Is the Hangout Music Festival dead? Producers say ‘No,’ but critics sound alarms

Is the Hangout Music Festival dead?

That’s been the alarm raised on Reddit, Facebook, and in articles posted online in recent days after producers of the beachside festival in Gulf Shores announced they partnered with country music star Morgan Wallen for a three-day “Sand In My Boots” festival.

An overriding theme of reaction online from those criticizing the change includes goodbyes to the 15-year-old music festival that has generated a national reputation within the music industry.

“Talk about putting a nail in the coffin.”

“Celebrating 15 years of Hangout Fest by killing Hangout Fest. How poetic.”

“Weird way to say Hangout is canceled.”

“I’m confused – is this hangout fest or something else?”

The Hangout producers led by AEG Presents, which have put on the festival in recent years, is providing an adamant response: No, the Hangout Music Festival is not dead, and the brand will return in 2026.

“Hangout Music Festival isn’t going anywhere and will return to Gulf Shores in 2026,” says Reeves Price, AEG Presents and Hangout Festival Producer. “Partnering with Morgan Wallen on the Sand In My Boots Festival in 2025 is an incredibly special opportunity, and we’re excited to bring his vision to life.”

But some questions loom, that include the following:

• Who else will be performing with Wallen? The controversial music star has been given a lot of leeway in formulating this year’s event. More announcements related to this year’s festival are expected soon, and officials are telling the public that the show is not going to be strictly a country music festival that replaces the more diverse offerings that long have been a staple of the Hangout Music Festival.
• A franchise agreement between the producers of the festival and the City of Gulf Shores needs to be negotiated and voted on in early 2025. An existing 10-year agreement expires next year, meaning a new agreement is likely to be worked on between now and the start of the 2025 festival with Morgan Wallen that will take place from May 16-18 on the Gulf Shores Public Beach.
• What will happen with the catchy, “hang loose” logo and merchandise that has long been a staple of the festival? The Hangout Music Festival’s brand has long been closely associated with the Hangout entertainment venue that is a popular go-to attraction for visitors to Alabama’s beaches.

Country festival freakout

Grant Brown, director of recreation and cultural affairs for the city of Gulf Shores, said he can understand some of the initial confusion about having Wallen in charge of organizing this year’s festival, and that “Hangout was going away completely.”

But he said that is not the case, and that Sand In My Boots represented a “special, 15-year anniversary celebration by doing something more unique.”

Some social media users, and past Hangout Music Festival attendees, are worried the festival will become a country music festival. A petition has even surfaced on Change.org, requesting that Wallen not takeover the festival and turn it into a country music event.

“Though nothing against country music or Morgan Wallen, the issue arises from the possibility of the festival losing its multi-genre character, becoming solely country-centric,” the petition reads. “Many loyal fans echo my sentiment, seeing it as a potential abandonment of Hangout Fest’s tradition.”

Katie Jones Williams, 35, of Roswell, Ga., who has attended Hangout Music Festivals since 2012, said the change does “not sound appealing nor diverse” to her, and to other loyalists who have long attended the event. The festival, she pointed out, started as an event featuring a host of rock and jam bands, but has evolved over time to include a mixture of musical genres.

“Unless future announcements prove otherwise, it currently appears to be a very county music focused festival, which will absolutely not appeal to the Hangout Music Festival fanbase,” Williams said. “They will lose the majority of their long-time patrons, and will have to rebuild a new fanbase, if possible.”

She added, “To me, diversity is what this festival is about. There are many styles of music to suit many preferences, and due to this the crowd was diverse as well.”

Brown said people should wait until the full lineup is released before fretting over the 2025 event.

“When the initial announcement came out (from Wallen) we thought it will be confusing,” Brown said. “Morgan Wallen is a huge headliner. We don’t know if it’s country or a combination or leaning more toward country … we don’t know yet. Let’s wait for the lineup to come out.”

Brown said that country music acts are not foreign to past Hangout Music Festivals. Performers like the Zac Brown Band, Zach Bryan and Post Malone have all been featured during past festivals.

Golden opportunity

AEG Presents, in its FAQs about this year’s festival, say that Wallen’s involvement was because they were “presented with the opportunity to work with the hottest name in country music in the most unique and picturesque venue AEG Presents has to offer” – the Gulf Shores beach.

