Redondo Beach’s BeachLife Festival is going country and bringing a whole lot more music to the city with a second three-day concert in the works for later this year.

The third installment of the festival, which returns to Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon May 13-15, will be followed by a sister festival named BeachLife Ranch, which is set for the end of the summer, according to co-founders Allen Sanford and Rob Lissner.

And BeachLife is growing in other ways, too, since the business partners also said in a recent video interview that they are planning to open a restaurant and a social club in Redondo Beach inspired by the festival.

However, the new festival won’t be a clone of BeachLife’s modern rock, nostalgic ’90s bands, chill reggae and laid-back musical acts that attract an older crowd. BeachLife Ranch will focus on Americana and country rock music, Sanford and Lissner said.

“We’re targeting a little bit of a different audience and genre just to expand the offering,” Lissner said.

The lineup and dates are yet to be announced for BeachLife Ranch but are expected in the spring.

When it comes to scope, organizers plan for the new festival to mirror the original BeachLife event, which is expected to draw a total of approximately 30,000 people throughout the three-day weekend to see a lineup of 50 or so bands.

“This would be equal in size and weight to BeachLife,” Sanford said. “Same location, same set up. We believe we’ve optimized the waterfront for an event like this so it will be very similar in feel and size,” he added.

The organizers are planning for BeachLife Ranch to be an annual event. Like the original festival, which includes the SideStage Experience, a 50-seat pop-up restaurant where well-known chefs serve multi-course meals, BeachLife Ranch will include a side stage food component but in the form of a barbecue cookout, Sanford said.

“We’re very bullish on our community, very bullish on our lifestyle and I’m really impassioned to commit even more time and effort in preserving the culture that’s important to us around BeachLife,” Sanford said.

Founded by Sanford, a local entrepreneur and restaurant owner, and Lissner — the pair is also partners in music venue The Venice West — BeachLife made its well-received debut in May 2019 with artists including Willie Nelson, Jason Mraz and Steel Pulse.  However, like other events, the 2020 edition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The festival returned in September 2021 with a lineup of nearly 50 acts led by artists such as Jane’s Addiction, Cage the Elephant, Counting Crows and Ziggy Marley and Stephen Marley performing the songs of their late father Bob Marley.

The May 2022 festival includes headliners Weezer, the Smashing Pumpkins and the Steve Miller Band.

The business partners are also planning a restaurant and a separate social club in Redondo Beach both inspired by the BeachLife Festival.

More on BeachLife

How the BeachLife Festival kept its groove alive during the pandemic
BeachLife Festival expects a wave of good vibes despite pandemic and restrictions
BeachLife Festival 2022 lineup includes Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins and Steve Miller Band
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Complete BeachLife Festival coverage

Sanford said the 50-seat restaurant will be called The BeachLife and will be located in the heart of Redondo Beach’s restaurant district at 1711 S. Catalina Ave., one door down from The Rockefeller, one of Sanford’s other restaurants.

“BeachLife is as much about food as it is music so we decided to plant our roots and develop our SideStage Experience into a year-round experience,” Sanford said.

The menu will focus on seafood and healthier food options. Sanford said he hopes to have it open by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the social club project will be constructed out of a space that once housed the now shuttered On the Rocks Sports Bar at 239 N. Harbor Drive in Redondo Beach.

Tentatively named the California Surf Club, the venue will be partially an eatery, with a small menu serving packaged food similar to prepared meals found at higher end grocery stores such as Bristol Farms, Sanford said. There will also be grills set up where people can barbecue their own meats, he added.

And it will also be a social club of sorts where people can just hang out, Sanford said.

“You come in, you might pick a bottle of wine off the shelf, you might have your own food, you might not, but we have a grill master that can help you with a barbecue. There’s a kid’s play area out back, there may or may not be live music going on, there are several fire pits,” he said, describing his vision for venue.

Sanford said they expect the 9,000-square-foot spot to open sometime this fall.

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