S2O Songkran Music Festival Bass Noise Disturbs Residents; Councilor Urges Taipei City to Provide Solutions

The music festival S2O Taiwan Songkran Music Festival kicked off yesterday at Taipei's Dajia Riverside Park. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Ho Meng-hua stated today that this marks the second consecutive year of low-frequency bass noise disturbing residents, emphasizing that event-driven economic benefits should not come at the expense of neighboring communities, and urging the Taipei City Government to propose effective solutions.

Councilor Ho explained through a press release that while the S2O Songkran Music Festival attracts countless young attendees, residents as far as 6 kilometers away in Neihu have been suffering all night from persistent 'thump-thump' bass vibrations.

Ho noted that starting around 6 p.m. last night, citizens reported that the deep bass traveled across the terrain to the Dahu Mountain Villa area, continuing throughout the night and severely disrupting peace. One resident said, 'My heart is pounding along with the beat.' Although the Taipei City Environmental Protection Administration measured noise levels at 77.4 decibels around 7 p.m.—exceeding the nighttime limit of 72 decibels for Zone 4 and issued an improvement order—the intense bass could still be clearly heard by 8 p.m.

Ho's team visited the Dahu Mountain Villa area around 9 p.m. and confirmed that the low-frequency noise was distinctly audible, significantly impacting residents' tranquility.

Ho pointed out that last year's S2O event also caused similar noise issues, with sound reaching as far as Donghu. At that time, she recommended that the Taipei City Government consult experts and organizers to study resonance reduction, echo control, and even establish usage guidelines to prevent recurrence. However, the city's Water Resources Agency did not conduct acoustic field research and merely required event organizers to submit a 'Noise Prevention Plan.'

With the problem recurring this year, Ho concluded that the city's current countermeasures are clearly ineffective. While supporting Mayor Chiang Wan-an's policy goal of promoting distinctive music events, she stressed that such economic benefits must not be achieved by burdening nearby residents. She reiterated her call for Taipei City to develop effective, long-term solutions to enable coexistence between large-scale events and local communities.