Gulf Coast Jam Postpones Headliner Announcement Due To Hurricane Helene

Mindful of the storm, Gulf Coast Jam Presented by Jim Beam organizers have moved the announcement of next year’s fourth and final headliner to Oct. 3 as Hurricane Helene, targets Florida.

The tropical storm was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane before noon Wednesday and may be as strong as a Category 3 with 145 mile-per-hour winds when the massive storm makes landfall Thursday along Florida’s big bend.

“Hurricane Ian forced us to cancel Gulf Coast Jam in 2016 and the Panhandle area took a direct hit by Hurricane Micheal in 2018,” said Rendy Lovelady, co-owner and executive producer of Gulf Coast Jam. “Panama City Beach doesn’t just host Gulf Coast Jam, this is our home. We live here, work here, play here, our kids go to school here and we understand the stress a hurricane causes even before it makes landfall.

“So, out of respect for our friends and neighbors all along the gulf coast, we didn’t feel right revealing our fourth headliner during a trying time like this. We will see what happens this week and re-evaluate our announcement, but right now we’re looking at next Thursday, Oct. 3.”

The Panama City Beach-based, four-day festival will be held May 29-June 1, 2025. Headliners already announced include Sam Hunt (Thursday), Lainey Wilson (Friday) and Tyler Childers (Saturday). The full lineup will be announced in November.

Gulf Coast Jam launched in Panama City Beach in 2013. The event was moved from Labor Day weekend to the last weekend in May in 2021. A fourth night of music was added to commemorate the Festival’s 10th anniversary, and response was so positive, organizers decided to make it a permanent part of the schedule. The last two Gulf Coast Jams have sold out with 30,000 fans from all 50 states and 14 foreign countries.