Sound on Sound Music Festival organizers admit experience was chaotic

BRIDGEPORT, CT (WFSB) - The Sound on Sound Music Festival in Bridgeport saw a record number of attendees, but organizers admitted it was chaotic.

They conceded that they needed to do a better job next year after many people who attended the two-day event at Seaside Park complained about the experience.

Attendees of the festival said that while the music itself was great, just about every other aspect of it fell short of their expectations.

Leia Scinto of Ansonia said she couldn’t wait to attend and be able to catch headliners like Stevie Nix.

However, she told Channel 3 that she didn’t see a single band perform because she waited nearly 2 hours in line for water and food, of which the festival actually ran out.

“From the moment I got there until the moment I left, I had panic, anxiety,” Scinto said. “I couldn’t walk through a field without stepping on people.”

Others pointed out that there were no lights, and no one could see after dark.

“There was no toilet paper, no water, no place for people to fill up their water bottles,” one attendee said. “They wouldn’t [let] you out and then back in unless you were a VIP.”

Another attendee noted he was impressed with what organizers did in their first year.

Sound on Sound organizers admitted Saturday night that there were several areas where they needed to improve.

“As with any new event, we experienced some growing pains on Saturday — so we worked overnight to make the experience even better, including by reconfiguring the viewing area, expanding the No Chair Zone, adjusting sound to ensure music could be enjoyed throughout the park, and increasing staffing to keep concession lines moving as quickly as possible,” organizers said in a statement.

While they were confident that they could deliver a better experience next year, they said the event brought in about $25 million to the local economy.

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