The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sound on Sound promises change after concerns
Crowds, parking, food availability, audible sound and staffing among the issues
BRIDGEPORT — David Lewis and his wife attended the Sound On Sound festival in Bridgeport Saturday, hoping for a pleasant day of music and fun by the water.
There were a few issues, he said, many of which have been echoed by other festival goers on social media.
One couldn’t hear the sound from both sides of the stage. There was no cell service; food ran out quickly; cars created an hours-long parking bottleneck.
“I felt absolutely disrespected,” said Lewis. “I think (with) the promise of the event, the expectation was pretty high — and nowhere close to met.”
Organizers promised changes to improve the experience at the musical gathering Sunday, noting they had received a series of complaints regarding the experience on the prior day.
“We’ve heard your feedback,” officials said on Twitter. ““We are learning and revising the experience in real time.”
Lewis said they had pretty high hopes going in — acts like Stevie Nicks, Father John Misty, The Lumineers and Zach Bryan were on the bill, offering the promise of a quality event.
His concerns began soon after arriving at the festival.
After being charged $75 for that specific parking, no one checked for a receipt, Lewis said. People had established themselves on blankets in the wrong places; walkways had been obscured.
“Trying to traverse the grounds was a huge challenge,” said Lewis.
He and his wife eventually found a spot, he said, only to realize a fundamental issue. There were two stages, he said, each with seemingly-separate speakers; audio from one stage could only be heard on one side, and vice versa.
“We couldn’t hear the music,” said Lewis. “Which kind of defeats the purpose of going.”
There was a lack of cell service, he said, leading people to panic as they lost one another in the crowd. They arrived at 3 p.m., he said; the venue was out of hamburgers by 5 p.m., as concessions disappeared quickly. People were waiting an hour for water, he said.
“It just came across as a money grab,” said Lewis.
Lewis said he was “fearful” about safety at the event on Sunday, given the possibility of thunder and lightning in the forecast.
There was no shelter for people in case of inclement weather, he said. Vehicles had been parked all over, in lots, on fields, leading to a bottleneck as people struggled to leave.
He said substantial changes seemed necessary to handle the demands of the event.
Organizers said that changes were being made to a number of aspects of the experience, including an effort to “expand and reconfigure the viewing area to accommodate more space for all fans” and define “walkaways across the performance field for crowd movement.”
“Our team is working to adjust the sound to ensure music can be enjoyed throughout the entire park,” officials said. “And we are increasing concessions and staffing to keep the lines at our food and beverage vendors moving as quick as possible.”
They also said they’re monitoring the weather.
Sound On Sound is the first major music festival at Seaside Park since the Gathering of the Vibes in 2015, which ran for 20 years, most of which were held at the park. The Vibes started in 1996 and came to Bridgeport in 1999.
Performers advertised for Sunday include The Roots, The National, Brandi Carlisle, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Gary Clark Jr. and the Spin Doctors.