The Gulf Shores City Council voted unanimously Monday night to make it possible for the Hangout Music Festival – or something broadly similar – to happen in 2026.
Whether that event’s lineup has more in common with the eclectic pop lineups of recent Hangout Fests, or with the country-oriented slate of the Sand in My Boots fest held in 2025, remains to be seen. Either way, Gulf Shores city leaders and many in the community have made it abundantly clear that they prefer the audience that turned out for Sand in My Boots, which many have described as more mature and affluent.
Sand in My Boots was billed as a one-year “takeover” of the familiar Hangout Fest. Between its country-oriented lineup and the cachet of being curated by headliner Morgan Wallen, it outperformed Hangout, selling its 40,000 tickets almost instantly.
It also was the last festival covered by a franchise agreement in place since 2015. For future events to be planned, that agreement had to be replaced or extended. The short-term extension approved Monday was extensively discussed at a council work session on July 21.
At that same July 21 work session, Mayor Robert Craft said city leaders had “made it really clear” that the festival’s future hinges on bringing a similar audience back in 2026. “The only one we’re worried about right now is ’26,” he said. “Can they do what they’re supposed to do, in ’26. The motivating factor there [is], if you can do it right, we can go forward. If you don’t, it’s over.”
That said, the language of the proposal allows for some wiggle room in the branding and composition of the event. It says, for example, that the “specific festival name and genre of music” will be selected by event organizers, but subject to review and approval by the city council.
It also says the City Council “understands and agrees that Franchisee has no control over what musical acts are available to perform at the Music Fests and/or who purchases tickets to the Music Fests and therefore it is unable to guarantee a specific audience composition for the Music Fests.”
“We look forward to another successful year, with the Hangout Festival,” Place 3 council representative and Mayor Pro Tem Phillip Harris said after the vote. (Mayor Craft was not present for the meeting; Harris said he was in Washington, D.C., for a meeting with Alabama senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt.)
No one spoke for festival producers at the meeting.
Language in the proposal approved Monday described it as “an interim solution allowing the Franchisee to plan the 2026 and 2027 Music Fests.” It said that the parties would “commit to good faith negotiation of a separate long-term franchise agreement” when this two-year extension expires.
