Ocean Way, a new music festival expected to bring up to 50,000 attendees per day to the beach next to the Santa Monica Pier, has been canceled. Storm surf generated by Hurricane Marie, and subsequent runoff from a storm drain outfall, significantly “eroded a large portion of the festival site over Labor Day weekend,” the city of Santa Monica and San Francisco-headquartered music promoter Goldenvoice announced in a Friday press release. The Killers, Olivia Dean, Sublime, Jack White and Alvvays were among the artists on the packed lineup.
Festival organizers said that tickets, which cost from $249 to $2,250, will be refunded within five to seven business days. Plans are underway to reschedule the festival, which was originally set to take place on September 26 and 27, to next year.
“We’ve spent more than a year on this festival, and I’ve spent most of it telling anyone who would listen that music was coming back to this beach,” Mayor Caroline Torosis said in the news release. “…I feel for the fans, the artists, and the businesses counting on that weekend, and I’m right there with them. But the surf took the beach we planned this on, and we cannot put tens of thousands of festival-goers on that sand until it’s safe.”
Heavy rain across Southern California on Labor Day weekend led to local emergencies in Malibu and Dana Point, as well as coastal flooding and property damage in Long Beach and Seal Beach. Officials assessed sand conditions, emergency vehicle access and load-in requirements, ultimately determining the combined loss of usable beach would prevent staff from being able to build festival infrastructure and lead to unsafe conditions for attendees.
“In Santa Monica, the surf stripped sand from the beach south of the Pier, which would have required moving the safe shoreline setback for the festival 96 feet inland,” the news release read. “At the same time, runoff from the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain outfall cut through the southern end of the site, forcing the festival’s southern boundary to move around 500 hundred feet to the north.”
The event, initially announced in July, was set to be Santa Monica’s first major music festival.
“While we share everyone’s disappointment that the show can’t go on this year, we fully support the City’s decision to prioritize safety, and we believe canceling for 2026 is the right call,” Goldenvoice Chief Operating Officer Melissa Ormond said in the news release. “We are committed to returning to Santa Monica in 2027 and delivering the Ocean Way Festival experience we envisioned for the community, artists and fans.”
More Local
– San Francisco institution ‘heartbroken and furious’ after erasure of public art
– Historic 1912 Sausalito houseboat and yacht could be yours – at an $800K discount
– San Francisco’s AI-run store is losing money fast. After a visit, I’m not surprised.
– SF pair allegedly forged property deeds to claim ownership of Sea Cliff home
Get SFGATE’s top stories sent to your inbox by signing up for The Daily newsletter here.
This article originally published at California’s Ocean Way music festival canceled due to impacts from Hurricane Marie.