended and well thought out, the artists were beyond measure, and I would absolutely go back for the next one!
FESTIVAL PHOTO GALLERY
by Todd Markel Rock Images
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SID 260509 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
