by Garth Meyer
Will the Redondo Beach Public Works Department need to rebuild the Sportfishing Pier to hold an overflow crowd at BeachLife 2026, because co-founder Allen Sanford has booked a certain Sunday headliner who appeals to every man, woman and child anywhere: James Taylor.
Further need for overflow could occur Friday night, when Duran Duran headlines, a group with a stratospheric prime, two of the most well-received, separate project albums from a single band’s members (Arcadia and The Power Station) and later one of music’s most notable comebacks.
It all started in the early ‘80s with massive, innovative hits and turned into further maturity, and lesser hits, then an ignored album. As the music world changed radically in the early ‘90s, were Duran Duran finished?
A few notes on an acoustic guitar answered the question in the winter of 1993: “Ordinary World.”
“With the state of our country today, everyone needs a good party right now, a good dance party,” Sanford said. “Everyone just needs a proper rager. Stop talking about politics and dance.”
For ‘70s legend James Taylor, his acoustic sounds made for safe haven from any shifting trend, with that voice to go along, and those songs. They have lasted from 50 years ago to just yesterday morning, and likely 50 years to come.
“James Taylor’s poignant, soul-hitting music,” Sanford said. “He was one of those names, and we know those names are getting less and less.”
The BeachLife 2026 lineup was announced Friday, Jan. 16, though advance tickets have been on sale since November.
Sanford reports more and more tickets selling each year before the lineup is known.
“We have solidified BeachLife as a really fun, community event that the South Bay has come to love, and we continue to refine,” Sanford said. “From the beginning, I set out to create a
soundtrack for those of us who live the beachlife.”
The Offspring headlines Saturday. Other acts for 2026 include Joan Jett, Sheryl Crow, Switchfoot, Chainsmokers and Sugar Ray, who has played every BeachLife Festival since it began in 2019.
“It’s going to be a doozy,” Sanford said.
He noted “strengthened food and beverage” coming from the 150-person staff at the California Surf Club, which opened right after last year’s festival. They will now manage the event’s food and beverage/culinary program.
BeachLife Festival 2026 is May 1-3, concluding with Taylor.
“I’ve never heard a negative thing about James Taylor in my life,” Sanford said. “Then it’s back into the real world Monday morning.”
Tickets start at $169 for one-day general admission. Three-day general admission is $409. For more information visit Beachlifefestival.com.
