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

“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,” Sanford said during a phone interview about two weeks before the festival returns to Redondo Beach through Sunday.

Other headliners will be Long Beach legend Sublime on Saturday and Alanis Morissette closing things out Sunday night. They’re being joined by more than 40 other acts performing on four stages that include Grammy-winning alt-rock band Train, punk and new wave pioneers The Pretenders, indie folk rock act Mt. Joy, jazzy hip-hop trio Digable Planets and, since this is about the beach life, the Beach Boys with John Stamos behind the drums.

It’s a 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 bit 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.

Kravitz’s hits include “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” “Fly Away,” “It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over” and “American Woman,” and with him anchoring the opening day, it will offer the festival’s most rock-heavy segment.

The Day 2 lineup will bring a more hometown feel to the festival, since alongside Sublime will be 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.

“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 strip between Torrance and Redondo Beach.

The weekend will close with Morissette 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 area where people who paid extra got 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 with Michelin-recognized chef Curtis Stone, who will be preparing daily meals at the Captain’s Bungalow area, which is open only to Captain ticketholders. Captain Plus ticketholders will also have access to Sanford’s new California Surf Club, a 21,000-square-foot, two-building compound on the festival grounds. There they will be served food by Surf Club chef Dennis Horton, who will prepare dishes inspired by the beach and the music onstage.

“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.