THROUGH THE LENS: BeachLife Ranch Festival and Los Angeles Folk Festival

Two new festivals in California recently showcased the state’s varied flavors of roots music and festival settings.

The second installment of the BeachLife Ranch Festival took place Sept. 22-24 in Redondo Beach. Less than 30 miles to the northeast, the Los Angeles Folk Festival made its debut Oct. 8-9 in the Hollywood Hills.

While both events offered a smorgasbord of roots and Americana music, they diverged on how the music was presented. BeachLife was a multistage outdoor festival with both day and evening sets (we covered its inaugural event in this column last year). The Los Angeles Folk Festival, meanwhile, presented their evening-only showcases in The Ford, a stately outdoor amphitheater that seats 1,200.

BeachLife bills itself as a music festival “born in the South Bay of Los Angeles, that celebrates the cowboy surfer way of life.” To that end, the fest’s organizers booked a wide selection of artists, from the The Doobie Brothers to The Avett Brothers to the true-blue country of Brad Paisley. BeachLife is trying to be all things to all people. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

ND photographer Liza Orozco attended the BeachLife fest. In addition to the lineup, she was impressed with the fest’s organization. “The staff and security were extremely helpful and kind in assisting me,” she told me. “One staff member even gave me a tour of the grounds. You could tell right away that a lot of thought, effort, and care went into this festival to give it an overall vibe of positivity and community. Everything from the vendors to the art exhibition and the child-designated play areas gave it a real neighborhood feel.”

Curated by The Milk Carton Kids, the Los Angeles Folk Festival is held in conjunction with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) at one of its three performance spaces, The Ford.

“(O)ur celebration is of music that is happening right now,” Kenneth Pattengale told Variety in an interview previewing the festival. “It’s not meant to be any kind of overall summation of folk music. It’s not an intellectual idea at all. It’s just a little flashpoint that allows a glimpse into really vibrant music with people we are lucky enough to be friends and colleagues with.”

While the lineup was not an extensive one, much to the Kids’ credit their guests included some of the brightest stars in the roots music world, including Sierra Ferrell, Valerie June, Willie Watson, October ND Spotlight artist Tré Burt, actor/musician John C. Reilly, and even some comedians. The Milk Carton Kids lent their spontaneous witty banter as well as their musical talents throughout the festival.

“The weekend was jam packed full of songs, stories, and even some standup comedy,” reports ND photographer Anthony Mulcahy. “The venue itself provided a stunning backdrop, and the 6 p.m. start to the shows made sure that the afternoon heat was spent and the sunset over LA kept the crowd comfortable in their seats.”

Mulcahy was also impressed with Sierra Ferrell and her band, who, he says, lit up the stage with a blistering performance. “It comes across so effortlessly, and for any first-timers catching her set it was jaw dropping to witness,” Mulcahy told me. “Nick Thune brought his unique style of comedy as he jammed along Mark McConville on pedal steel and took us through some hilarious observations on life in general.”

Check out photos from both festivals below — Mulcahy was at Los Angeles Folk Festival, and Orozco was there as well as at BeachLife.

Click on any of the photos below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow. Anthony Mulcahy’s photos were “Photographed at The Ford by Anthony Mulcahy, courtesy of the LA Phil.”