THROUGH THE LENS: Fun, Sun, and a Wide Range of Music at Southern California’s BeachLife Festival 2024

Located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Redondo Beach, California, the BeachLife Festival prides itself on extolling the virtues of growing up in Southern California. Besides the relaxed beach lifestyle, there’s the ocean itself: the waves, the wind, the smell, and the wildlife that epitomizes a one-of-a-kind experience that those of us in the prairies and mountains of the hinterlands can only dream of — and hear about in songs. 

Not to be confused with the more rootsy BeachLife Ranch festival held in the fall, featured in this column for the previous two years, including 2023, the spring BeachLife Festival, since its first iteration in 2019, has taken a more encompassing, somewhat more eclectic approach in its lineup. 

The fest mixes newer roots music performers with the more well-known headliners. It’s an effective formula,  drawing folks in with the known and exposing them to artists not who are not only worthy of greater interest, but also likely to become household names down the line. 

With that in mind, ND veteran photographer Peter Dervin was there for the 2024 BeachLife Festival on May 3-5. Here’s his report.

BeachLife Festival 2024 by Peter Dervin  

The lineup was varied each day, with the main stages alternating between headliners. Friday featured Sting, Seal, G. Love & Donavon Frankenreiter, and newcomer Abraham Alexander. Saturday featured Devo, Santigold, Chevy Metal, and an acoustic set from Kevin Seconds. Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh also did an interview and signing for his just-published, eyeball-themed art book Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti. Sunday featured Margo Price, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Courtney Barnett, and Sugar Ray. 

Unfortunately, the Sunday evening headliners — My Morning Jacket, Trey Anastasio, and Fleet Foxes — were cancelled as a wind advisory ended the weekend early.

While Devo may not technically fit the definition of roots music, their roots originated with the National Guard killing of four Kent State students who were demonstrating against the Vietnam War in 1970. Kent State students Gerald V. Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh saw that horrible event as a “de-evolution,” the idea that the human race had entered a period of regression. They went on to form the band Devo. (Neil Young famously wrote protest song “Ohio” as a reaction to the killings, and Devo would cover the song a few decades later.)

Devo’s experimental proto-punk sound began in 1973 with releases on their DIY label Booji Boy Records including a mutated version of The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction.“ David Bowie was so impressed by their unique sound that he convinced Warner Bros. Records to sign them, and in 1978 the album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! (produced by Roxy Music’s Brian Eno) was released. The rest is history. You can also call me a fan. I’ve been a card carrying member of their fan club since 1978 — card number 000011.

Margo Price was as good as ever. She and her band The Pricetags played a fantastic set of her songs for the sun-loving beachcombers. Seal’s soulful music carried the crowd into the late afternoon. St. Paul & The Broken Bones provided a funky rhythm-and-blues set that was awesome. 

But Sting was the big draw. He performed songs from both his solo and Police catalogs. The crowd loved it all, singing along and cheering. It was readily apparent that he was enjoying himself, too, and appreciated the fan response.

There were some very cool acoustic sets from Abraham Alexander and Kevin Seconds of Reno, Nevada, hardcore punk band 7 Seconds. G. Love & Donavon Frankenreiter played their mix of good-time music with the additional surprise of Ron Artis II joining them for some blues guitar. Courtney Barnett did an amazing set of her energetic indie rock. Chevy Metal was really fun, playing 1970s cover songs with special guest Lee Ving of the punk band FEAR.

BeachLife 2024 was a great weekend of music and community in this scenic beach town. I’ll be looking forward to doing it again in 2025!

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.