Three straight sold-out events have done more than fill a calendar slot — they’ve reshaped what waterfront entertainment looks like in Southern California. Now, Pier Play is set to return to the iconic Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, May 30, 2026, for its fourth installment. The event goes well beyond a conventional festival, reimagining one of the world’s most recognized boardwalks as a destination for a full day of exploration and exceptional sound.
Global experience platform RASA has announced a standout collection of dance music artists and hands-on programming for the 2026 edition. Tickets went on sale today, Friday, March 5 at 10 AM PT at https://rasa.fyi/pier-play-4/prls. The bill features the world premiere of Âme Live Presents with surprise guest appearances, a back-to-back set from Awen and Xinobi, French artist Notre Dame, and breakout talent Darina Chuz, with more special guests still to come.
Since its founding in 2023, Pier Play has occupied a one-of-a-kind position as the Santa Monica Pier’s first and only dance music festival. Built through an ongoing collaboration with The Santa Monica Pier Foundation and the City of Santa Monica, it has steadily grown into one of the most anticipated events on the city’s annual calendar.
The festival has built its identity around an atmosphere that’s vivid, joyful, and full of personality. Included with each pass, past editions have offered guests a wide range of immersive activities — from vintage arcades and mechanical bull sharks to hand-crafted art installations and pop-up barbershops. What the 2026 experiential program will bring is set to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
The centerpiece of the May 2026 lineup is the global debut of Âme Live Presents, marking a bold new direction for one of electronic music’s most enduring figures. With a career stretching back more than twenty years, Âme is now expanding his acclaimed live show into an ambitious new format that weaves live guest vocalists directly into the performance. Growing out of his existing live set, this evolution turns studio productions into something even more immediate and alive. The presence of live singers adds an entirely new layer to the experience, merging the spontaneity of real-time performance with the raw power of the human voice — capturing both the energy and emotional resonance that have long defined his body of work.
Rounding out the oceanside lineup is a carefully selected group of international talent, including a b2b pairing of Awen and Xinobi, French visionary Notre Dame, and rising star Darina Chuz, along with additional surprise guests yet to be revealed. They join an impressive roster of past performers that includes Shimza, Enamour, Henri Bergman, Leila Benitez, Nandu, Gheist, Chambord, Magdalena, and Yammagucci.
RASA CEO and Co-Founder Ahmad Muhaisen spoke to the vision behind the event, noting that from the very beginning, the company saw the Pier as something that could become a genuine cultural hub for Angelenos who had grown up visiting it with family and friends. The goal was to rekindle that sense of belonging with fresh energy suited to today’s generation. With the continued support of The Santa Monica Pier Foundation and the City, Pier Play has developed over three years into a marquee festival with serious momentum behind it.
The Santa Monica Pier is a symbol of the California experience and one of the most photographed spots on the planet. Pier Play transforms it into a vibrant meeting point for the curious and adventurous, welcoming guests from every background to witness the pier reborn through a day of music and play set against the open expanse of the Pacific.
