Coastal erosion forces cancellation of Ocean Way Festival weeks before planned debut

Santa Monica’s inaugural Ocean Way Festival has been cancelled just weeks before its planned debut.

• READ MORE: String of European music festivals and gigs left devastated by extreme weather: “The unthinkable has happened”

Announcing the cancellation on social media on Friday (September 11), organisers said surf and storm runoff connected to Hurricane Marie, which has seen massive swells pummel beachfronts this week, had drastically reduced the amount of beach space that was safe to use.

The conditions left the site unable to safely support the stages, equipment and infrastructure required for the two-day festival. The event was expected to combine live music with food, wellness, sustainability, and local beach culture on September 26-27 on the beach in Santa Monica, California, with The Killers, Olivia Dean, Jack White and Khruangbin headlining.

Also on the line-up were Sublime, with Durand Jones and the Indications, Alvvays, NME 100 alum 54 Ultra and more also set to perform at the festival, which is put on by the same promoters as Coachella and Stagecoach.

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Organisers have said that plans to bring the festival to Santa Monica next year are already underway, and that refunds for tickets are being processed automatically – and you can find more information on refunds here.

At the time of writing, there has been no update on whether the line-up for next year’s fest would change.

Extreme weather conditions derailing festivals has been a consistent story this summer, with Katy Perry’s 55,000 capacity Werchter Boutique headline performance cancelled earlier this year due to severe thunderstorms. She later posted online “I am sorry I can’t change the weather, and even sorrier (sic) that all of us can’t be together tonight.”

Similarly, Fred Schneider, vocalist with dance-rock legends The B-52’s, described his band’s experience at The C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France as “a total disaster”, with their set cancelled minutes before performance time.

Recent months have also seen Bonnaroo organisers explain that the extreme conditions experienced over the past few years led to them deciding to take a break in 2027 so that the festival grounds can recover.