Festival Canceled
Hurricane Marie Storm Surge Forces Cancellation of Santa Monica Ocean Way Festival
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Key Points
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The festival site was planned for the stretch of beach between the Santa Monica Pier and Bay Street, with two stages intended to host a range of musical genres.
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Goldenvoice was selected through a competitive city process to develop Ocean Way as part of Santa Monica’s more than $60 million Realignment Plan, which envisioned the festival as a cultural anchor for a future beachfront events district.
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City officials cited specific safety changes caused by the erosion: the shoreline setback would have had to move 96 feet inland, while the festival’s southern boundary would have needed to shift 500 feet north because of runoff.
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Ticket prices ranged from $229 for a single-day pass and $399 for a two-day pass to more than $700 for premium weekend packages; Billboard also reported single-day four-packs priced at $189.
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Goldenvoice regional festivals Vice President Nic Adler said the event was intended to draw on Santa Monica’s creative history, including shows at the Civic Auditorium and the origins of Ocean Way Recording near the beach, while creating something “authentically Santa Monica for years to come.”
Santa Monica canceled the inaugural Ocean Way Festival, scheduled for September 26-27, after Hurricane Marie's storm surge and runoff severely eroded the beachfront site and made it unsafe for the event Rolling Stone. The Goldenvoice-produced festival was to feature The Killers, Jack White, Olivia Dean, Khruangbin, and Sublime across two stages, but coastal damage forced organizers to abandon plans entirely for 2024 and aim for a 2027 return Variety.
Hurricane Marie's Damage Narrowed the Festival Footprint
The erosion and runoff caused by Hurricane Marie made the site unworkable within its original boundaries. City officials determined that the safe shoreline setback would have to move 96 feet inland, while the festival's southern boundary needed to shift 500 feet north because of storm runoff Ventura County Star. For a large beachfront festival, those adjustments eliminated critical space for stages, crowd areas, emergency access, and evacuation routes.
The festival had been planned for the beach stretch between Santa Monica Pier and Bay Street. With the new constraints, organizers concluded that relocating within the original site footprint was not practical, making cancellation the only option rather than major redesign on an accelerated timeline.
Part of a Broader $60 Million Beachfront Vision
Ocean Way Festival was intended to anchor Santa Monica's more than $60 million Realignment Plan for a redesigned beachfront events district Variety. Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles promoter, was selected through a competitive city process to develop the event as a cultural centerpiece that would establish the beach as a major entertainment destination.
Goldenvoice regional festivals Vice President Nic Adler said the event aimed to draw on Santa Monica's creative legacy, including the city's historic Civic Auditorium shows and the nearby Ocean Way Recording origins, while creating something "authentically Santa Monica for years to come."
Ticket Refunds Being Processed Over Next Week
Ticket prices ranged from $229 for a single-day pass to more than $700 for premium weekend packages Variety. Some single-day four-packs were priced at $189. Automatic refunds are being processed through AXS and are expected to arrive within five to seven business days, shifting the immediate ticket-revenue loss back to the promoter.
Organizers announced they will not reschedule Ocean Way for 2024 but stated that plans are underway for the festival to return in 2027. The cancellation marks a setback for Santa Monica's broader coastal development strategy, which now depends on coastal resilience and enhanced site assessments for future beachfront events.
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