FORT WORTH, Texas — Events at Panther Island will end earlier under new rules designed to keep festival noise from spilling into Fort Worth neighborhoods, the Tarrant Regional Water District decided this week.
Complaints during the Ubbi Dubbi Festival prompted the change. Hundreds of Fort Worth residents reported feeling bass from the electronic dance music in their homes.
The concert lasted until midnight on Sunday, April 23. Fireworks followed the event into the early morning hours.
"We heard big drums, like bass drums, that were repetitive," Crestwood resident Kerry Pickett said. "It didn't bother me, but I know I read on Nextdoor lots of people heard it and lots of people complained."
Pickett, who lives about two miles from the Panther Island Pavilion concert venue, said she's used to noise in her neighborhood.
But residents as far away as Benbrook reported feeling the vibrations emanating from the festival at Panther Island nearly 10 miles away.
Still, Tarrant Regional Water District operations director Darrell Beason told board members Ubbi Dubbi performers did not exceed the volume allowed by their permit or Fort Worth's downtown noise ordinance.
The atmosphere carried sound especially far that night, Beason explained. The crisp night's wind changed, blowing music across the water and into western Fort Worth.
"That really pushed the sound down the Clear Fork toward the southwest," Beason said.
About 40 people filed formal complaints with the district about the noise. The first complaint came after 10 p.m. that Sunday, Beason added.
“You should be able to sit in your house – or outside that house – without that interruption," TRWD Board President Leah King said.
From now on, concerts at Panther Island will end by 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Events will have to shut down by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The district also decided Panther Island performers will no longer be exempt from Fort Worth's sound ordinance. Officials previously carved out an exception for events there.
Ubbi Dubbi organizers also agreed to take special steps to deaden sound when the festival returns to Fort Worth. Musicians will use directional speakers that focus sound to a specific area.
Workers will also strategically place trucks and tents around the venue to block soundwaves. Ubbi Dubbi organizers will also explore creating a dedicated hotline for noise complaints, allowing sound engineers to make adjustments in real-time.
"To get people behind the future development the water board is doing, they needed to address these things," Pickett said.
More concerts are coming to the venue, as district leaders angle to turn the area into Texas's next Riverwalk.
But a TRWD spokesperson says the district has not issued permits for any events that would be immediately impacted by the new restrictions on operating hours.
Panther Island will host the Tacos and Tequila festival this weekend. The event was already slated to conclude by 11 p.m.
