Hurricane Marie has dashed the plans of thousands of music fans ahead of Santa Monica’s new beachfront festival.
The City of Santa Monica has canceled Ocean Way, a music festival planned for the final weekend of September, after powerful surf and storm runoff from Hurricane Marie eroded a substantial section of the festival grounds during Labor Day weekend.
The inaugural event was set to feature headliners The Killers and Olivia Dean, alongside a broad lineup that included Khruangbin, Sublime and Jack White.
Officials called off the two-day festival only two weeks before it was due to take place on the beach south of the Santa Monica Pier, on September 26 and 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,” the city manager’s office said in a statement.
Goldenvoice, the promoter behind the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, notified prospective attendees in an email sent through ticketing platform AXS.
“Due to the impacts of Hurricane Marie, the City of Santa Monica has canceled the inaugural Ocean Way festival,” Goldenvoice told attendees.
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“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.”
Ticket holders, who paid between $249 and $2,250, are expected to receive refunds within seven business days.
Meanwhile, local officials are assessing the wider damage caused by the hurricane along the Southern California coast, from Malibu through Long Beach and Dana Point.
“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.
“The City is working rapidly to keep the Pico storm drain and shoreline repaired and ready for upcoming weather,” Santa Monica City Councilmember Dan Hall said in a statement to the Times.
“While we are all disappointed, I remain optimistic about bringing Ocean Way back next summer.”
The festival, according to Goldenvoice who announced it in July, was promoted as a car-free event and meant to encourage concert-goers to use transit and help revitalize Santa Monica’s nightlife.
It is the second beachside music festival to be cancelled this year. The first being the inaugural LA Jazz Festival that was supposed to happen on Aug. 22.