Venice Beach is getting a massive new music festival — with organizers planning to turn its iconic boardwalk and beachfront into a sprawling concert destination.
The two-day 1905 Fest is slated for fall 2027, promising five music stages, more than a dozen bars and plenty of food vendors along one of Southern California’s most recognizable stretches of coastline.
The festival is the brainchild of Sam Meyers, a former director of BeachLife Festival, who says the event will pay tribute to Venice’s colorful history and the vision of its founder, Abbot Kinney.
“Named for the year Venice was founded, 1905 Fest celebrates that legacy with a new two-day festival of music, art, and culture on its iconic coastline,” the festival’s website states.
“Welcoming longtime Venetians, new neighbors, old friends, and everyone in between to be part of its next chapter.”
Meyers said the concept is rooted in his “interpretation of what Venice was founded on: having fun and building community.”
The sprawling event would be centered around Windward Plaza, near the famous Venice Skatepark and Boardwalk, extending onto the sand where Windward Avenue meets the Pacific Ocean.
Renderings posted to the festival’s website show a concert footprint stretching across both the beachfront and nearby streets, with five stages planned for the weekend.
Organizers are also envisioning a free fan zone along a temporarily closed street, giving local businesses an opportunity to attract festivalgoers, according to the Westside Current.
The musical lineup is expected to lean toward indie dance and psychedelic rock, although no performers have been announced.
Meyers, who has lived on the Westside for nine years and in Venice for eight, said he hopes to revive some of the community spirit he believes has defined the beachside neighborhood for generations.
“I’ve lived on the Westside for nine years, eight of them in Venice. I still believe in the spirit of what Kinney envisioned, even if that spirit can sometimes feel a little distant today,” Meyers said.
The ambitious proposal still has plenty of hurdles, but Meyers told the outlet he has received support from the offices of LA City Councilwoman Traci Park and LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
The festival has also secured permits and logistical support from the city, county and local district, according to the report.
Now Meyers is looking to get Venice residents on board, asking locals to share their ideas and suggestions before the festival takes shape. Locals can reach him via email here with their ideas and suggestions.
“What I want to do is unite the people who have lived in Venice for 50-plus years, the people who have lived in Venice for 20-plus years, and the people who just moved here,” Meyers said.
An exact date for the fall 2027 festival has not been announced. The California Post reached out to Meyers for additional details.
