Inglewood bans stages on SoFi Stadium plaza after Hard Summer’s rumbling annoys South Bay

Inglewood will no longer permit stages in the American Airlines Plaza, an elevated area between SoFi Stadium and the YouTube Theater, after booming bass from last weekend’s Hard Summer musical festival reverberated across miles of the South Bay.

The range of the disturbance perplexed city officials because there have been multiple outdoor concerts on the SoFi campus without issue, said Mayor James T. Butts Jr. in a press release. Hard Summer, a electronic dance music festival, ran from 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, and 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4.

“It is important to clarify that the sound and vibration issues experienced over the weekend were related to certain bass frequencies,” Butts said. “These frequencies can be affected by stage position, reflection off of buildings and atmospheric conditions including wind.”

Those frequencies are more prevalent in “certain genres of music,” he said.

The city and its partners ultimately determined “the stage placement in American Airlines Plaza, which is elevated, was a major contributor to the issue.”

“Consequently, no stages will be permitted in this area for future events,” Butts said. “Additionally, we will require even greater sound engineering with a more comprehensive plan when it comes to addressing sound and bass frequency management.”

Butts said he appreciated the community’s feedback and patience as the city implements and continually enhances the best practices for concerts. Inglewood’s position as a “premier hub for sports and entertainment” comes with a “significant responsibility” and a commitment to “maintaining the highest standards,” Butts wrote.

“Our goal is to continually improve our event management practices,” he said. “We are committed to strong partnership with our surrounding communities.”

Residents in communities such as El Segundo, five miles away, first heard the thumping from Hard Summer’s sound checks on Friday, Aug. 2. The next day, the El Segundo Police Department received so many complaints about the noise that it was forced to post a notice on social media asking residents to stop calling 911.

El Segundo City Manager Darrell George, in an Aug. 6 statement to residents, said city officials, including Mayor Drew Boyles and Police Chief Saul Rodriguez contacted Inglewood through multiple channels after receiving the first wave of complaints.

“Yesterday, I personally reached out to Inglewood City Manager Mark Weinberg, who has expressed sincere apologies and acknowledged the mistakes made in the event’s setup. It is believed that the elevated stage and speaker placement exasperated the bass reverberation,” George wrote. “He assured me that such events will not be allowed in the future, and that they are committed to working closely with El Segundo and our neighboring cities to prevent such occurrences.”

Complaints also were reported from residents in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hawthorne.

Hard Summer, at Inglewood’s request, made alterations to the stages on the event’s second night and had sound engineers on hand to made real-time adjustments to the music. Butts said there was a “significant decrease in the call volume observed on Sunday in the initially impacted areas.”

“However, some areas continued to experience bass vibrations,” he said. “Moving forward, and with the lessons learned this past weekend, we are prepared to better monitor and supervise future event organizers to minimize the sound and vibration impact on the community outside the venue.”