Every June, Grammy-winning rock band Switchfoot trades arenas for sand. For the 22nd year, Switchfoot will play a free concert at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California, on Saturday, June 13 - one of the best free shows in Southern California, with a surf competition all morning, food vendors, and the band performing as the afternoon light turns gold over the water.
Bro-Am Beach Fest brings together over 15,000 beachgoers for a free, all-ages celebration featuring a beachfront concert headlined by Switchfoot alongside special guests and local artists, plus surf contests and a crowd-favorite surf joust. This year's lineup includes special guests and local supporting bands like Angel White, Gable Price and Friends, and the winner of 91X's "Battle for the Bro-Am" local band competition.
But Bro-Am has never just been a concert. It's a fundraiser built on a simple conviction: music, art, and surfing give underserved youth in San Diego County something to hold onto. Every dollar raised goes directly to organizations serving homeless, at-risk, and disadvantaged young people in the region - and the event has raised more than $4 million since it began.
This year's beneficiaries include A Step Beyond, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Feeding San Diego, the Monarch School, Rady Children's Hospital, and Save the Music Foundation. Returning highlights include the Rob Machado Bro-Junior Contest for young local surfers and the Adaptive Surf Youth Program, which empowers the next generation of adaptive surfers.
The Switchfoot Bro-Am Foundation describes its mission simply: giving back to the San Diego community by heightening the profile of - and providing grants to - nonprofits that serve unhoused, at-risk, and disadvantaged youth, with a special focus on music, art, and surfing.
For a band whose music has spent nearly three decades wrestling honestly with faith, doubt, and what it means to live for something bigger than yourself, Bro-Am feels less like a side project and more like the message put into practice. As Switchfoot enters its 30th year as a band, formed in San Diego by brothers Jon and Tim Foreman and their high-school friend Chad Butler, the Bro-Am remains a yearly reminder of where their hearts have stayed.
"These kids are giving back ten times as much with their smiles, the appreciation, and their attitudes - that's a gift you can never outgive," organizers shared.
The Bro-Am Beach Fest runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. RSVPs are encouraged, and the event is free and open to all ages.
