After four straight sold-out editions, the dance music festival that transforms the Santa Monica Pier into an oceanside playground is doubling in size this fall.
Pier Play will stage its first two-day event Oct. 3 and 4, running from 2:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. each day on the landmark pier at Ocean and Colorado avenues. The 21-and-older festival, billed by organizers as an immersive dance music experience, is headlined this year by Meduza, Monolink and Claptone.
The expansion marks a milestone for the boutique festival, which launched in 2024 as the first recurring dance music festival of its kind on the pier. Producer RASA World frames the move to a two-day format as a response to demand outgrowing a single day after four consecutive sell-outs.
This year's lineup is the strongest the festival has booked, spanning chart-crossover house, live singer-songwriter electronica, masked house showmanship, piano house, Ibiza house and melodic techno. The bill splits across the weekend. Saturday leans toward Monolink, Mind Against, LP Giobbi and Kaz James, while Sunday features Claptone, Meduza and Rinzen. Support acts include Bain, HRSHY, Lara G and Malas, with organizers promising more to come.
What sets the festival apart, organizers say, is the venue and format. The event turns one of the most photographed locations in the world into what RASA calls a "limited-capacity" playground, pairing an oceanside stage and sunset views with carnival games, brand activations and dancing from afternoon into night. Past editions have featured vintage arcade and carnival games, interactive art installations, learn-to-DJ stations, photo moments and food-and-beverage vendors, along with quirky one-offs. The marketing pitch invites attendees to trade the boardwalk's tourist traps for a curated, high-fidelity music experience.
The festival also leans on the character of the location itself. Beyond the DJ sets, organizers describe an interactive playground atmosphere spread across the pier, with programming designed to draw guests from set to set rather than anchoring them to a single stage. The "bright, colorful and playful" ethos, as RASA describes it, is central to how the event has been marketed since its debut.
Presale registration started at $65, and ticketing platform DICE lists passes from $90.64, a fee-inclusive floor. Prices rise as tiers sell. VIP tables, which include expedited entry, a dedicated section and service, and access to lounges and activations, are available by inquiry. Organizers note that parking is paid and that there are no refunds. Official information and passes are available through RASA, with listings also on DICE, Eventbrite and other platforms. No specific capacity cap has been published beyond the "limited capacity" language.
By RASA's count, the October event is the fifth edition, dubbed "Pier Play V." It follows the October 2024 debut; two dates in 2025, in May and October; and a May 2026 edition anchored by the global debut of "Âme Live Presents…" with special guest Rhye. RASA World, a live-experience company, says annual attendance at Pier Play has grown fivefold since 2024, and that its two 2025 dates drew more than 6,000 guests combined. Those figures are self-reported.
The Santa Monica Pier, which opened in 1909, carries its own long musical history. The La Monica Ballroom, which opened in 1924, was once billed as the "acme of dance palaces," and the free Twilight Concert Series drew thousands to the deck each summer for more than 35 years during its long run. Today the pier hosts Pacific Park's amusement rides, including the solar-powered Pacific Wheel, along with the historic carousel and restaurants — a stretch of boardwalk that normally empties out after dark, which is precisely the opportunity RASA identified.
For two days this October, that quiet after-dark deck becomes a dance floor by the sea.
Pier Play V takes place Oct. 3 and 4 at the Santa Monica Pier. Tickets and information are available at www.rasa.fyi/event/pierplay-festival.