Taylor Steele, one of the most influential surf filmmakers of his generation, is bringing his signature audio-visual aesthetic back to the California coast for the Sessions Surf Festival. Known for defining the look and sound of the Momentum Generation on the North Shore, Steele shaped surf culture by pairing raw athletic performances with driving punk rock and atmospheric soundtracks. The upcoming festival kicks off with a live-music and surf contest weekend at Seaside Beach in Encinitas, California, featuring performances by headliners Unwritten Law and Osees.
Steele’s career spans decades of shaping how audiences consume surf media, transitioning from rapid-fire 1990s punk edits to sweeping, cinematic travelogues. Ahead of the festival, Steele reflected on his evolving creative process, how he approaches music curation like a master sommelier, and what fans can expect from the upcoming weekend at Seaside Beach.
The Roots of Punk and Surf Visuals
When Steele began making films as an 18-year-old on the North Shore of Oahu, his music selection process was straightforward and driven by personal taste. Working alongside rising surf stars during the era that birthed the Momentum Generation, Steele relied on local connections and underground bands rather than formal licensing deals.
“Honestly, it was less of a process than people imagine. I was 18. Punk rock was what I listened to, and more importantly it was music I could actually get. I wasn’t licensing anything — I was calling bands who were friends of friends and who thought it was cool their song might end up in a surf video,” Steele explained.
That raw curation required meticulous editing discipline. Steele utilized drum cymbals and audio tempos to maximize the visual impact of high-performance surfing.
“Once I had the songs, I was pretty obsessive. It was all about the performance. I’d edit each wave to the drum cymbal — there’s a tempo in the cymbal where if you land the spray coming off a top turn right on it, the turn suddenly hits so much harder than it did on its own. That was the whole formula. Music was there to make the surfing feel bigger,” he said.
Shifting Perspectives: From Adrenaline to Atmosphere
As Steele’s career matured and his family grew, his creative goals shifted away from pure adrenaline towards capturing the romanticism and mood of global surf travel. While early films like Focus were designed to send viewers straight to the water in a frenzy, later projects prioritized environmental atmosphere and storytelling.
“Early on, music was there to get you amped. I wanted you to watch a section and go straight to the beach and be frothing to surf. That’s a specific job, and punk did it perfectly. The tempo of it just meshed with the tempo of surfing,” Steele noted. “Then as my life changed and what I was surrounded by changed, my perspective changed. I wanted to show the world as something beautiful, romantic, and inspiring — in large part because my girls were young at the time and that’s what I wanted to hand them.”
Creating atmospheric sections demanded a different approach than shopping for commercial tracks. By the time he produced projects like Castles in the Sky, Steele incorporated on-location recordings, local musicians, and performances by the surfers themselves to establish an authentic sense of place.
Bringing the Soundtrack to Life in Encinitas
The Sessions Surf Festival aims to replicate the visceral connection between music and surfing that defines Steele’s cinematic catalog. The weekend event at Seaside Beach in Encinitas bridges generations of surf culture, featuring multi-generational surf competitions with specialized divisions for single-fin and twin-fin surfboards.
The musical lineup leans heavily into Steele’s filmmaking history. Unwritten Law, whose tracks have underscored Steele’s films since his earliest projects, will headline the live performances alongside Osees, whose dynamic sound famously powered the South American section of the film Psychic Migrations featuring surfers Torren Burch, Ozzie Wright, and Nate Tyler.
“When I was a kid I’d watch the same films and the same sections over and over, and those songs just get ingrained in your brain. I think that happens for a lot of surfers. You hear a song years later and it’s tied to your favorite section, and it brings back a piece of what we all love about being out there,” Steele said.
While Seaside Beach serves as the energetic epicenter for the weekend’s surf contests and live music, additional festival programming extends to the historic La Paloma Theater in Encinitas. Fans can find schedule updates, ticketing options, and event announcements directly through the official Sessions Surf Festival portal.
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