Over 100 Sound Complaints From ‘Rise Above Fest’

The complaints came rolling in as the Waterfront roared alive for the season.

It was a packed City Council meeting last night as council members reviewed the 124 complaints of music being too loud over the weekend. The all-day Rise Above Fest received most of its complaints from East Side of Bangor. Some came in from the West Side, as well as Brewer and even as far as Veazie.

Sound data is being collected this year from three listening stations. One in Bangor, another in Brewer, with the third being the mix tower in the venue. The data shows the sound decibels didn't exceed Department of Environmental Protection regulations, nor what was agreed upon in contracts with the city.

The goal is to use the data to find a solution to the main cause of complaints, the bass. Low frequency sounds are the ones you feel and rattle the windows. Low-end sound is hard to block as it travels farther and isn't stopped by buildings or trees.

Using collected data, Bangor could then make restrictions more specifically for low-end frequency's. More restrictions is risky however. As concert promoter Alex Gray has cautioned, placing too many restrictions on artists will likely make them pass on a trip to Bangor.

The next show is May 29th (my birthday, BOOYAH!) with Tim McGraw, Kip Moore and  Cassadee Pope.