The Sessions Surf Festival emerged in Encinitas a few years ago on the heels of the pandemic. The brainchild of San Diego native Taylor Steele, a prominent surf filmmaker since the 1990s, it was initially focused on movies and panel discussions.
Music often plays a big part on Steele’s movies, and the previous festivals had included smaller music events as well. But this year they added a major concert, with seven bands playing at the Seaside Reef parking lot in Cardiff on Saturday afternoon and evening.
The crowd gradually grew throughout the day, peaking for post-sunset performances by Orange County double-drummer indie-punk sensation the Osees and longtime Poway punk-poppers Unwritten Law. Music by the latter had been part of Steele’s films going back to the 1990s, when he blended punk-rock energy with fast-moving surf action onscreen.
The music began at 1 p.m. with San Diego singer-songwriter Emily Afton, whose ethereal indie-pop felt welcoming alongside the beach waves and late-summer sun. Next up was Los Angeles band Jack Shields & the Mojave Rush, who tweaked their indie-rock with elements of pedal-steel-tinged country (think Drive-By Truckers meets Pavement, perhaps).
Traveling the farthest distance for the fest was MT Warning, an Australian alt-rock outfit for whom Steele produced an album in 2012. Frontman Mikey Bee had the most engaging between-song banter of the day, which made the band easy to like and appreciate. He encouraged San Diegans to come visit Australia. “It’s just right over there,” he joked, gesturing toward the southwest across the waves.
The show-stealing set came from Yoke Lore, a Los Angeles trio fronted by whirling-dervish banjo player Adrian Galvin. An extraordinarily lively performer, Galvin often began songs with gentle banjo picking over his high tenor vocals, gradually building until he and the band exploded with bursts of energy.
That was a tough act to follow for Bully, a Nashville trio led by Alicia Bognanno. She certainly had the pipes for it, alternately singing and screaming through a set of indie-punk-pop tunes from Bully’s several acclaimed albums. Her set proved an ideal bridge from the sunnier leanings of the afternoon music to the full-on punk roar of the headliners.
Logistically, the event mostly ran smoothly. All the bands started on time, except for an extended soundcheck before the Osees’ set. A couple dozen booths offered food, beverages and product samples, with VIP ticketholders also getting access to a cold plunge and sauna in a backstage area.
Ideally, a little more interaction with the ocean would have been nice, if understandably difficult to arrange, since the beach itself remained open to the public. No ins-and-outs were allowed, which meant you could see the beach from the festival grounds, but you couldn’t directly reach it from the event. If the concert component returns next year — and this one was a good enough start to suggest that it should — perhaps some sort of re-entry system could be worked out to allow for more interaction with the ocean.
So what’s next for the Sessions Surf Festival? On Sunday, the action returns to Seaside Reef for a free event featuring surf contests, beach bars and food vendors, and more music. Monday, the action shifts to Hot Water Gallery in Carlsbad for the opening of a weeklong exhibit featuring surf-related works by a dozen artists. The opening reception, 5-10 p.m., will also include music, food and drinks.
Everything leads up to a three-day run of movies at Encinitas’ historic La Paloma Theatre, which will feature surf-related films and panel discussions Thursday through Saturday. Friday’s event, featuring a 25th-anniversary program for Steele’s film “Shelter,” is sold out. But tickets are still available for Thursday’s program featuring “In Pieces Together,” Macario de Souza’s documentary on pro surfer Blake Johnston; and Saturday, which includes four films and a panel discussion for each one.
For Steele, it’s all a labor of love — and a way to bring his passion for surfing, art, music and culture back to his home turf. “I lived in Bali, Australia, and New York for 18 years, but I grew up here,” he explained on Saturday, just before the music began. “Encinitas has a lot of positives — beautiful weather, amazing community, healthy lifestyle — but not as much art, music, and that element. So I wanted to add value, and and my slant is via surfing.
“This spot in particular [Cardiff] is special to me because I grew up surfing here. I live right up the street from here, and I still surf here every day. It’s where I first started making surf films. My first surf film was premiered at the La Paloma Theatre. So it’s all sort of coming full circle.”
