Think of it as BeachLife lite - Pasadena Star-News

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Think of it as BeachLife lite

A single-stage, reggae-heavy version of the annual music festival is coming to Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon

The BeachLife Festival’s scaled-down version, Beachlife Nights, begins tonight. Photos by Drew A. Kelley

Dan Kelly will lead reggae fusion band Fortunate Youth as it returns to its South Bay stomping ground for a set at the BeachLife Nights festival.

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By Richard Guzman

riguzman@scng.com

Two chill nights of music, food and kick-back, reggae-heavy vibes are coming to the sand this weekend with the debut of BeachLife Nights, a scaled-down version of the popular annual BeachLife Festival.

“It’s got all the goodness of BeachLife without the scale,” said Allen Sanford, founder of the music event, which takes place today and Saturday at Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon.

With four acts on the lineup each day, including headliners Michael Franti & Spearhead tonight and Iration on Saturday, the event is expected to attract up to 4,000 people over the weekend, which is far less than the approximately 33,000 who attended the three-day BeachLife Festival to see more than 40 acts perform on multiple stages in May.

“We’ve been playing with this idea of doing more of a concert setting but still providing a cool vibe and community around the concert and not just putting a stage up,” Sanford said of the new event.

BeachLife Nights will feature performances on one stage on the sand with a lineup that includes The Rookies, The English Beat and Soja today and Anuhea, Donavon Frankenreiter and Fortunate Youth on Saturday. Celebrity chef Curtis Stone will host a barbecue behind the stage both days. And unlike at the larger festival, people can even bring beach chairs to set up on the sand.

“It’s just going to be good energy. We’re dipping more into the reggae scene, but the unifying factor is really good vibes,” Sanford said. “It’s more of a hang at the beach than a festival setting.”

For reggae fusion act Fortunate Youth, which got its start playing backyard parties in Hermosa Beach, BeachLife Nights will feel like a throwback to those early days, said singer Dan Kelly.

“I think it’s wonderful that they’re providing this more intimate setting,” he said. “It’s nice that they’re bringing this really local experience and that we get a chance to play in our backyard and the community where we’re from,” Kelly added.

The band, which formed after the members started jamming at a birthday party in June 2009, is about to start recording a new album and heading out on a new world tour, so the Redondo Beach show will be its only local appearance for a while.

“We’re going to be playing some beautiful sounds of joy basically summed up with an amazing, soulful voice that I possess and carry,” Kelly said with a laugh.