18 April 30 - MAy 6, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Feel the Noise Miami residents sue as Ultra gets a 20-year Bayfront extension. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN & ALEX DELUCA A mid Miami officials’ vote to al- low Ultra Music Festival to stay at Bayfront Park for 20 ad- ditional years, a group of downtown residents is suing the event’s parent company over what it calls “acoustic bombardment.” On Thursday, April 23, the Miami City Commission unanimously approved a resolu- tion to extend the music festival lease a day after a group of neighbors filed a lawsuit against Ultra Music Festival’s parent com- pany, Event Entertainment Group, Inc., alleg- ing the electronic music festival has “actively blasted the residents of Downtown Miami with an apocalyptic, ear-shattering, and re- lentless sonic assault.” In its complaint, the Downtown Neighbors Alliance claims the music festival breached a settlement agreement that mandated a “Sound Management Program” to cap noise levels at agreed-upon decibels, among other obligations. “The ensuing acoustic bombardment is nothing short of psychological torture, turn- ing Downtown Miami into an inescapable warzone of low-frequency bass that violently shakes the foundations of residential towers and actively endangers human sanity,” states the complaint. Representatives for Ultra, which just held its 26th edition in Miami earlier this month, sent a written statement to New Times. “At the outset, today’s City Commission vote ap- proving a long-term agreement structured in successive terms totaling up to 20 years es- tablishes a City-led, district-wide framework governing the event and addressing impacts across the broader community,” wrote Ray Martinez, chief administrative officer at Ul- tra Music Festival. “As to the allegations raised in the lawsuit filed by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, Ultra will vigorously de- fend against it and continue operating within any applicable City-established frameworks.” Back in May 2021, after downtown resi- dents sued the City of Miami over noise com- plaints stemming from the music festival, the residents reached a settlement with Ultra. In an exhibit included in the lawsuit, labeled “confidential,” the event organizers and the residents agreed to specific levels of decibel limits. They said they would implement the “Sound Management Program” to “reduce off-site sound propagation, while maintaining an appropriate and suitable sound environ- ment” for the festival goers. Also, as part of the settlement, the parties agreed on sound-moni- toring locations and on hiring sound-monitor- ing experts. The event organizers additionally agreed to operate a 24-hour hotline that resi- dents could call to make complaints. “For the last three years (2024, 2025, and 2026), defendant has consistently and bra- zenly obliterated the 95-decibel limit, materi- alizing the absolute worst thing to ever happen to residents in the downtown Miami Bayfront Park area,” the complaint alleges. Ultra was co-founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes and named after a Depeche Mode album released in 1997. The event grew from a grassroots electronic gath- ering in Miami Beach to one of the world’s most recognizable EDM brands, host- ing 165,000 attendees from 100 countries in its past edition in March 2026 at Bayfront Park. Earlier this year, Miami-Dade County de- clared March 28 as Ultra Music Festival Day. Miami city commissioners were previ- ously scheduled to vote on the Ultra licensing agreement for Bayfront Park last month, but deferred the item to Thursday, April 23. During Thursday’s meeting, a handful of people spoke both against and in favor of the agreement. One man, wearing an Ultra T-shirt, spoke about how the event has helped his career as an event producer. Others, however, de- scribed it as a nuisance. A resident of Marina Blue Residences, a condo down the street from Bayfront Park, said their “floors and walls vibrate” during the festival. “If Ultra wants to be here, they need to sit down and have a real, open conversation with the public,” another resident said. [email protected] The festival has grown from a modest electronic gathering into one of the world’s most recognizable EDM brands. Ultra Music Festival photo ▼ Music
