Sand in My Boots, the music festival that took the place of Hangout this year in Gulf Shores, saw fewer arrests than in previous years.

Gulf Shores Police Department recorded 37 arrests and 45 charges over the three-day festival period. Tickets sold out in 90 minutes in October, capping daily attendance at 40,000.

Most of the charges (26) were for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, followed by six charges for public intoxication, underage possession of alcohol (4) and disorderly conduct (4).

Sand in My Boots was curated by country music superstar Morgan Wallen, who headlined the event Sunday night following other main acts Post Malone, Hardy, Brooks & Dunn and Diplo. Hangout Fest started in 2010 as an effort to bolster tourism to the Gulf’s beaches after the BP oil spill.

The switch to a more country-focused lineup and experience was spurred by locals and city officials who said that's what they wanted. This was the last year that AEG Presents had a contract with the City of Gulf Shores to bring the festival here, so now the discussions will begin on whether they will get a new contract and, if so, for how long and in what format. The company, which has produced Hangout and managed it on-site since 2015, also puts on Stagecoach and California's Country Music Festival.

"We've had almost no issues," Grant Brown, director of recreation and cultural affairs for Gulf Shores, said Sunday afternoon about on-site public safety.

Of the total arrests, 78% were male, and 20 of them were felonies.

The number marks a drop from last year when city and county police made a total of 94 arrests in 2024, 59.6% of whom were male. The most common charge (there were 131 charges total) was for unlawful possession of a controlled substance (78), followed by possession of marijuana-second (12) and public intoxication (12).

Last year's 94 was lower than the 107 arrests made in 2023 and 133 in 2022, GCM reported last year.