It's hard to beat surf music in Southern California. Surfguitar101 was ostensibly a meetup for online forum members with a nice lineup of 10 bands, Today it stands as the premiere surf event of the US and possibly the world, with a globe-spanning lineup of over twenty bands, and I believe Saturday night was the biggest I'd ever seen it. Organizer Jeff "BigTikiDude" Hanson, modest pool cleaner by day, has been slowly tweaking the event and his support team to grow the event organically into something uncompromisingly accessible and genuine.

There are many surf festivals around the globe, more than I can enumerate, but Surfer Joe Summer Festival is so special. I mean, there's a baseline of special at any surf event: you see these performers that are so exceptional, legendary even, but only within this tiny genre. It feels like a secret. But to converge upon Livorno, a charming Italian town scarcely mentioned by the rest of the world, with roaring waves behind you, and for every person you meet to be sporting a different accent, and to be immersed deeply in this for four days... it's dreamlike.

In 2019 I had sort of a last-hurrah-before-fatherhood surf-con-mega-tour, attending Surfer Joe Summer Festival, Hi-Tide Summer Holiday and Surfguitar 101 convention. The idea was I might not find the time to do many more of these for a little while, so now was the time. What I didn't know at the time was that I wouldn't be missing out on much! Three years later I wind up back in Los Angeles for SG101 once more, and I didn't miss a single one in the meantime.

Is there any other rock & roll fad that has lasted as long as surf music? Where are all the modern skiffle groups? There's something uniquely timeless about the sound of surf, and this category is a tribute to the groups that are determined to show just how everlasting and powerful that sound is. This isn't about taking the sound to new dimensions, but about keeping it simple and working with a tried-and-true toolkit to make amazing music.

The final chunk of the Top 100 Surf Records of the 2010s is here, with plenty of longstanding surf heavyweights but also some great new upstarts. Thank you to everybody that voted on this list and I hope you're satisfied with the results!

The final day of Surfer Joe started a bit later, which was great because that was the case for me too. Us VIPs were treated to a breakfast more in line with what I would expect from Surfer Joe diner, including pancakes, bacon, sausage, croissants etc. Each day of these breakfasts was great.

First symposium was an overview of surf music in Italy, hosted by White Seed. A topic so obviously relevant I was surprised it hadn’t been done yet! Furthermore, it was one that I felt shamefully unaware of. While I knew of several bands within the past 10 years or so, I knew of nearly zip in the 60’s. So we had a few choice examples, including some vocal surf pop from back in the day, through the 80’s (including a mention of Dome la Muerte from Friday).

Part of what sold me on Surfer Joe was the symposiums. I like having a moment to talk and learn about topics inside or around surf music, and I watched a few of the ones that were posted online in years past. So I registered at VIP level (an extra $30 or whatever wasn’t much in the grand scheme of airfare and lodging) and headed over around noon.

After years of ogling pictures of footage from previous Surfer Joe festivals I decided to go ahead and buy that expensive plane ticket and see the world’s premier surf music festival for myself.

First time it’s a new thing, second time it’s getting official, third time it’s a ritual.