By Jorge Casuso

September 14, 2026 – Ocean Way Festival -- Santa Monica's first major music event in more than a decade – has been canceled after Hurricane Marie wiped away a large portion of the festival site south of the Pier over Labor Day weekend, City officials announced Friday.

Storm surf and runoff from a storm drain outfall eroded the large stretch across the beach to Bay Street where a main stage with five acts per day, a second stage and a series of gathering spaces were to be erected for the two-day festival September 26-27.

"The Beach can no longer safely accommodate the festival production and audience capacity, and with construction and load-in set to begin next week, the City determined that cancellation was the only responsible option," City officials said.

Festival producer Goldenvoice -- the creators of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival -- said tickets that went on sale July 23 and started at $399 will be will be fully refunded. The festival's main headliners included two British acts that have topped the charts with smash hits., The Killers and Olivia Dean.

“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," said Mayor Caroline Torosis. "I wanted to stand on the sand, see the Pier lit up behind that stage, and sing along with our community.

"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.”

City officials and Golden Voice said plans are already underway to bring the Ocean Way Festival back in 2027.

"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,” said Goldenvoice Chief Operating Officer Melissa Ormond.

“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.”

In Santa Monica, a a large south swell generated by Hurricane Marie stripped sand from the beach south of the Pier, "which would have required moving the safe shoreline setback for the festival 96 feet inland.," officials said.

"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 Santa Monica Pier was not damaged and remains open, officials said.

The festival grounds were to have blended standing room and open blanket areas and included pathways for those who didn't wish to walk on the sand, officials said.

The festival was to have taken place more than 12 years after the City Council canceled the Twilight Dance Concert series that for two decades brought major musical acts -- including Jimmy Cliff, Los Lobos, Buck Owens and Joan Baez – as well as enormous crowds to the Pier.

The series was canceled after Police officials worried that the large crowds from across the Los Angeles region could increase the possibility of “eruptions of mass rage” and “riots.”

Launched in 1983, the series was part of a civic rallying cry to restore the Pier after the wooden landmark structure had been heavily damaged by winter storms.

The Ocean Way Festival stems from a discussion item placed on the May 13 Council agenda by Councilmembers Dan Hall, Jesse Zwick and Lana Negrete that called for bringing back "large music events and multi-day festivals" to the Pier.

Hall, a former member of the Pier Board, said the announcement of Ocean Way "successfully placed Santa Monica back ‘on the map’ for pop culture and the arts.

"It was exciting to see such an incredible artist lineup that truly captured the essence of a Santa Monica summer," Hall wrote in his newsletter. "By involving local restaurants and hotels, Goldenvoice has demonstrated a genuine commitment to our community.

"While we are all disappointed, I remain optimistic about bringing Ocean Way back next summer."