Wonderfront organizers still haven’t found what they’re looking for

The Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival has been playing peekaboo in downtown San Diego since it debuted in 2019 on the city’s northwestern bayfront. 

The multi-genre festival is currently off the map, though organizers reportedly hope to revive it before the end of 2026.

Paul Thornton, the event’s organizer, told the Union-Tribune the festival was moving back to the fall, likely in a different location. He said to stay tuned for upcoming details.

The announcement of Wonderfront’s creation was a big deal back in 2019. Co-founders Thornton and Ernie Hahn were joined by collaborators and local luminaries Tony Hawk, Trevor Hoffman and Rob Machado.

But it has faced a bumpy road in the years since. Here’s a brief history of the event’s tumultuous time:

• It debuted in November 2019 as a three-day festival featuring 70 acts on seven stages spread across various parks and piers near Seaport Village.
• Covid forced its cancellation in 2020 and 2021.
• The event roared back to life in 2022, again in November, with a lineup featuring Gwen Stefani, Kings of Leon and Zac Brown Band.
• It went dark in 2023.
• Organizers revived the event in 2024, but moved it from November to May. Ticket sales reportedly hit a high for the three-day affair, including a one-day sellout. Weezer, Beck and Kaytranada headlined.
• In May 2025, Jason Mraz and Anderson .Pakk topped a lineup of 80 bands on eight downtown stages, but attendance reportedly slumped.
• Wonderfront had not announced a 2026 date by February, when last year’s full lineup dropped, leading to media coverage of its rescheduling and relocation.

In 2022, Hahn reminisced about the possibility of Wonderfront assuming the mantle of San Diego’s legendary Street Scene music festival. Street Scene was held downtown from 1984 to 2004. It changed locations and eventually went out of business in 2009.

Hahn, who is no longer affiliated with Wonderfront, had said he and Thornton initially looked all over San Diego County before settling on the Seaport Village/Embarcadero Marina Park North site. He called the festival’s “secret sauce” its connection with downtown.

La Jolla-based Events.com acquired Wonderfront ahead of the 2025 event.

“Under our ownership, we’ll streamline operations and create more digital engagement for guests,” Events.com President & COO Stephen Partridge said in a 2024 statement.

“Our partnership with Events.com presents a valuable opportunity to enhance the Wonderfront Festival from a technological standpoint while preserving the essence of what has made it special since its inception,” Thornton said.

Now all that’s needed is a date and a location.