Music Fest Nixed Due to Coastal Erosion

Fans hoping to see the Killers, Sublime, and Jack White on the sand in Santa Monica will have to wait. The Ocean Way Festival, a two-day beachfront event in California planned for later this month, has been called off after powerful surf and storm runoff carved away a large chunk of the site, city officials said on Friday, per AFP. Waves reaching 15 feet, linked to Hurricane Marie and amplified by a strong El Nino, stripped sand from the beach and left it unsafe to hold tens of thousands of people, according to a statement from the city..

"The surf took the beach we planned this on," says Mayor Caroline Torosis. The city's statement notes that officials hope to bring the fest back in 2027, per Deadline. Automatic refunds for tickets, which cost between $249 and $2,200 or so, will be issued within seven business days, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The same turbulent Pacific conditions have been hammering the Southern California coast: A massive sinkhole opened in the driveway of Nicolas Cage's oceanfront home, 31 houses in Malibu were ordered evacuated, and several properties in Dana Point and Laguna Beach have been deemed uninhabitable or have collapsed into the sea, per AFP. Scientists say El Nino is a natural pattern, but warming driven by human activity is likely intensifying its impact.