BeachLife festival brings an ’80s vibe and DJ dance party to the coast

The nostalgic sounds of ‘80s pop-rock and the bumping rhythms of electronic dance music plus a chill local vibe swept over the beach on Friday during day one of the South Bay’s biggest music festival.

The BeachLife Festival returned to Redondo Beach on Friday, May 1 attracting a mostly older crowd of thousands of music fans who took in sets from a dozen bands on four stages during a day that was headlined by British pop rock legends Duran Duran.

“They’re just an iconic band; it’s just great song after great song,” said Torrance resident Linda Valdez as she danced late into the night while the band closed the festival on Friday.

The festival sold out on day one and was expected to attract more than 30,000 people throughout the weekend with a lineup that included Duran Duran on Friday, as well as local punk stars The Offspring on Saturday with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Taylor and his All-Star Band closing it on Sunday.

The weekend event is all about celebrating the local beach culture and lifestyle and that was evident on day one. As music played on the stages, bars and restaurants near the venue on the harbor by the Redondo Beach pier were streaming the show live as locals stopped for  lunch and a drink before entering the venue.

“We live just down the street and this is why I love BeachLife. It feels like a neighborhood thing. We rode our bikes here, came to catch the start of the show and then we’re going to head in for the rest of it,” said Redondo Beach resident Jonathan Williams as he sat at The Slip Bar watching a livestream of the show just a couple of blocks from the festival.

Once inside the festival grounds, the chill vibe continued as people laid out blankets on the synthetic grass turf near the main stage and directly on the sand on the Lowtide stage where singer Borns set the early afternoon mood with a set filled with smooth and jazzy rhythmic songs.

After he warmed up the crowd he was followed by Fitz and the Tantrums on the main stage directly afterward, and the indie pop band got the crowd dancing playing hits like “Hand Clap” and “Out of My League.” At one point band members even took out their cell phones to record the crowd and took selfies with a few of the concert goers.

But the real dancing happened when EDM DJ duo The Chainsmokers added a lot of dance energy to BeachLife during what’s known as the “golden hour” at a music festival, with a set occurring just before sunset. The DJ duo had the crowd jumping on the sand at the Lowtide Stage as others dance-walked their way there to get to the dance party.

“This is a total party now. You have to dance when those beats hit you,” said Los Angeles resident Ally Gomez as she jumped on the sand to the beat of the music. “It’s a bit of a workout too,” said the 40-year-old, who was a bit out of breath after a few songs.

But the day belonged to Duran Duran, which took the main stage at 9 p.m. in front of a sea of people who sang along to the band’s hit songs.

And led by singer Simon Le Bon, the band sounded tight and flawlessly delivered hit after hit starting the set with its 1983 song “Is There Something I Should Know?” which was followed by other crowd pleasers like “The Wild Boys,” “A View to a Kill,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” and “Rio,“ to close out day one.

“I’ve been to most of the BeachLife festivals and so far this has been my favorite headliner. They took me back to the day,” said Los Angeles resident Jennifer Bonilla as she sang along to nearly every Duran Duran song while dancing with her friends.

Other notable acts on the weekend lineup included Ben Harper, My Morning Jacket, Sheryl Crow and the Buena Vista Orchestra.