Blab Music
Santa Monica Cancels Inaugural Ocean Way Festival After Hurricane Marie-Induced Beach Erosion
When the Pacific surged with a 10‑foot wall of surf, the promise of a new beach‑side music festival crumbled into sand. On September 11, the City of Santa Monica announced that the Ocean Way Festival, slated for Labor Day weekend on September 26‑27, would be cancelled. The event, planned for the stretch of sand south of the Santa Monica Pier, was deemed unsafe after Hurricane Marie’s storm surf and runoff stripped away a large portion of the venue.
Ocean Way was billed as the first major festival to use the Santa Monica shoreline as its stage area, a bold move by Goldenvoice—the same company that brings Coachella to the desert. The two‑day lineup was set to feature headliners The Killers, Olivia Dean, Jack White, and Khruangbin, promising a mix of rock, pop, and world‑beat that would have drawn fans from the coast and beyond.
Hurricane Marie, a Category 2 storm that brushed the Southern California coast in early September, generated towering waves and heavy surf along the Pacific. The high surf and associated runoff stripped away significant amounts of sand from the beach, leaving the proposed stage area unstable and posing a risk to both production crews and attendees.
Goldenvoice said the decision to cancel followed a safety assessment carried out by city officials and the festival’s engineering team. The assessment concluded that the erosion rendered the site unsuitable for the scale of the planned production, and that no temporary measures could guarantee the safety of the event.
Refunds are being processed automatically through Goldenvoice’s ticketing platform, AXS, and ticket holders need not take further action. The company confirmed that the decision was made after a safety assessment by city officials and the festival’s engineering team.
The city and Goldenvoice have indicated that they intend to bring the festival back in 2027. Officials said that community‑benefit initiatives developed alongside the original event will continue, with details to be released in the coming days. The Santa Monica mayor’s office also noted that the city is working with coastal‑management experts to evaluate long‑term shoreline stability.
The cancellation follows a string of disruptions to Southern California festivals this year, including the postponement of the LA Jazz Festival to 2027. Industry observers say the pattern underscores the growing impact of extreme weather on outdoor music events. For now, the Ocean Way Festival remains on hold, with refunds already in process and a 2027 revival under consideration.
Ocean Way was billed as the first major festival to use the Santa Monica shoreline as its stage area, a bold move by Goldenvoice—the same company that brings Coachella to the desert. The two‑day lineup was set to feature headliners The Killers, Olivia Dean, Jack White, and Khruangbin, promising a mix of rock, pop, and world‑beat that would have drawn fans from the coast and beyond.
Hurricane Marie, a Category 2 storm that brushed the Southern California coast in early September, generated towering waves and heavy surf along the Pacific. The high surf and associated runoff stripped away significant amounts of sand from the beach, leaving the proposed stage area unstable and posing a risk to both production crews and attendees.
Goldenvoice said the decision to cancel followed a safety assessment carried out by city officials and the festival’s engineering team. The assessment concluded that the erosion rendered the site unsuitable for the scale of the planned production, and that no temporary measures could guarantee the safety of the event.
Refunds are being processed automatically through Goldenvoice’s ticketing platform, AXS, and ticket holders need not take further action. The company confirmed that the decision was made after a safety assessment by city officials and the festival’s engineering team.
The city and Goldenvoice have indicated that they intend to bring the festival back in 2027. Officials said that community‑benefit initiatives developed alongside the original event will continue, with details to be released in the coming days. The Santa Monica mayor’s office also noted that the city is working with coastal‑management experts to evaluate long‑term shoreline stability.
The cancellation follows a string of disruptions to Southern California festivals this year, including the postponement of the LA Jazz Festival to 2027. Industry observers say the pattern underscores the growing impact of extreme weather on outdoor music events. For now, the Ocean Way Festival remains on hold, with refunds already in process and a 2027 revival under consideration.
