Coast Film & Music Festival Brings Ten Days of Film and Music to Laguna Beach

Five concert nights at the historic 2,600 seat Irvine Bowl headline the 8th annual festival, October 16 to 25 in one of California's most beautiful beach towns.

LAGUNA BEACH, CA, UNITED STATES, September 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Coast Film & Music Festival returns for its eighth year this October, and the whole town is the venue. From October 16 to 25, filmmakers, musicians, artists, athletes and curious audiences will gather in Laguna Beach for ten days of independent film, live performances and conversations, capped by five nights of live music at the historic Irvine Bowl in Laguna Canyon.

The festival's live music series, Concerts in the Canyon, brings a lineup that would be at home in a big city amphitheater to a 2,600 seat outdoor bowl tucked into the canyon hillside. Preservation Hall Jazz Band opens the series on Saturday, October 3, followed by Aloe Blacc on Sunday, October 4, presented alongside the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association invitational. The closing weekend of the festival brings three straight nights of music: Rainbow Body with Ignacio Maria Gomez on Friday, October 23, Ben Harper with special guests Donavon Frankenreiter, G. Love and Lily Meola on Saturday, October 24, and Amos Lee with the same special guests on Sunday, October 25. All shows are rain or shine, with reserved seating.

"We're thrilled to bring another year of world class music to the Irvine Bowl this October," said Enich Harris, cofounder of the festival and the concert series.

A venue you have to see to believe

Laguna Beach is seven miles of coves, cliffs and clear water on the Orange County coast, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Painters discovered it first. California Impressionists began arriving after 1900, drawn by the light and the views, and the art colony they built still shapes the town today. Laguna is home to the Festival of Arts, founded in 1932, and the Pageant of the Masters, along with the Laguna Art Museum and dozens of galleries. It is also one of the few cities in Southern California surrounded by wilderness: roughly 22,000 acres of protected canyons and coastal hills wrap around the town, so a five minute drive from the sand puts you among sycamores and sandstone.

The Irvine Bowl sits right at that edge, at 650 Laguna Canyon Road, inside the Festival of Arts grounds and a short walk from downtown and the beach. Dedicated in 1941 and named for rancher James Irvine, whose land made it possible, the amphitheater was built into a natural bowl at the mouth of the canyon. For more than eight decades it has been home to the Pageant of the Masters. What makes it special for a concert is scale. With 2,600 seats rising up the hillside, every seat is close, the canyon walls hold the sound, and as the sun drops the sky over the ridgeline does the lighting. In November 2025, Jack Johnson & The Moonshine Conspiracy sold out two nights here. This year the bowl becomes the centerpiece of the festival with five nights of music.

"Coast has grown from a film festival into something much bigger, a gathering around film, music, art, ideas and the experiences that bring people together," said Ben Warner, cofounder of the Coast Film & Music Festival and the Coast Film Foundation. "This October is our most ambitious program yet. We're excited to create something that feels distinctly Laguna Beach while inviting people from across Southern California to come experience Coast, discover something new and leave inspired."

Ten days across town

Beyond the bowl, the festival unfolds at venues within walking distance of each other in downtown Laguna Beach, including the Rivian South Coast Theater, the Festival of Arts grounds and Forum Theater, the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center, the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, and the Forest Avenue Promenade. Programming includes:

Films and filmmakers: independent films spanning adventure, environment, surf, outdoor culture, music and the human experience, each paired with post screening conversations with the filmmakers, athletes and subjects.

Films on Forest: free outdoor screenings and live music under string lights on the Forest Avenue Promenade in the heart of downtown.

Coast Summit, October 22: an afternoon of ideas built around the theme "Intelligence of Nature," exploring what the natural world can teach us about living, creating, designing and building the future.

Hobie Night, October 20: a locals' favorite celebrating the creativity and culture inspired by the Laguna Beach icon.

Coast Changemaker Dinner, October 21: an intimate evening honoring leaders using creativity and innovation to drive change.

Emerging filmmakers: screenings, education and mentorship connecting the next generation of storytellers with established industry leaders, including the Coast Film Foundation's annual scholarship for a graduating Laguna Beach High School senior.

Get Outside: guided outdoor experiences and stewardship programs that connect festivalgoers with the coastline, ocean, trails and open space that make Laguna what it is.

Tickets and passes

Festival passes are on sale now at coastfilmfestival.com. Several pass options include general admission or VIP seating for all three closing weekend concerts at the Irvine Bowl, plus unlimited access to films, programs and workshops. Concerts in the Canyon tickets for October 3 and 4 are sold separately, with reserved seating and weekend bundles available. Tickets for October 23, 24 and 25 are available individually or through festival passes.

Single event tickets are limited, so passes are the most reliable way to guarantee access.

The Coast Film & Music Festival is produced by the Coast Film Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to fostering filmmakers and amplifying stories that entertain, inform and inspire people to see the world differently. Proceeds support the foundation's year round community, education and filmmaker programs.

Come curious. Leave inspired.

About Coast Film & Music Festival

The Coast Film & Music Festival is an annual celebration of film, music, art, ideas and outdoor culture in Laguna Beach, California. Through films, live music, conversations and community gatherings, Coast brings together filmmakers, artists, musicians, athletes, environmental leaders and curious audiences from Southern California and beyond. Learn more at coastfilmfestival.com and follow @coastfilmfestival on Instagram.

Mike Figueroa
Coast Film & Music Festival
mike.fig@me.com
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Coast Film & Music Festival 2026, October 16 to 25, Laguna Beach