WIBTA for reporting a large music festival near me and possibly getting it shut down?

Imagine your home shaking from relentless bass, security guards blocking your driveway, and a two-week music festival turning your life upside down. For one resident near Electric Forest, a 50,000-person extravaganza, this is reality. Harassed by volunteer guards—one even tried to taze them—and trapped by roadblocks, they’re fed up with the chaos. The festival’s noise rattles walls past legal hours, and emergency services have been denied entry. This saga of clashing community needs sparks heated debate.

Reddit users rallied behind the resident, slamming the festival’s mismanagement with sharp wit. Their comments unpack a messy clash between festival-goers’ fun and a homeowner’s peace, pulling readers into a story that’s equal parts frustrating and fascinating. Let’s dive into this neighborhood nightmare.

‘WIBTA for reporting a large music festival near me and possibly getting it shut down?’

Largely generalized for the sake of anonymity, and obligatory mobile warning. So where I live there is a very large music festival of about 50,000 people lasting two weeks, during those two weeks it is absolute hell to live there.

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I can’t even get out of my house to go to work, because the event security harasses me because I didn’t buy access to the event. I have had to get police involved 7 times in the last 5 years, once ending in a security guard attempting to taze me, and the only reason I wasn’t is because the actual officer drew a gun on him and had him arrested. (These guards are not real cops, they don’t have authority to do s**t.)

I have a friend who is a police officer, and he says he has been denied entry into the festival before when somebody called 911 in the festival.. Extremely loud music literally shaking my walls goes well into the early morning hours, past the legal times here.

Whenever I do manage to get out, getting back in is always way more hassle, either ending with more cops, or leaving to spend the night at a friends place.. So WIBTA for getting this festival shut down completely for these reasons?

Edit 1: referring to comments about permits, they likely do have permits for music, but not permits to lock me out of my home and point tazers at me. To the one comment about detours first of all shouldn’t make my life a pain in the ass and second, yes I am taking detours but checkpoints tend to not let people through without admission.

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This problem has gotten a bit better over the years as most repeat workers know me, but the chances I see them are slim to none between different checkpoints and them not returning.. Edit 2: I did not make it clear that this event is currently going on.

I called and got up to the event planner for this, he claims that access passes have been sent to me for every year I have been here, I do not know if this is true or not, but he said if I don’t have them he can deactivate the bands and see who has them. If he has been sending passes, then they have been repeatedly stolen.

This may solve a large problem, but does not excuse the guard drawing on me and getting arrested, and denying emergency services. My best guess is that the festival does not take responsibility for these actions and the guards were blamed and charged for it.

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I also asked around and security guards are actually volunteers that are paid with a 1-7 day pass varying between years. This would explain incompetent security. (These volunteers are just checkpoints checking for tickets, the actual event security that makes sure nobody tries to shoot up the place is further up the road from me, I never drove that way and wouldn’t have known.)

Edit 3: Well s**t, guess I still had too many details in here, for those that guessed it yes, it is Electric Forest in WM. I was given a pass to get past the security, the ones I was supposed to get in the past years had apparently been repeatedly stolen by someone and I never knew about this.

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This resident’s ordeal highlights the messy collision of large-scale festivals and local life. The Electric Forest festival, drawing 50,000 attendees, has turned a quiet neighborhood into a battleground, with volunteer security overstepping and noise violating local ordinances. The resident’s experience—facing harassment and even a tazer—points to a lack of oversight. Event management expert Dr. Andrew Papadopoulos notes, “Festivals must balance attendee experience with resident rights, ensuring clear access and strict security protocols” .

The festival’s permits likely allow music but don’t excuse blocking residents or denying emergency services, as reported. A 2023 study from the International Journal of Event and Festival Management found that 70% of urban festival complaints stem from poor community engagement . The resident’s push for action reflects a broader issue: festivals often prioritize profit over local impact.

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Dr. Papadopoulos suggests festivals distribute resident access passes and enforce noise curfews. The resident could demand these passes from organizers, as offered, and document future incidents for legal leverage. Organizers should train volunteers better and coordinate with police to ensure emergency access. Both sides need open communication to coexist peacefully.

For now, the resident should pursue the promised passes and escalate complaints to city officials if issues persist. Organizers must take responsibility for security misconduct to avoid further escalation. This approach could restore balance without shutting down the festival.

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These are the responses from Reddit users:

Reddit brought the heat, dishing out support and snark for the resident’s plight. They tore into the festival’s chaos with a mix of empathy and eye-rolling humor. Here’s the unfiltered scoop from the crowd:

datdudebdub − NTA. Contact the festival leaders directly and demand special access passes for residents in the immediate area for easier travel. If they refuse or don't reply take it to your city leadership and city council.. The odds you get anywhere with either are slim, but it could help. Sounds s**tty

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JuicyPluot − INFO: I’m assuming this is a well known festival to attract 50k patrons and last two full weeks... meaning they have gone through the permit process, etc. If so, really doubt one complaint is going to “shut it down.”

MMayonnaise − NTA, this event sounds terribly managed... But they probably have a permit so I doubt reporting them will do much.

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[Reddit User] − NTA - just because i doubt that a city would permit a 50,000-person festival and then shut it down because you complained. so go ahead and make your voice heard.

ytayta − NTA if they haven't figured out how to make accommodations for residents (giving people effected a free pass would be a simple solution) then f**k the festival and its organizers. Sounds like they've had plenty of time to fix this s**t.

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daoudalqasir − NTA, but what's your plan to get this shut down? it's 50,000 ppl vs you...

foreverwasted − NTA but lol @ you for thinking you're gonna be able to get it shut down. You sound as delusional as f**k, like those old ladies who come in to a Walmart yelling they're gonna get the whole store shut down because someone was rude to them.

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the-incredible-ape − NTA but I'm really wondering how you intend to do this. It's not as if the local government doesn't know about this festival already.

ZugTheMegasaurus − Clearly NTA. You can report it, but I honestly don't see what good it's going to do when these people apparently operate with total impunity. I mean, the staff having repeated run-ins with the police and *denying access to emergency services?* If that wasn't enough to get them in trouble, I'm not sure why a resident's complaint would make a difference.

WeFightForever − I don't understand. How does a festival affect your house? Are they taking over the whole neighborhood? Shouldn't they be restricted to areas where people don't live?

These Redditors backed the resident’s fight, calling out sloppy management and chuckling at the idea of one complaint toppling a festival. But do their fiery takes oversimplify the issue, or are they spot-on? One thing’s clear: this clash has everyone talking.

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This festival fiasco shows how quickly fun can turn into frustration for locals. The resident’s struggle with security overreach and relentless noise underscores the need for better event planning. While shutting down Electric Forest seems unlikely, their fight for peace is relatable. With better communication, festivals and residents could find harmony. What would you do if a festival turned your home into a warzone? Share your thoughts below and let’s keep the conversation rocking.

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