BeachLife Festival Round Up: Weezer, Stone Temple Pilots, Sugar Ray and More

It’s hard to believe a weekend of rock-n-roll and fun in the sun has already come to an end. We had the opportunity to spend the weekend with our toes in the sand at BeachLife Festival. If you missed the livestream, don’t worry — we are here to fill you in on the excitement.

One of the big factors we love about BeachLife is that the lineup is not particular to one specific genre (but we have to admit, BeachLife Ranch was just announced and we have a hunch that may be a rootin-tootin’ good time). There was a healthy mix of all types of music over the three day event held May 13-15th in Redondo Beach, California. In no specific order, may we present to you some of highlights from the weekend:

Weezer

Opening the show with “Hash Pipe” was truly a no brainer for Friday night’s headlining band, Weezer. The setlist was compiled of all the songs we know and love from the 90s and 2000s — including their cover of the 80’s hit “Africa” by Toto, which was released in 2018 and a surprise cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Seeing that ‘W’ light up in the background sparked memories of the good old days again. The performance was clean and sounded just how we remember, almost 30 years ago (for some). Rivers Cuomo engaged the crowd perfectly, even tossing a popsicle into the crowd during the encore. (We wonder if anyone actually caught that? Better yet, ate it?!)

Stone Temple Pilots

The excitement was evident as the crowd seemed to multiply exponentially by late Saturday afternoon just in time for Stone Temple Pilots. Current frontman Jeff Gutt led an explosive start to the show, jumping to the barricade by the fourth song to stand in with the crowd. They performed their smash hits from the early 90s such as “Plush,” “Interstate Love Song,” and “Creep” (not to be confused with Radiohead) as well as newer jams like “Meadow” released in 2017. While we all will forever miss Scott Weiland, we’re confident he is smiling down knowing thousands of people are still adoring the legacy of STP. Gutt truly shined with a phenomenal, powerhouse vocal performance — that of which we know serves justice to Weiland’s immense talent. With all other original members, we can proudly say the crowd was thrilled to see the energy still intact decades later. The instrumentals were so on point that we could’ve closed our eyes and felt like it was 1994 again.

Sugar Ray

BeachLife veterans Sugar Ray never fail to put on a feel-good show. Despite that their set was earlier on in the day Saturday, that didn’t stop people from filling the grass to catch a performance from the SoCal natives. Mark McGrath was the perfect frontman, as always — telling jokes, going off the wall, and making the crowd forget their worries for that hour. It’s never a dull moment watching a Sugar Ray performance. The setlist brought us back to our Y2K dreams with songs like “Every Morning,” “Fly,” and “Someday.” The energy is pure nostalgia and we all reminisced on our younger days along with McGrath, who reminded us he was People Magazine’s Sexiest Rocker… in 1998. We know for a fact that BeachLife Festival just wouldn’t feel like home without Sugar Ray on the lineup. (Hint, hint: we expect to see them next year, no excuses.)

Vance Joy

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Vance Joy surely knows how to swoon the crowd. Younger female fans lined the barricade, dressed in his merch with fun accessories like customized sunglasses. The screams were by far the highest pitch we heard throughout the whole festival. Known for his biggest hit “Riptide,” Vance Joy was full of smiles and charm, adding a wholesome and cheerful touch as the he played on the stage set in the sand just as the sun was setting over the ocean. He played other hits like “Mess Is Mine” and his most recent single “Missing Piece.” Joy was the perfect artist to play at sunset, winding down from a hot and jam-packed day. We definitely wouldn’t mind if he traveled across the pond again next year for another set.

Cannons

Leave it to none other than Cannons lead singer Michelle Joy to make an entrance — known for her gorgeous stage outfits, she surely dressed to impress — which the beach in mind, of course. Cannons, an LA-native indie band, have blown up over the last few years thanks to their catchy song “Fire For You” which was featured in both Netflix shows Sex/Life and Never Have I Ever. Joy danced across the stage, drawing the audience in closer under the hot Friday afternoon sun. They also performed their single “Bad Dream” and a crowd-pleasing cover of Harry Styles’ “Golden.” We saw Cannons live at the end of last year and can truly vouch for the concert-goer experience. Their performances are always uplifting and fun. We encourage you to check out Cannons next time they are in your area.