The LA Jazz Festival fell apart on its opening day. Santa Monica's live music calendar kept rolling.

Festival founder Martin Ludlow cancelled the 17-day, 175-concert event on Friday, Aug. 7, citing unexpected public safety and municipal permitting costs. The festival had promised performances by John Legend, Janelle Monáe and George Clinton across venues throughout Los Angeles County, with organizers projecting 250,000 attendees. All ticket holders will receive full refunds within 30 days, according to NBC Los Angeles. Ludlow said the event is postponed until 2027.

For Santa Monica residents left wanting live music, the city's homegrown venues have a full slate through the fall.

Harvelle's: 95 years and counting

Toledo Diamond marked 25 years of Sunday night residencies at Harvelle's on Aug. 2. The blues bar at 1432 4th St. has been open since 1931 and bills itself as the oldest live music venue in California. Diamond's show blends 1950s hipster jazz with dancing performers and a live band. Santa Monica Mirror columnist Charles Andrews called Diamond "perhaps the longest-running proof that Santa Monica is a City of the Arts." Upcoming Sundays: Aug. 16, 23 and 30. Tickets are $13. The bar hosts live music seven nights a week.

McCabe's Guitar Shop

The intimate Pico Boulevard listening room has a roots-heavy fall lineup: David Hidalgo, Jim Keller, Mitchell Froom, Bob Glaub and Pete Thomas play Aug. 30–31. I See Hawks in LA, Rick Shea and Tony Gilkyson take the stage Sept. 19. Deke Dickerson & Friends follow Sept. 27, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock close out Oct. 9.

Ruskin Group Theatre Arts Center

At 2800 Airport Ave., the Ruskin is running final performances of "Grangeville" by Samuel D. Hunter (the playwright behind "The Whale") on Aug. 13, 14 and 16 at $40 to $45. A one-night staged reading of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" follows Saturday, Aug. 15, at $25. The L.A. Cafe Plays, where scripts are written in the morning and performed that evening, runs Monday, Aug. 17, at $25. Looking ahead: "Library Girl" opens Sept. 11 and "Blues and Taboos" (JB4) hits Sept. 12.

Ocean Way Festival: Sept. 26–27

The biggest addition to Santa Monica's music calendar arrives in late September. The inaugural Ocean Way Festival, produced by Goldenvoice, will stretch across the sand between the Santa Monica Pier and Bay Street over two days. The Killers headline Saturday; Olivia Dean tops Sunday. Jack White, Khruangbin, Sublime, Durand Jones and the Indications, Alvvays, Hiatus Kaiyote and more fill out 22 acts across two stages.

Gates open at noon with an 11 p.m. curfew. Two-day general admission passes start at $399; single-day tickets start at $229, according to Time Out Los Angeles. No on-site parking is available; organizers are directing attendees to the Metro E Line, Big Blue Bus, shuttles or bike valets.

The city selected Goldenvoice through a competitive bidding process as part of Santa Monica's $60 million Realignment Plan. Mayor Caroline Torosis said at the festival's July announcement that "Santa Monica is in the middle of a renaissance" and called Ocean Way a way to ensure "our own community is at the center of it."

Upcoming Santa Monica arts and music calendar:

  • Aug. 13, 14, 16 — "Grangeville," Ruskin Group Theatre, $40 to $45
  • Aug. 15 — "Our Town" staged reading, Ruskin Group Theatre, $25
  • Aug. 16, 23, 30 — Toledo Diamond, Harvelle's, $13
  • Aug. 17 — The L.A. Cafe Plays, Ruskin Group Theatre, $25
  • Aug. 30–31 — David Hidalgo and friends, McCabe's Guitar Shop
  • Sept. 11 — "Library Girl" opens, Ruskin Group Theatre
  • Sept. 19 — I See Hawks in LA, McCabe's Guitar Shop
  • Sept. 26–27 — Ocean Way Festival, Santa Monica Beach, from $229