Here’s what happened on day one of the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach

The gray skies opened up just in time for the return of the BeachLife Festival to Redondo Beach on Friday, May 5, and conguero Poncho Sánchez set the laid-back party tone early in the day right on the sand.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day, just look around ” said Long Beach resident Belinda Delgado as she pointed to the ocean and danced on the sand during Sánchez’s early afternoon set at the Lowtide stage, one of the first performances of day one of the May 5-7 festival.

Sánchez, who lives in nearby Whittier, performed a lively and danceable set that included his Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban percussion-driven original music as well as covers such as Carlos Santana’s “Oye Como Va.”

At one point the band even led the crowd in a “whoop there it is,” shout.

Nearly 50 bands make up the lineup for the fourth installment of the festival with music that spans rock, indie, pop, reggae and other genres.

Day one included a headlining performance by the Black Keys as well as sets by Pixies, Modest Mouse, Tegan and Sara and others while day two included headliner Gwen Stefani, plus Sublime with Rome, Band of Horses, Sugar Ray, who have performed at every single BeachLife Festival, and Tomorrows Bad Seeds.

Sunday’s closing day acts will include The Black Crowes, John Fogerty, The Head and the Heart and Trampled by Turtles.

The festival also celebrates food with a side stage pop-up restaurant where celebrated chefs cook multi-course meals next to the main stage as the music plays. It’s also a celebration of art, with a newly expanded art show with art pieces created by musicians and athletes displayed along the festival grounds.

The Music

The Black Keys closed out day one with a bluesy set that included hits like “Fever,” and “Gold on the Ceiling.”

“Show us what you got,” lead singer Dan Auerbach told the crowd just before playing the first riffs of “Gold on the Ceiling.”

But before thousands packed the Hightide stage at the end of the day, much smaller crowds saw the lighter side of punk rock with acoustic performances on the Speakeasy stage.

One of the most memorable sets of the day was a performance by Jonny “Two Bags” Wickersham of Social Distortion who played a mellow version of the roots-rock songs from his solo album “Salvation Town.”

“I loved it man, it was so fun. Now I want to do more of this. I had a blast,” he said after his set.

“And now that I’m done I’m going to go check everything out. This is (expletive) awesome,” he added.

But the performance of the day went to the Pixies, who took the mostly Gen X crowd who attend the festival back to the early days of alt-rock.

Fronted by Black Francis, the band, which is counted as one of the most significant bands of the late 1980s alt-rock movement, played a mainstage set right as the sun was setting over the festival and they sounded tight, were full of energy and kept the hits coming.

At one point there was even a small mosh pit happening in front of the stage, but since their fans are older, it didn’t last very long.

The set included a cover of  “Head on,” by the Jesus and Mary Chain and the crowd cheered when they heard the opening bass lines to the punk-driven 1989 hit “Debaser,” which was followed by the more mellow tune “Where is My Mind.”

The set closed with a singalong to the band’s biggest hit, “Here Comes Your Man.”

While bands rocked and people chilled, chef Josiah Citrin, owner of Santa Monica’s Michelin Star-rated Mélisse Restaurant, was sporting a blue apron and busy directing his small crew under a while canopy backstage as they prepared to serve a multi-course meal at the the DAOU SideStage Experience.

“It’s a challenge and I love music so I’m honored to be here and listen to music,” he said.

The meal included wild striped bass, beef ribeye and a Valrhona dark chocolate dessert.

“Music always influences my food and this is a sit-down dinner on the stage, so you get to rock out and have a Michelin star meal,” he said.

Saturday’s chef is Antonia Lofaso, the chef and owner of three acclaimed Los Angeles restaurants, while closing  out the festival on Sunday will be chefs Lijo George and Max Boonthanakit, owners of the downtown Los Angeles Michelin-starred restaurant Camphor.

The scene

As it does yearly, with the use of high-end green turf, the festival transformed a portion of the parking lot at Seaside Lagoon into a parklike setting with a picnic atmosphere near the main stage where people laid out blankets during the day or chilled in a nearby lounge.

This year people even got the chance to become rock stars at the Jack Daniels Karaoke Bar, where between sets by the real bands, fans grabbed the mic and rocked out in front of their friends.

Near the Lowtide stage by the sand, music fans played games like oversize beer pong with red trash-cans instead of beer cups and volleyballs instead of  ping pong balls.

Others chilled on lounge areas built right on the sand where they sat on couches and chairs listening to performers on the Lowtide stage.

The festival also became an outdoor art gallery thanks to the hundreds of pieces of artwork that made up the Punk Rock & Paintbrushes pop-up gallery, which focuses on art inspired by music.

Usually located by the Speakeasy stage, this year the gallery expanded with artwork also displayed in a makeshift gallery facing the main stage.

The displays included colorful abstract paintings by musicians such as Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, as well as realistic paintings by Jason Cruz, the frontman for punk band Strung Out.

“It’s just amazing seeing how talented they all are. You think of them just for music but look at this,” said Garden Grove resident Derrick Taylor, as he admired some of the artwork on Friday afternoon.

And those with a sharp eye noticed banners hung up at the festival that hinted at what’s coming next to Redondo Beach with the return of the BeachLife Ranch Festival, the alt-country oriented sister festival that comes to the same spot in September.

The banners announced that soft-rocker Jack Johnson will headline the festival while the full 40-artist lineup will be released May 16.