Pounding Music From HardFest Rocks Manhattan Beach
Aug 03, 2024 11:53PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
A scene from the Hard Summer Music Festival in 2023. Photo via Hardfest.com.
Update, August 9: Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. has released a statement in response to the noise complaints, announcing that no music performance stages will be permitted in the (elevated) American Airlines Plaza for future events, and that in the future the city "will require even greater sound engineering with a more comprehensive
plan when it comes to addressing sound and bass frequency management."
That pounding bass sound you heard in Manhattan Beach on Saturday wasn't your neighbor's party and it wasn't the 6-Man Tournament... it was coming from HardFest all the way over by SoFi Stadium.
HardFest, or more formally, the Hard Summer Music Festival, is a two-day multi-stage outdoor music festival featuring EDM (electronic dance music) and hip-hop acts. It ran on Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and runs on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Hollywood Park, adjacent to Sofi Stadium.
Is it possible for the noise from the festival to carry all the way over to the beach cities? Apparently yes, as residents from Culver City to Santa Monica to Redondo Beach took to social media to complain - and express astonishment that the music could be heard so far away. "I'm in North Redondo and all the car alarms are going off and the houses are shaking," complained one Reddit user.
A call to Manhattan Beach Police Department's dispatch confirmed that the music was indeed coming from the festival at the Inglewood-based stadium.
Meanwhile, the El Segundo Police Department tweeted: "We are aware of the loud booming sound affecting the city. It is originating from a music festival near SoFi Stadium, scheduled from 2:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. today and tomorrow [Editor's note - actually 10:00 p.m. on Sunday]. There is no need to call 911 to report."
El Segundo reportedly received more than 100 calls to its 911 emergency line before issuing the tweet.
