Lucinda Williams To Headline Free BeachLife Fest Livestream

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Redondo Beach's annual event BeachLife Fest was called off this year due to the pandemic but fans can still enjoy live music via livestream Thursday with iconic folk and country artist Lucinda Williams.

BeachLife Fest will share its free Speak Easy Series livestream from 6 to 8 p.m. featuring headliner Williams, Josh Heinrichs, The Aquadolls and Timmy Curran.

It's hosted by radio personality Petros Papadakis and all donations benefit Heal the Bay. Watch and listen live: https://www.livelist.com/promo/speakeasyseries

Livestream shows highlight different locals, too.

"We like to add segments about the local community, to show how people are handling the pandemic, and supporting their community, or just shining what we call a "Local Spotlight" on people," Tammy Saunt of BeachLife Fest told Patch.

Viewers can expect a special shark week feature from a local researcher.

"For the Shark Lab segment, a researcher named Patrick Rex from the Shark Lab at CSULB is engaged in a project where he is studying sharks in relation to people in the ocean - when are sharks around, how they react to people, etc.," Saunt said. "He has some drone and underwater footage we are showing. We thought it would be great to have a local guy showing his research, and a lot of our viewers are surfers, so we thought it would be interesting."

For each livestream, the group partners with a philanthropy group to spotlight the support. This month, the group chose Heal The Bay, which the festival supports each year.

"Heal the Bay created a short segment featuring Jeff Bridges, about the importance of keeping the ocean clean, and highlighting Coastal Cleanup Month," Saunt told Patch.

Organizers have plans to return to the sand for 2021.

"We are currently working hard on re-booking for 2021 as many of the artists as we can that were scheduled to perform in May 2020," Saunt told Patch. "We will announce the lineup as soon as we can possibly get artist confirmations."

The event could look different than festivals past, Saunt explained.

"Right now we are also working hard on increasing our health and safety standards so that our event conforms with any new guidelines and restrictions that will be required by public officials when it is safe to have large outdoor festivals again," Saunt told Patch.

The festival's 2021 return is scheduled for May 21 at 10 a.m. and runs through May 23.

"BeachLife Festival will return to Redondo Beach next May, with 3 days of live music and fun in the California sun! All 2020 tickets will be honored for the new dates," the group said on Facebook. "We appreciate your patience and support throughout these uncertain times. But we WILL be back and better than ever! See you on the sand!"

The festival founders described how they are researching different safety measures in the upcoming months and monitoring developments.

"If anyone forgot just how much the beach means to all of us, we think this pandemic has reminded us," founders Allen and Rob wrote in a statement.

The group is also offering refunds for the next 30 days for people who don't want to hold onto their tickets for next year.

The lineup hasn't been announced yet, and prices could change next year, citing increased health and safety measures.

In 2019, the event featured music, food, art, skate and surf celebration at the waterfront at Seaside Lagoon, 200 Portofino Way. Artists Ziggy Marley, Grace Potter, Blues Traveler, Colin Hay, Best Coast, Matt Costa and Donavon Frankenreiter are some past performers.

People can save the 2021 date and reserve tickets on the website.

View this post on Instagram

Stoked to have @theaquadolls jamming with us for our Livestream this Thursday Aug 20th from 6-8pm. These lovely & talented ladies are ready to put on a fun & memorable show. . #jackdaniels #speakeasy #welivethebeachlife
A post shared by BeachLifeFestival (@beachlifefestival) on Aug 18, 2020 at 12:30pm PDT

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