The Blue Angels over Fair Park. (Photo courtesy of Norman Alston)
Lakewood neighbors could hear the Breakaway Music Festival at Fair Park over the weekend.
Neighbors took to Facebook to voice concerns about the house-shaking loud music on Friday and Saturday nights, April 10-11. There were also plenty of comments on posts with a “live and let live” attitude and those criticizing people bothered by the loud music. (Cue The Simpsons’ “old man yells at cloud” meme.) And some were surprised that the sounds were coming from as far away as Fair Park and not from their next door neighbors.
Dallas District 7 City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents Fair Park, released a statement on Saturday addressing the loud music.
“Sound monitoring is currently underway around Fair Park, and we are increasing these efforts to assess and manage noise levels more accurately. The festival organizers already have contractors measuring decibel levels, and I have requested that these readings occur more frequently,” Bazaldua said in his statement. “I apologize to all the residents who were affected and appreciate everyone who reached out to share their concerns.”
The council member also said reasons why the music reached Lakewood could be because the stage faced an open field and because of low cloud cover.
“City officials have spoken with both the Dos Equis Pavilion and Breakaway Music Festival teams,” he said. “Each has acknowledged the concerns raised by residents and expressed a commitment to being responsible community partners. Both have agreed to make every effort to reduce sound levels as curfew approaches to help lessen the impact on nearby neighborhoods. We recognize the disruption this has caused and are working closely with event organizers and city staff to implement measures that will minimize future impacts.”
District 14 Park and Recreation Board member Rudy Karimi, who represents Lakewood, also made a statement on Facebook. He said neighbors’ concerns would be shared with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department executive leadership this week.
“We will be taking a close look at how this event was set up and operated so we can identify lessons learned moving forward,” Karimi said in his post. “From what I understand, the sound came from a temporary stage setup that does not have the same sound mitigation and dampening technology as permanent venues within Fair Park like the Dos Equis Pavilion. That distinction matters, and it’s something that needs to be carefully evaluated as future events are planned.”
Karimi continued, “As a Dallas Park and Recreation Board member, I fully support activating Fair Park and bringing events that create energy and economic benefit for our city, but not at the expense of our surrounding communities’ quality of life. I believe there’s a better balance, and we will do the work required to find it and do better.”
