Based in Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach, Sandollar started off with a couple of high school buddies jamming in wood shop. Their debut Plane Rides and Hillsides was followed by a self-titled album released in 2011, with a cover photo showing the band leaning on their car known as the Beast, a beat-up 1986 Suburban. That was followed in 2013 by Rollercoaster Ride, which entered the iTunes Reggae Albums chart at number seven. The tracks were still popular years later - their song “Up Up" from Rollercoaster Ride is heard at approximately 11 minutes into the first episode of the 2020 Netflix series Outer Banks, and their music has also been featured on CBS’s Magnum PI.
In 2013, Sandollar was singled out as San Diego’s best unsigned band and thus taped for an appearance on the web TV series Indie Across America. “They sent scouts to every major city looking for talent,” says Baron Lunbeck, who plays keyboards and sings. “They chose us,” he says, “and we’re holding it down for San Diego.” A new video was released in September 2015 for the track "Pouring Down."
A new single was released by Pacific Records in late 2020, "So Dangerous." April 2022 saw the release of their "Warrior" single. Sandollar’s 2023 album Under The Water won the Best World Music Album at the San Diego Music Awards, while the album’s single, “Warrior,” garnered a Song of the Year nomination. They received a 2025 San Diego Music Award nomination for Best World Music Artist.
In late 2025, the band teamed up with reggae/rock singer-songwriter Kela Sako (Best New Artist nominee at the 2025 San Diego Music Awards) to record a set of duets of their best-known songs, with the artists singing each other’s songs, plus one new tune that they wrote together, “Glitter.” Sun Sets Vol. 1: An Acoustic Session,, available on local Pacific Records (home to both artists), was co-produced by the Pacific president, CEO, and founder Brian Witkin and Sako in The Music Company’s studio, a nonprofit incubator for the San Diego music scene.
Their album Sunny Day dropped July 2026 via Pacific Records, with 13 tracks blending reggae, surf rock, funk, and hip-hop written by the band’s Baron Lunbeck and produced by Brian Witkin and Donna Daly. The album was preceded by singles for the title track and for “Up Up” featuring rapper Dizzy Wright becomes available. The latter song is a reimagined fan favorite from Sandollar’s 2013 Pacific Records debut Roller Coaster Ride, featuring reggae and island‑music singer‑songwriter KBong (Stick Figure).