By Jorge Casuso
May 9, 2025 -- Twelve years after the City pulled the plug on the legendary Twilight Dance Concert series on the Pier, major acts could return to the landmark venue.
A discussion item placed on Tuesday's agenda by Councilmembers Dan Hall and Jesse Zwick and Mayor Lana Negrete calls for bringing back "large music events and multi-day festivals" to the Pier.
The item, said Hall, is "part of a larger strategy to shift our Downtown and Pier away from retail and toward experiences -- ones that draw tourists and create lasting memories."
Hall added that "it’s important to be clear: what we’re proposing is different from the old Twilight Series."
For three decades, the Twilight concerts highlighted major musical acts -- including Jimmy Cliff, Los Lobos, Buck Owens and Joan Baez -- that attracted large crowds from across the Los Angeles region.
The series was launched in 1983 as part of a civic rallying cry to restore a wooden landmark structure that had been heavily damaged by winter storms ("Twilight Dance Series Rocks On Thanks to Katharine King," August 29, 2011).
The Council canceled the summer series in early 2014 after Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks worried that the crowds could increase the possibility of “eruptions of mass rage” and “riots.”
The Council voted to only book “emerging” talent for future concerts, scale back advertising and eliminate the jumbotron screen watched by spill-over crowds on the beach ("City Council Votes to Right Size Santa Monica Pier Summer Concert Series," January 17, 2014)
Hall, a former member of the Pier Board, said that "safety and security are central to making Pier music festivals successful," adding that the Police and the Recreation and Arts Department have been working "to get it right."
"This must be a money maker, not create losses to the City," Hall said. "Just as important, we want to make sure Pier businesses benefit this time, instead of being shut down like before."
The proposed music festivals are among a number of budget proposals to help the cash strapped City generate revenues in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown and $230 million paid to settle child sex abuse cases over the past four years.
On Tuesday, the Council also will consider allowing advertising alcohol in public parking structures and on digital kiosks ("Council to Consider Alcohol Ads on City Property," May 6, 2025).
Hall believes the Pier concerts could help boost Santa Monica's economy during the months between the peak summer season for tourism and the slow winter season.
"If we do this right, it will be a major new revenue engine for the City," Hall said, boosting domestic tourism, "filling our hotels and restaurants, and bringing some fun back to Downtown."
