BeachLife Festival Cut Short + Lovers & Friends Festival Canceled Due To Dangerous Winds

Strong winds swept across the Western U.S. this past weekend leading organizers of the Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas to cancel the event. Additionally, after a successful two-and-a-half days, the BeachLife Festival ended a few hours early on Sunday as dangerous winds cut through Southern California.

Organizers of BeachLife, held in Redondo Beach, initially evacuated the festival while ZZ Top were performing on the Lowtide Stage yesterday afternoon around 5 p.m. Then, a decision was made to call off the last four hours of the event including sets from Fleet Foxes, Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB and My Morning Jacket.

BeachLife Festival organizers posted the following note on social media explaining the decision:

It is with great sadness that we must cancel our programming at BeachLife this Sunday evening, due to a serious wind event that put the general public at risk. While we take extraordinary measures to keep our fans and artists safe, and while absolutely none of our engineered structures or systems failed, winds quickly reached very dangerous speeds and we put safety first. Alongside the Redondo Beach Police and Fire Chiefs, our Ownership made a collective decision that to continue would be unsafe and put people’s life in peril. No show is worth a life, and in our Community, BeachLife stays committed above all to put the safety of our kids, families and music lovers first. In the coming days, we will be unwinding the collateral consequences of this decision, and we ask for your support and patience while we do.

Please go to the main entrance if you have items left in the festival and we will escort you in. Thank you for your understanding and we’ll see you soon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6m_YEKr332

The strong winds could be heard in the video below of Trey Anastasio at the site:

Courtney Barnett, Margo Price, Devo, Santigold, Steel Pulse, Sting, Seal, Dirty Heads, Donavon Frankenreiter and G. Love were among the dozens of acts who performed at BeachLife before the winds reached dangerous levels.

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The third annual Lovers & Friends festival was supposed to take place on Saturday, May 4 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Usher, Janet Jackson, Backstreet Boys, Gwen Stefani and Mary J. Blige topped a lineup focusing on R&B and hip-hop artists. Organizers announced the one-day event’s cancelation on the eve of its opening.

“Lovers & Friends Festival organizers have been monitoring the weather for several days and proactively preparing for a windy Saturday,” wrote the event’s producers in a note announcing the decision to cancel. “However, the National Weather Service has now issued a High Wind Warning, including dangerous 30-35 mph sustained winds with gusts potentially more than 60 mph. Following advice from the National Weather Service and in consultation with local public officials, we must make the safest decision for our fans, artists, and staff, and cancel tomorrow’s Lovers & Friends Festival.”

“This was an incredibly heartbreaking decision to make as we are aware that fans have traveled from all over the world to enjoy this incredible lineup of superstars and have been looking forward to this event for several months,” added Lovers & Friends organizers. “We’ve worked hard to create an amazing event for you, and we are just as disappointed as you are.”

Refunds will be issued to those who purchased Lovers & Friends tickets via Front Gate Tickets within 30 days. Read the full announcement from festival organizers below: