Santa Monica has pulled the plug on Ocean Way.
The city scrubbed the inaugural beachfront music festival just two weeks before The Killers and Olivia Dean were set to headline, citing devastation from Hurricane Marie that left the shoreline too dangerous to host tens of thousands of fans. The two-day event, promoted by Goldenvoice, had been scheduled for September 26 and 27 on sand south of the Santa Monica Pier.
“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,” the city manager’s office said in a statement.
Goldenvoice, the same company behind Coachella, broke the news to ticket holders through AXS, its ticketing platform.
“Due to the impacts of Hurricane Marie, the City of Santa Monica has canceled the inaugural Ocean Way festival,” the promoter said in a statement to attendees. “Storm surf and runoff has caused significant beach erosion and the festival can no longer be safely held as planned. Plans are already underway to bring the festival back to Santa Monica in 2027.”
Refunds for tickets priced between $249 and $2,250 are expected to process within seven business days.
The storm’s reach extended well beyond the festival grounds. Hurricane Marie chewed up coastline from Malibu to Long Beach and Dana Point, leaving local officials scrambling to assess the broader toll.
Santa Monica City Councilmember Dan Hall addressed the damage in a statement to the Times, tying the festival’s collapse to wider infrastructure threats.
“With Hurricane Marie also causing sinkholes in Malibu and triggering home evacuations in Long Beach due to rising surf, the rapid erosion of the beach near the Sandbox event space over the past few days is deeply concerning,” Hall said. “The City is working rapidly to keep the Pico storm drain and shoreline repaired and ready for upcoming weather.”
Hall added a note of optimism about the festival’s future despite the setback.
“While we are all disappointed, I remain optimistic about bringing Ocean Way back next summer,” he said.
Goldenvoice had announced Ocean Way in July as a car-free event, pushing concertgoers toward public transit in a bid to reinvigorate Santa Monica’s nightlife scene. The lineup also included Khruangbin, Sublime, and Jack White among its supporting acts.
The cancellation marks the second beachside music festival to collapse this year. The inaugural LA Jazz Festival, slated for August 22, was the first to fall.
