Hangout Music Festival will not be returning to Gulf Shores in 2026.

Mayor Robert Craft announced at the Dec. 8 council meeting that the city will be approving permits for the festival to return in 2027, but next year’s event has been cancelled due to a lack of secured artists like those seen at this year’s Sand in My Boots Festival, held in lieu of Hangout Fest.

“We will refuse to let them go back to the acts we’ve had before, so they couldn’t do it,” Craft said. “So, they cancelled the 2026 event but they’ve got time now to pursue the type of talent we want on our beaches, to invite the right audience that we want on our beaches.”

He said by moving the festival to 2027, Hangout organizers would have more time to secure the correct acts.

 Grant Brown, Recreation and Cultural Affairs director for Gulf Shores, said skipping 2026 was because of the "compressed timeframe" to put together an event like Hangout Fest or Sand in My Boots. Waiting until 2027 allows for more time to focus on that event in general.

The decision to not hold the event next year, Brown said, was made by AEG Presents, event organizer for Hangout Fest, and supported by the city.

"Their choice; however, we want a good, safe, quality event and support their decision if it's in the best interest of all parties involved," he said. 

As previously reported by GCM, at the city council where the one-year franchise agreement for 2026 was approved, Craft said the city “made it really clear” that if next year’s lineup is not like Sand in My Boots, the city will not agree to hold the event in 2027.

"They certainly understand what we will not go back to, like the Boom Boom Tent and that type of performance there," Craft is previously quoted in saying. "It was not anything close to what we had in this past year. It brought a much younger, less mature crowd here that caused issues, and we can't go back to it, and they understand that."

Craft previously said Sand in My Boots festival goers, compared to those who attended Hangout Fest, were "more mature" and "better behaved."