‘A total mess’: Miami folks weren’t happy about this music festival, and it’s not Ultra

Thump, thump, thump.

Had a tough week and ready for a little quiet time? Try living a stone’s throw from the Ultra Music Festival happening at Bayfront Park all weekend.

Residents in the vicinity who value their mental health will either need to vacate the premises or invest in some pricey Bose headphones.

Though rain is in the forecast to dampen the fun, more than 100,000 electronic music lovers are nonetheless expected to party it up listening to the world’s hottest DJs until the clock strikes midnight.

READ MORE: Miami Music Week returns

But before downtown Miami residents get to experience the nonstop noise that is Ultra, another electronic music festival took over the area to bring locals a preview of the upcoming aggravations.

As part of Miami Music Week, another smaller EDM fest just wrapped Thursday night. Afterlife, a newish two-day event brought in about 14,000 merrymakers, and likely a similar number of headaches.

“It really affected a lot of people. It was very loud,” said Brickellite Lynne Sladky, a veteran AP photographer who lives near the Rickenbacker Causeway. “The fact that it went until 2 a.m. is crazy. All you could hear was thumping. It doesn’t sound like music.”

Sladky said that some of her disgruntled neighbors contacted Miami City Commissioner Damian Pardo, whose office reportedly received an “alarming” stream of disgruntled emails and calls.

On his Instagram, Pardo announced the ways in which the city was helping to mitigate Afterlife’s noise levels for the final night; e.g., lowering the bass and shutting down some exterior speakers. He also said that the intensity of the lasers was diminished.

Incessant racket and blindingly bright lights weren’t the only issues. Others complained of traffic snarls, lack of ride sharing and general chaos.

Humberto Rosales, a house and techno music lover from Edgewater, called Afterlife “a total mess, so disappointing.”

“No event should be held in Key Biscayne, it’s impossible to receive so many people in that little island that is actually doing construction in the area,” he griped. “The police never helped with traffic at all. They were just standing [there].”

Aurelio Hurtado de Mendoza, an Alapattah resident, left Afterlife similarly disappointed due to both the atmosphere and logistics. He described the sound at Thursday’s show as too low and the lighting minimal. He agreed the location of the event was a mistake.

“These music events on Key Biscayne are problematic due to the traffic patterns. We drove early to avoid what was a two-hour wait to get in,” de Mendoza said. “We left early because the show was boring and we wanted to avoid the post-event crush.”

Brickell Key resident Ken Tannenbaum, who was just a bystander at home, concurred, calling his experience “horrendous.”

“I could feel the vibration and the heavy bass in my apartment,” said the semi retired native New Yorker. “And the lasers flooded in, shining off the walls and windows. I mean, if you were actually there, it was probably awesome, but I was trying to get some sleep.”

Tannenbaum has been through worse, though. Like the year that Ultra descended upon Virginia Key back in 2019.

“Now that was bad,” he admitted. “People have it rough in downtown right now. I feel for them.”

Yes, those folks need to brace for impact, but they do have some recourse. If you are one of those neighbors who didn’t ask for a free ticket to this EDM extravaganza, go ahead and complain to the management, aka the City of Miami.

To report a code-compliance violation, either dial 311 or call 305-416-2087 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. There’s also an after-hours hot line at 786-457-0995 to log the issue; you should hear back within 30 or so minutes, the city says on its website.

And not only people can hear the thumping, buildings can too. The city has implemented real-time noise monitors in several skyscrapers near Bayfront. If decibels get too intense, the devices send out an alert to Ultra organizers, James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, told CBS-4.

So if downtown folks are so hot and bothered, why does Ultra keep coming back? Follow the money. Over its 24 year run, this behemoth has generated over $1 billion in revenue for the city.

As for Afterlife, that remains to be seen if any changes will be implemented or if it will come back at all.

The Brickell Homeowners Association wants to see something done.

“Intrusive lighting from the event disrupted the peaceful living spaces of neighboring residents,” said the website, along with an image of someone’s living room looking like a laser show at a planetarium.

“Unlike Ultra, which implements noise level regulations and a hotline for complaints, Afterlife lacked such measures, showing a disregard for the thousands of residents along the Bay.

”These issues cannot be ignored. We urge the City to take swift action to enforce a midnight curfew for events, and to address intrusive lighting and excessive noise to ensure the peace and comfort of our homes.”

The Miami Herald did not immediately hear back from Afterlife’s publicist on Friday afternoon.