ANAHEIM, Calif. — For BeachLife Festival co-founder Allen Sanford, this weekend’s three-day concert will be really special because he’s been trying to book Friday’s headliner since the festival’s inception in 2019. Six years later, things went his way when he booked rock royalty Lenny Kravitz to headline day one of the festival.

“We’ve been trying to get Lenny since the beginning, and Lenny doesn’t play a lot and we just think it’s going to be the perfect show,” said Sanford, during a phone interview about two weeks before the festival returns to Redondo Beach on Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May 4.

Kravitz is joined by other headliners that include Long Beach legends Sublime on Saturday and Alanis Morrisette closing things out Sunday night. They’re joined by a lineup of more than 40 other acts performing on four stages that include multi-Grammy-winning alt-rockers Train, punk and new wave pioneers the Pretenders, indie folk rockers Mt. Joy, jazzy hip-hop trio Digable Planets and, since this is about the beach life, the Beach Boys are set to perform with John Stamos behind the drums.

It’s a stacked lineup that for Sanford indicates the growing appeal of this festival.

“It feels like we’re no longer a teenager, we’ve gone through a little but of a growth and we’ve crossed a bit of a threshold here and made it into more of a regional or national attraction,” he said.

With Lenny Kravitz, whose years of hit songs include “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” “Fly Away,” “It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over” and “American Woman,” anchoring the opening day, Friday will be the festival’s most rock-heavy night.

Sublime headlining night two will bring a more hometown feel to the festival, since the day also includes performances by the Long Beach Dub All Stars, Hermosa Beach’s Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds and Newport Beach’s Sugar Ray, who have performed at every single BeachLife Festival.

“This day is like my youth at Rat Beach from 11 a.m. to sunset with the ghetto blaster playing,” said Sanford, referring to the beach between Torrance and Redondo Beach.

The weekend will close with Alanis Morrissette and the beach vibes will be rolling in heavy with the Beach Boys.

“The Beach Boys, I mean talk about synonymous with the BeachLife Festival,” Sandford said.

The food

Since its inception the festival has also been about celebrating food with its unique side stage dining experience where people who paid extra for a dining ticket got to eat a multicourse meal prepared by celebrity chefs next to the main stage.

Sanford is changing things up a bit and instead of side stage dining he teamed up with Michelin-starred chef Curtis Stone who will be preparing daily meals at the Captain’s Bungalow area, which is open only to Captain ticketholders. While Captain Plus ticket holders will also have access to Sanford’s new California Surf Club, a 21,000-square foot, two-building compound located on the festival grounds. There they will be served food by the Surf Club’s chef Dennis Horton who will prepare dishes inspired by the beach and the music on stage.

“Every year I get more and more excited that there are so many people who love living the beach life, love celebrating our culture and love hitting the beach to listen to some music from great bands with great friends,” Sanford said.

BeachLife Festival

When: May 2-4

Where: Seaside Lagoon, 239 N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach

Information: beachlifefestival.com

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