Hangout Festival called off for 2026, Gulf Shores mayor says

There will be no Hangout Music Fest — or its 2025 rebrand, Sand in My Boots — in Gulf Shores in 2026, the city’s mayor announced Monday evening.

Mayor Robert Craft shared the news during the miscellaneous updates portion of a routine city council meeting. “The Hangout Music Festival will not occur in 2026,” he said. “We will not have an event in 2026. We are already approving the event in 2027.”

The announcement follows an unusual stretch for the long-running festival.

Since its 2010 debut, Hangout Fest has become known for eclectic, pop-leaning lineups and, in recent years, a distinctly young and diverse crowd. But in fall 2024, organizers revealed that the 2025 edition would be renamed Sand in My Boots and curated by country superstar Morgan Wallen.

Marketed as a one-year takeover, the revamped festival sold out its 40,000 tickets almost immediately — something Hangout hadn’t accomplished in years. The May event, headlined by Wallen, Post Malone, and Brooks & Dunn, was considered a success. It also marked the end of a 10-year franchise agreement between the city and the festival’s producers.