The other day my daughter kicked me off of Spotify while I was driving so I turned on the radio. Dialing around, I bumped into Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard. I hadn’t heard that song in ages, yet the words flowed from my lips like I had just listened to it for the hundredth time. I was immediately transported back to the day in 1987 when I borrowed my mom’s Volvo and drove up that steep hill to Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. I was so euphoric at the prospect of ownership that, walking back to the car, swinging my yellow bag emblazoned with TOWER RECORDS in bright red letters, I reached for my keys only to realize I locked them in the car.

What is it about music that mesmerizes us, stirs up memories and touches us in that unique way where we forever remember lyrics to songs we’ve long forgotten, or connects us to a recollection of a moment in time? What is it about a poetic lyric or a melody that transports us?

We create memories in musical moments. We hear it, and even after years, the lyrics come back to us, like some magical memory activation. Music takes us back, and moves us forward. It touches our sorrow and our joy. Music expresses emotion and meaning in a way most of us cannot as eloquently express.

****

During the cold months of December and January, I began seeing billboards and advertisements for The BeachLife Festival. This phrase that brings to mind a celebration of sun, sand, salt air, and the sea. A devotion to our coast, and an accumulation of senses. I wanted to know more, so I contacted Allen Sanford, Founder of BeachLife.

Turns out, BeachLife is a music festival and it’s a really big deal! Sting is headlining. And other familiar names: Seal, Incubus, Devo, and ZZ Top. Less familiar names appear on the lineup, but Sanford’s knowledge of music ensures they are top talent. If we haven’t heard of them, we should.

“It doesn’t matter how many fans you have; it matters how good your music is.

Sanford explains, “We are passionate about artists having some connection to the BeachLife culture, but we also understand that music knows no definitions or limitations.”

Sanford also seeks out newer artists. “I’m really happy that we’re able to give up and coming artists a bigger stage to perform on.

He might be referring in part to local PV resident, Saxon Weiss, who will be playing at BeachLife Festival on Sunday, May 5th. He’s 11 years old.

“One of the artists I’m MOST stoked about this year is one of PV’s own-Saxon Weiss- who in my opinion could be one of the best musicians to come out of our hometown in awhile. I get excited just thinking about a young adolescent getting this opportunity.”

If there’s an overall concept to BeachLife Festival, it’s inclusivity. Kids are welcome, on stage and off. This is a family event, with a broad spectrum of artistry.

“Children in our community don’t get much music and arts culture, and I think it’d be criminal to not cultivate that within our youth.”

Sanford has also been fighting an “awareness battle” to show Redondo Beach can be on the forefront of musical appreciation, with attention and affection for the community. So much so, “you can buy an Admiral’s Pass ticket that includes a boat slip based on your boat size, as well as unlimited in/outs.” “As a former boater,” Sanford says, “I know how much fun it would be to boat into a festival, and hopefully one of these boats will invite me out there during the show one of these days.”

I hope he gets an invite this year.

Sanford’s 5 year old daughter Annika attends every festival, and because of that, Sanford pays greater attention to security detail than other festivals, as he shares the typical parent worries of any activity close to the water.

For Sanford, BeachLife is a philosophical way of being. A melodic atmosphere, where music meets the shore. A place to gather and experience one of the most unique music festivals in the country, where children play and music penetrates.

He says, “Every time the sun sets and there’s a band playing, we look at each other and go, ‘Yep, that was worth it.’”

And maybe, while flipping through radio stations, or purposefully downloading this year’s artists on your device, you will be able to revive the memory of a festival on the beach, and sing the words by heart, whenever you like, long after the festival is over. So long as you don’t share a Spotify account with your kid.

For Allen Sanford, who has inked eudaemonia on his arm, it would appear that he is in fact, living a life well lived.

I asked Sanford, “ If you could describe BeachLife Festival in one word, what would it be?” He wrote, “Yew!”

According to the Urban Dictionary, it’s a cool surfer term for a great wave, or a sound made expressing excitement.

I think he nailed it.

Online Resources for Beach Life Festival Article

https://www.torrancememorial.org/healthy-living/blog/meet-the-surfer-philosopher-behind-beachlife/ https://www.musicconnection.com/exec-profile-allen-sanford-of-beachlife-festival/ https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yew

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Bio:

Jennifer Boissavy’s is a Palos Verdes Peninsula resident who also works part time with the PVLD Friends of the Library.
She has great appreciation for books, fashion, and antiques.