Ocean Way Festival in Santa Monica Canceled Weeks Before Planned Debut

The inaugural Ocean Way Festival in Santa Monica has been canceled just two weeks before it was scheduled to debut, after storm surf and runoff from Hurricane Marie caused significant erosion along the beach where the event was planned.

The festival was set for Sept. 26-27 on the beach south of the Santa Monica Pier. City officials and Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Coachella and Stagecoach, announced the cancellation on Sept. 11, saying the remaining beach area could no longer safely accommodate the festival’s production and expected audience.

According to the City of Santa Monica, Hurricane Marie produced a large south swell that reached Southern California around Sept. 5, followed by rain across Los Angeles County. The resulting storm surf stripped sand from the festival site, while runoff from the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain outfall further damaged the southern portion of the planned grounds. The city said the safe shoreline setback would have needed to move 96 feet inland, while the storm-drain runoff forced the southern boundary of the site roughly 500 feet north.

The cancellation comes shortly after Goldenvoice announced the festival’s lineup in July. The Killers and Olivia Dean had been scheduled to headline the two-day event, with Jack White, Khruangbin, Sublime, Alvvays, SG Lewis, Durand Jones & The Indications, Hiatus Kaiyote, Poolside and other artists also booked to perform.

Ocean Way was planned as Santa Monica’s first major music festival on the beach, combining live performances with food, wellness, design, sustainability and community programming. The event was developed as a partnership between Goldenvoice and the City of Santa Monica as part of the city’s broader beachfront development plans.

All tickets purchased for the 2026 festival will be fully refunded automatically through the original point of purchase. Organizers said ticket holders do not need to take additional action to receive their refunds.

Despite the cancellation, the City of Santa Monica and Goldenvoice said they intend to continue with many of the community benefit initiatives originally connected to the festival. Plans are also already underway to bring Ocean Way Festival back to Santa Monica in 2027, with dates, programming and ticket information to be announced later.

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