Beach Damage from Hurricane Marie Forces Cancellation of Inaugural Ocean Way Festival to 2027

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2026) - The City of Santa Monica and Goldenvoice announced today that the inaugural Ocean Way Festival, scheduled for September 26-27 on The Beach (located south of the Santa Monica Pier), has been canceled after storm surf generated by Hurricane Marie and runoff from a storm drain outfall eroded a large portion of the festival site over Labor Day weekend. 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.

Plans are already underway to bring the Ocean Way Festival back to Santa Monica in 2027.

Hurricane Marie, an Eastern Pacific hurricane that reached Category 2 strength, generated a large south swell that reached Southern California beaches on or about September 5, 2026, accompanied by rain across Los Angeles County on September 6 and 7. The National Weather Service maintained a High Surf Advisory for the Los Angeles County coast through September 8. Among numerous other impacts, these same conditions caused coastal flooding and property damage in Long Beach and Seal Beach; declared local emergencies in Malibu and in Dana Point; and beach erosion across the region.

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. 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.

City staff completed an assessment of the site, evaluating sand conditions, emergency vehicle access, construction & load-in requirements, crowd circulation, tides, and the extended forecast. The combined loss of usable beach meant the festival infrastructure could not be built and the event would not be safe for attendees on the smaller footprint that remained.

"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. 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," said Mayor Caroline Torosis. "What didn't wash away is the partnership. Goldenvoice has been a responsible partner from day one, and that work continues. Next year, the show goes on."

"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."

All tickets purchased for the 2026 Ocean Way Festival will be fully refunded. Refunds will be automatically processed from point of purchase.

Even with the festival canceled, the City and Goldenvoice intend to move forward this year with many of the community benefit initiatives that were developed alongside Ocean Way Festival. Details are being coordinated now, and additional information will be shared in the coming days.

Ocean Way Festival was developed as a partnership between the City of Santa Monica and Goldenvoice, producer of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival. The event was planned as Santa Monica's first major music festival, featuring a two-day, all-ages event featuring live music, local artists, food and community programming on the beach south of the Santa Monica Pier.

Goldenvoice will announce dates, programming and ticketing for the 2027 Ocean Way Festival when details are available. For more information, visit oceanwayfestival.com and santamonica.gov/programs/oceanwayfestival. Community members with questions can contact [email protected] or (424) 260-1923.