Waterfront developments Sanford to build three-day waterfront festival
Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon, which will be the site of a music festival this fall. File photo.
The Redondo Beach waterfront is no stranger to events. The annual Lobster Festival and Fourth of July festivities draw thousands to King Harbor each year.
Local entrepreneur Allen Sanford hopes to add to that starting this fall, with the first installment of a yet-to-be-named music, art and food festival at Redondo’s Seaside Lagoon.
“The South Bay wants to have arts and culture events of its own, that is South Bay born-and-bred,” Sanford said. “I want to do things that no one thought could happen in the South Bay. What better location than the waterfront?”
The Palos Verdes’ native’s bread and butter have been in the “experience” business. He owns or is partners in music venue Saint Rocke, music streaming service LiveList, and restaurants including Abigaile, Día de Campo, and The Rockefeller, which is opening a third location in Redondo’s Riviera Village.
Redondo’s embattled waterfront and pier need a change, Sanford said, and he feels this festival could provide that.
“My thought was simple. It could turn out to be a real lightning rod for the community to get together,” Sanford said. “At the very least, it’s going to be three days of music and art the South Bay has never seen.”
Mayor Bill Brand is looking forward to the “fun and activity” the event will bring. Sanford approached him shortly after Brand’s election in March, and Brand gave him a roadmap toward getting the project approved.
“Allen’s got a great track record…he’s well-known and knows how to execute,” Brand said. “I just wanted to stay out of his way and do whatever I could to help.”
On Dec. 19, the Redondo Beach City Council approved Sanford’s initial plan for the concert series, a twice-annual, three-day event, beginning on Oct. 2018, with subsequent events each spring and fall through 2023. The City will be reimbursed up to $72,000 for municipal services each year, and be paid $55,590 in venue rental fees.
The hope, said Community Services Director John La Rock, is for this to be the kind of event that draws attendance from across the Beach Cities, “so that the local community has something they don’t have to travel out to the desert, or to Santa Monica, or Long Beach, to attend.”
The waterfront location will undoubtedly impact local residents, La Rock said, but the City expects Sanford to “promote and incentivize non-motorized traffic,” and be locally-focused.
That’s Sanford’s aim: a music, art, and food experiences that “focuses solely on a South Bay audience.” The lineup, he said, will include some national headliners – acts that you might see at the Hollywood Bowl or the Greek Theater – while also supporting local acts.
“My motivation is similar to why Saint Rocke was born: There was no music left in the South Bay. The Strand nightclub was wonderful, back in the ‘80s, but Live Nation and the House of Blues put them out of business. There hasn’t been music since” Sanford said.
The “soul and nature” of the event is to “do something that’s never been done before,” Sanford said. And while he’s been tight-lipped on who he plans to book, he made one thing clear.
“No tribute acts,” Sanford said.