Ocean Way Festival canceled in wake of storm damage

Santa Monica’s big beach-music debut has been washed out.

The inaugural Ocean Way Festival, a planned two-day event set for Sept. 26 and 27 on the sand south of the Santa Monica Pier, has been canceled after Hurricane Marie-fueled surf and storm-drain runoff tore up a major part of the festival site over Labor Day weekend.

City officials said the battered beach simply could not safely hold the stages, production equipment and tens of thousands of expected music fans — with construction and load-in scheduled to begin next week.

The Pier itself was not damaged and remains open.

Beach Gets Blasted

Hurricane Marie’s south swell hammered Southern California beaches around Sept. 5, followed by rain across Los Angeles County on Sept. 6 and 7. The storm system brought flooding, erosion and damage across the coast, including reported local emergencies in Malibu and Dana Point.

In Santa Monica, the surf sucked away enough sand south of the Pier that the festival’s safe shoreline setback would have needed to move 96 feet inland, according to the City.

Then the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain outfall carved through the site’s southern end, forcing the event’s southern boundary about 500 feet north.

That double hit left organizers without enough safe, usable beach to construct the festival or move crowds through the site.

City staff reviewed sand conditions, tides, emergency access, crowd flow, build-out needs and the forecast before determining the festival could not safely proceed.

‘The Surf Took The Beach’

Mayor Caroline Torosis said she was devastated for fans, artists and local businesses that had been counting on the late-September weekend.

“I’ve spent most of it telling anyone who would listen that music was coming back to this beach,” she said in a prepared statement. “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.”

Torosis said the event’s City-Goldenvoice partnership remains intact — and promised the festival will return.

“Next year, the show goes on,” she said.

Goldenvoice Chief Operating Officer Melissa Ormond backed the City’s safety call, saying the promoter remains committed to bringing the Ocean Way Festival to Santa Monica in 2027.

Refunds Coming, 2027 Return Planned

All tickets will be automatically refunded through the original point of purchase.

The City and promoter, Goldenvoice, also said they expect to carry out many of the community-benefit programs tied to the festival despite the cancellation, with more details expected in the coming days.

Ocean Way Festival had been billed as Santa Monica’s first major music festival — a two-day, all-ages beach event featuring live acts including The Killers, Olivia Dean and Sublime.

Goldenvoice, the company behind Coachella and Stagecoach, is expected to announce 2027 dates, programming and ticket details at a later date.

Sharing is caring...