The inaugural Ocean Way Festival has been abruptly canceled just two weeks before it was set to take place on the beach in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. The two-day event was scheduled for September 26 and 27 and was set to headline Olivia Dean, Jack White of the White Stripes, Khruangbin and The Killers.
On Friday, festival-goers were notified by concert promoter Goldenvoice that the show had been called off due to 'unsafe' conditions caused by Hurricane Marie, citing erosion from the storm's 'storm surf and runoff.' The event had been expected to draw 45,000 people on each festival day.
According to Variety, ticket holders will receive automatic refunds, while the City of Santa Monica and the festival's promoter are already planning to bring the event back in 2027. 'Thank you for your support. We'll see you on the beach soon,' the Ocean Way Festival's official Instagram account said in a joint statement with the city.
Goldenvoice is the concert promotion company behind major festivals including Coachella and Stagecoach.
What the official statement said
The festival '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 statement began. '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.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Ocean Way Festival and Goldenvoice for comment.
How the storm reshaped the beach
The statement explained that 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. On top of that, 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 feet to the north.
City assessment found no usable beach
Staff from the City of Santa Monica carried out assessments and concluded there was not enough 'usable beach' left to build the festival infrastructure safely for attendees. 'City staff completed an assessment of the site, evaluating sand conditions, emergency vehicle access, construction and load-in requirements, crowd circulation, tides, and the extended forecast,' the statement read, according to Variety. '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.'
Refunds and ticket prices
The statement sent to ticket holders confirmed that refunds for their passes, which were sold for as little as $249 and as much as $2,250, would be processed within the next five to seven business days.
Fans react to short notice
Many fans took to social media to voice disappointment, not just over the cancellation but over how little notice they were given. One X user wrote: 'They announced it wayyy too soon before the event.'
Another fan hoping to see Olivia Dean perform shared a crying GIF, writing: 'Ocean Way Festival got canceled rip me seeing olivia perform on the beach.'
One person tweeted: 'Just got an email saying Ocean Way Festival is canceled due to impacts from Hurricane Marie.' Like other users online, they speculated about other reasons behind the cancellation, writing that they 'can't help but feel like it's a cop out for low ticket sales.' Alongside a string of crying emojis, they added that they 'wanted to see Olivia Dean so bad.'
Other fans responding to headlines on X, formerly known as Twitter, called the cancellation a 'bummer.'
