Connecticut’s First Sound on Sound Left Attendees Saying ‘SoS’ — Here’s What Happened at the Music Festival
With undeniable parking problems, low toilet paper, and hour-long wine lines, some Sound on Sound attendees dubbed this a “so poorly organized” music festival experience. Here’s what happened on Day 1 of the 2-day event.
Sound on Sound Music Festival appeared at Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Seaside Park
In September 2022, Connecticut kicked off its first Sound on Sound, welcoming thousands of attendees on the festival’s first day. The first day included performances from Stevie Nicks, the Lumineers, and other artists, also boasting food from local vendors and exclusive merchandise.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Sound on Sound music festival to Bridgeport CT, which is a great way to kick off the fall season,” Noelle Stevenson, Director, Connecticut Office of Tourism, said in a statement. “This festival is one of the biggest events to happen to Connecticut tourism in a long time.”
Sound on Sound attendees dub this their ‘worst’ festival experience
Some parts of the festival were quiet and enjoyably filled with people. The Seaside Wine Grove, illuminated by string lights and battery-powered candles, had seating and standing areas for people to talk. Attendees posed for pictures at the Aperol Spritz station.
However, by the time the Lumineers performed, the GA pit was so beyond congested that attendees couldn’t reach the water stations in a reasonable amount of time. One Instagram user claimed it took security 34 minutes to reach a fan who fainted.
A reason behind tight walkways was the lawn chairs and blankets taking up valuable real estate. With dozens of people claiming 60 x 60 plots of grass, it became difficult for other people to exit the stage area.
After Nicks’ encore, even more problems surfaced. With no major forms of public transportation nearby, most attendees drove to Bridgeport and paid extra to park near the festival grounds.
Cars drove on baseball diamonds and over curbs in an attempt to exit Premium Parking. Some streets were blocked by police. As a result, cars parked in the wrong direction were forced to do U-turns on streets that apparently became one-way. Social media users shared their experiences online, even starting the hashtag #ScamOnSound.
“Leaving the parking lot took two hours and we skipped almost all of Stevie’s set to leave,” one attendee wrote. “Only 2 people directing traffic for most of the venue trynna leave. I paid $170 to park there and my friends who parked outside the venue got home hours before I even moved a yard.”
“I’ve been to many festivals, this was so poorly organized and to have to wait for an hour on line for food, then another hour for wine, and not even be able to see any of the artists because of the poor stage layouts after waiting two hours for food and beverage…,” another Instagram user said. “The parking was a nightmare with little direction or signage it took over an hour to even get out of the lot.”
Sound on Sound is ‘refining its experience’ for Day 2 of the music festival
As Connecticut’s first Sound on Sound Music Festival, snags were expected by many attendees. After receiving feedback, the festival released a statement ahead of Sunday’s performances.
“Our team is working overnight to expand and reconfigure the viewing area to accommodate more space for all fans, and defining walkaways across the performance field for crowd movement,” the Instagram caption read.