“It was a match made in heaven – Morgan wants to bring his festival vision to life and go all out for his fans, and AEG Presents had the perfect venue and team to do so,” the statement reads, before confirming that Sand In My Boots is not replacing Hangout in the AEG portfolio.

Beth Gendler, president & CEO with Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, said their organization is excited for the new take on the festival.

“From our standpoint, events like Hangout Music Festival, next year’s Sand In My Boots festival, National Shrimp Festival (in early October), Flora-Bama Mullet Toss (in April), etc., are what have truly built what was our former dead seasons into strong shoulder seasons,” Gendler said. “These events draw visitors to Alabama’s beaches in the spring and fall, which keeps our small businesses, hotels and vacation rentals, our restaurants and attractions busy beyond just the few months of summer.”

Gendler added, “We join the City of Gulf Shores ad the Hangout Music Festival team in being extremely excited about this new take on a major music event that has become our official kick-off to summer for the last 14 years.”

Brand confusion

It’s unclear on how Wallen’s event will affect the Hangout Music Festival logo and brand this year and going forward into 2026, when the event will occur under a new franchise agreement with the City of Gulf Shores.

Brown said that ahead of the franchise agreement, the city will have an economic impact analysis performed on the Hangout Music Festival by economist Keivan Deravi. That last analysis performed was approximately 10 years ago, Brown said.

Venky Shankar, a longtime expert in brand marketing, said the prospects of “brand confusion” exist with the placement of an interim festival that will only be replaced next year by the original brand.

“In the music festival space, brands, if promoted right and steadily, can get a positive ring of confidence (e.g. Coachella, South By Southwest, etc.),” said Shankar, professor of marketing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “‘Hangout’ is very relatable to concerts and gathering and replacing it temporarily with a phrase like ‘Sand in my boots’ is not easily associated with music or concerns (and) will require more awareness building. However, it might be a blessing in disguise if the intention is to revert back to ‘Hangout’ soon.”

Michael Butler, who has worked in venue operations for years including approximately 13 years with Lulu’s Gulf Shores, said he believes the name “Hangout” already has nostalgia with it, and “means a lot to a lot of people.” The festival was founded in 2009, and its inaugural event occurred about one month after the devastating Deepwater Horizon disaster and subsequent oil spill along the Gulf Coast.

It has since grown into an event that can draw more than 40,000 people to the Alabama Gulf Coast each year.

“I’m not sure it’s a huge risk,” Butler said. “If Bonnaroo (music festival in Manchester, Tenn.) went away for a year or two and came back, would it lose momentum? I think it would have the same appeal. And I don’t know for sure, but I think if Hangout went away for a year and came back the following year, they would have just as good of a following, if not a bump.”

Controversial star

City officials believe Wallen’s presence will this year’s festival brings more star power to the event. Wallen is considered one of the rising performers in the music industry, but he doesn’t come without controversy which has also been noted by social media critics.

Morgan was caught on camera in 2021 using a racial slur, something which he has since asked forgiveness for and has pledged – and made good on – a $500,000 donation to Black-led organizations.

Wallen was criticized by fellow artists, and he became unwelcomed at award shows. The criticism only boosted Wallen’s appeal, sending the sales of his music skyrocketing.

More controversies have since happened. More recently, Wallen got into legal trouble on April 7, for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a six-story bar in downtown Nashville. The chair landed about a yard from two police officers, leading to Wallen’s arrest. He has since been remorseful, saying he was “not proud of my behavior.”

About a month later, the Nashville Metro Council voted 30-3 against a proposed sign at Morgan Wallen’s This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen. The sign would have hung over a public sidewalk, similar to those at many neighboring bars along the city’s famed Broadway district.

Some council members voiced their concerns over Wallen’s past antics for the reason of their “No” vote on a matter that is not often controversial.

Among “No” votes was Council member Brenda Gadd who, in an email to AL.com, wished Gulf Shores and Wallen the best in making the festival a positive event to the coastal area.

“Any time any of us can do something kind and giving to others and our community it not only builds us up and improves ourselves, but it also does the same for those around us,” Gadd said. “Wishing the best in this endeavor and hope he and all can continue to learn and give back.”