Portola Music Festival returns to San Francisco, along with noise concerns for neighbors
The sold-out Portola Music Festival is back at Pier 80 in San Francisco this weekend with a line-up including such popular electronic music acts as Rüfüs Du Sol, Gesaffelstein, Disclosure, Justice and M.I.A.
While tens of thousands of festival goers are excited to dance the day away, some residents of Alameda are bracing for a weekend of noise. In 2023 there were more than 200 noise complaint calls.
"I say tone it down," said Dianna Wyman, a real estate agent in Alameda.
While she lives in central Alameda and doesn't hear the music, not all her clients are so lucky.
"I've heard it's really unbearable," said Wyman. "It's really noisy because that water conducts the sound."
Alameda officials say the powerful bass frequencies travel across the water.
The San Francisco Entertainment Commission received reports of windows rattling in Alameda and hundred of noise complaints.
Pat Marshall lives just four blocks from the water and could hear the festival clearly last year.
"Oh, I literally thought it was two blocks away," said Marshall, recalling 2023.
She didn't realize until the next day that it was actually happening in San Francisco.
"I think it would be one thing if I could be there and enjoy it live, but it was disturbing," said Marshall.
So distrubing that the City of Alameda posted on their facebook page formally requesting that the event be discountinued or moved to an alternate venue. But neither Marshall or Wyman think it should end.
"I would hate to deprive someone else of their entertainment or enjoyment of something," said Marshall.
"I'm not saying cancel," said Wyman. "I like better solutions than that. Is there a way to tone it down? Is there a way to construct barriers to deflect it?"
The city is in contact with organizers who have made changes to mitigate the impact. Those efforts include lowering the bass level, adjusting the stage orientation, and placing two stationary sound monitors in Alameda. Those will measure the sound and if it reaches a certain level, it will be reported to engineers to determine next steps.
Wyman says despite all of the noise, she doesn't think it will have a long term effect on the city.
"No," she said. "It's not big enough to impact it, this is a wonderful community so we get all kind of people living her. It's lovely living here and it's quiet most of the time."
The city has also set up a community hotline, 877-324-8151, where sound adjustments will be made in real time in response to any noise complaints.
More information on the two-day event including how to get to Pier 80 is available at the Portola Music Festival website.
