Hangout Music Festival is a three-day beachfront music festival held on the public beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Founded in 2010 by AEG Presents, it was the first major music festival built directly on a beach in the US. The festival draws over 40,000 attendees per day and features stages set directly on the sand, with the Gulf of Mexico as a backdrop.
The 2024 edition (May 17 to 19) was headlined by Lana Del Rey (Friday), ODESZA (Saturday), and Zach Bryan (Sunday), with over 50 artists performing across five stages. Lana Del Rey's Friday night set included surprise guest appearances from Jelly Roll (for a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"), Benson Boone, Nessa Barrett, and Tommy Genesis. ODESZA delivered their "The Last Goodbye" farewell tour production with a drumline, pyrotechnics, and a fireworks finale. The official documentary from ODESZA's YouTube channel captures the production scale of the tour that included Hangout Fest 2024:
How Hangout Music Festival Works
Hangout is scheduled for mid-May each year, taking advantage of the Alabama Gulf Coast's warm weather before peak summer crowds. The 2026 edition was cancelled at the request of organizers in December 2025, who told Gulf Shores city leaders they needed more time to book top-tier acts. The city signed a two-year extension with the festival in July 2025, securing the event through 2027.
Key operational details:
- Stages and Programming: The festival features four to five stages along the beachfront. Programming spans pop, rock, hip-hop, electronic, and country. The 2025 edition was rebranded as Morgan Wallen's Sand in My Boots Tour, featuring country music acts and generating the highest ticket sales and revenue in the festival's history.
- Ticketing: Tickets are sold in tiers (Early Bird, GA, VIP, VIP Super, and Platinum). VIP options include beach cabanas, viewing decks, and private bars. The festival typically sells out in advance.
- Location and Logistics: Gulf Shores is a small coastal city with limited accommodation. Hotels and vacation rentals book up months in advance, with rates peaking during festival weekend. Shuttles run from nearby cities including Mobile, AL, and Pensacola, FL.
- Amenities: The festival offers on-beach food vendors, water stations, shade structures, hammock areas, and elevated viewing platforms. The beachfront setting means sand and surf are part of the experience, with many attendees swimming between sets.
Real-World Example: Hangout 2025 vs. 2026 Cancellation
The 2025 edition ran May 16 to 18 and was the most successful Hangout to date. Headlined by Morgan Wallen under the Sand in My Boots Tour banner, the festival sold more tickets and generated more revenue than any previous edition. The country-focused lineup proved that genre-specific programming can outperform the festival's traditional multi-genre approach.
Despite that success, organizers cancelled the 2026 edition in December 2025. The reason was booking: they needed more time to secure headliners comparable to the 2025 lineup. The city council approved a two-year contract extension through 2027, ensuring the festival's return. This cancellation shows how dependent mid-sized festivals are on top-tier talent. Without the right headliners, a festival may skip a year rather than deliver a subpar lineup.
For independent artists, the 2025 edition demonstrated that Hangout can program country and Americana acts alongside its usual pop and rock billing. The festival's 40,000+ daily capacity and beachfront setting make it a high-visibility slot for emerging acts in any of those genres.
Notable Past Headliners
Hangout Music Festival has booked major headliners across pop, rock, electronic, hip-hop, and country since its founding in 2010. Here is a look at headliners from recent editions:
| Year | Friday Headliner | Saturday Headliner | Sunday Headliner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Post Malone | Brooks and Dunn | Morgan Wallen (Sand in My Boots) |
| 2024 | Lana Del Rey | ODESZA | Zach Bryan |
| 2023 | SZA | Paramore | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| 2022 | Flo Milli | Fall Out Boy | Kings of Leon |
| 2019 | The Lumineers | Cardi B | Travis Scott |
| 2018 | Kendrick Lamar | Imagine Dragons | The Chainsmokers |
The 2025 edition was rebranded as Morgan Wallen's Sand in My Boots Festival, a curated three-day event on the same Gulf Shores site. Wallen headlined Sunday, May 18, debuting seven new songs from his album I'm The Problem (released on the festival's opening day, May 16). All 40,000 tickets sold out in under two hours, with GA passes starting at $549 and VIP packages reaching over $5,000. The lineup included Post Malone, Brooks and Dunn, HARDY, T-Pain, Three 6 Mafia, and The War On Drugs, with surprise guests Bailey Zimmerman and ERNEST joining Wallen's closing set.
The 2024 edition ran May 17 to 19 and featured one of the festival's most talked-about moments when Lana Del Rey brought out Jelly Roll for a duet on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" to close her Friday night headline set. Del Rey also appeared during Megan Moroney's Sunday set for a performance of "Tennessee Orange." The video of the Lana Del Rey and Jelly Roll duet from Hangout Fest 2024:
Why It Matters for Independent Artists
Hangout Music Festival books across multiple genres and has a track record of programming emerging acts on its smaller stages. The festival's Gulf Coast location draws attendees from across the Southeast US, including major markets like Atlanta, Nashville, Houston, and Miami. A Hangout slot puts you in front of a regional audience that travels for the festival.
If you want to play Hangout:
- Build a following in the Southeast US through club tours and regional festival circuits. AEG Presents and C3 Presents book Hangout, so getting on their radar through other events they promote is a direct pipeline.
- If you play country or Americana, the 2025 edition proved the festival can pivot to that genre. Monitor announcements for the 2027 edition's programming direction.
- Release music that charts on streaming platforms and radio. Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to track your performance.
- Work with a booking agent who has relationships with AEG or C3. Most Hangout slots are filled through agency submissions.
Related Resources
- Music Festivals Directory - Explore other beach and outdoor festivals
- Streaming Royalty Calculator - Track streaming growth for festival bookings
- Tour Revenue Calculator - Plan your Southeast US tour budget
- 21 Ways Musicians Can Earn Income - Festival performances as revenue
- Official Hangout Music Festival Website
Similar Festivals
- Coachella - Major multi-genre festival held in Indio, California, produced by Goldenvoice (also part of AEG)
- Stagecoach Festival - Country music festival held at the same site as Coachella in Indio, California
- Bonnaroo - Four-day multi-genre festival held in Manchester, Tennessee
- Governors Ball - Three-day multi-genre festival held in New York City
