As Hangout Fest Turns 10, Director Sean O’Connell Says the Festival Is Still Evolving

The Hangout Music Festival is heading into its 10th year in 2019, and with a newly announced headliner lineup that includes Travis Scott, The Lumineers, Khalid, Vampire Weekend, Cardi B and Kygo, the beachside event in Gulf Shores looks poised to draw its usual crowd of roughly 40,000 music fans and support staff over the course of the three-day weekend, set for May 17-19. The announcement comes after a swirl of speculation last year that the festival might leave Alabama altogether.

Following the conclusion of the 2018 festival, rumors circulated that Hangout could relocate to Panama City Beach, Florida. Festival director Sean O’Connell pushed back firmly on that idea, expressing gratitude for the small beach town that has hosted the event since its founding.

“We are so fortunate to have what I think is the most amazing music venue in the world in Gulf Shores, Alabama, but it is also a town of 8,000,” O’Connell said. “With that said, I’ve never seen a rumor so rabid in my life.”

Hangout Fest was founded a decade ago by owner Shaul Zislin, with early help from promoter and Mobile native A.J. Niland, who parted ways with the festival in its early years. The inaugural event brought a still-developing beachside concept to life, built around creating a memorable experience rather than simply booking big names.

That first lineup featured acts including Trey Anastasio Band, Zac Brown Band, John Legend, The Flaming Lips and Ben Harper & Relentless7 — and it happened against a difficult backdrop, with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico that same spring and a weather evacuation forcing organizers to clear the festival grounds on a Sunday morning.

O’Connell was involved from that first year, though his role at the time focused on sponsorship, marketing and branding rather than the overall direction of the festival. He took over as director in 2013 and has since guided the event through a decade of changes both on stage and behind the scenes, even as its founding concept — creating a destination built around summer, friendship and music — has stayed intact.

“Our vision is huge,” O’Connell said. “We want to create the best festival experience in the world. What I mean by that is that we want to create a destination that people come to celebrate summer, celebrate friends, celebrate fun and celebrate music.”

The festival’s second year brought back Hangout regulars Widespread Panic alongside Paul Simon, and also marked the beginning of an expansion into electronic dance music that broadened the lineup’s genre range in the years that followed. O’Connell said the festival’s approach to booking has remained consistent even as musical tastes have shifted dramatically — the goal, he said, is always to feature whatever’s resonating in the moment, regardless of genre.

“I want a program that’s important in the moment,” O’Connell said. That philosophy has meant embracing rapid changes in how audiences discover and consume music.

O’Connell pointed to the rise of streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music as one of the biggest shifts he’s witnessed since Hangout’s founding, one that has reshaped both what songs become popular and how quickly new artists can break through. “How people listen to music has completely changed from when we started the festival to even three years ago,” he said. “Four years ago, how many people had Spotify or Apple Music? I don’t even think Apple Music was around four years ago. We’ve literally seen a complete change in how people consume and enjoy music, which I think is amazing. I think it’s putting opportunities out there for young artists to rise to the top. I love that.”

He also said younger festivalgoers increasingly reject the idea of sticking to a single genre — a shift he sees as generational rather than a passing trend. “With the generation coming out, I don’t think most fans think in terms of genre,” O’Connell said. “That’s generational. If you’re someone who thinks, ‘I just want some rock ‘n’ roll,’ that’s a concept I can’t wrap my head around, and most people seldom do.”

Producing the festival has also changed dramatically behind the scenes. In the early years, O’Connell said, planning for the following May’s event wouldn’t begin in earnest until a phone call in December. Now, Hangout Fest planning runs year-round.

O’Connell is keeping details about the festival’s 10th anniversary celebration under wraps for now, but said the team is constantly developing new concepts, building on a 2018 season he described as one of the festival’s most successful yet in terms of new ideas landing with the crowd. “This was the first year where everything that we dreamed up really connected,” O’Connell said. “Sometimes we have an idea that falls flat because the concept that you dreamed up didn’t work or the execution wasn’t great. This year was just fantastic.”

Last year’s new additions included roller disco, a dedicated “Camp Hangout” area, new beach clubs and a tropical spa.

Weekend passes for the 2019 festival are on sale now, with general admission, VIP, Super VIP and “Big Kahuna” package tiers, along with an installment payment option and separately available shuttle passes.

How the festival works with Gulf Shores

The festival is named for The Hangout, the beachfront restaurant in Gulf Shores that Zislin owns, and it is staged on the adjacent public beach. Because the event takes place on city property, it operates under an agreement with the city of Gulf Shores, which approves the festival’s assembly permit and sets conditions including a cap on attendance.