Second public hearing set on Breakaway music festival

Will it be second verse, same as the first, for the 2025 Breakaway music festival’s stint in St. Paul? Will sound volumes be lowered to the point that the electronic dance music festival isn’t feasible for its promoters?
This year’s event is June 6-7 outside of Allianz Field. The city council will hold a second public hearing on the request at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7 at the city call/courthouse. District councils and neighbors said they didn’t get proper notice of an April public hearing.
Ward One Council Member Anika Bowie April 23 asked for the variance to be reconsidered and brought back for a second hearing and vote, citing the complaints she heard about a lack of public notice. Her ward includes Allianz Field and some of the most affected areas. She and Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) Angie Wiese said the lack of notice should be rectified.
Bowie also spoke in support of a lower decibel reading that is recommended by city staff. She has changed her tune since the initial public hearing, at which she expressed support for a higher sound level.
But the festival leadership has indicated a lower sound limit could mean dropping the festival.
A city error meant that notices didn’t get out to neighbors, said Wiese, describing it as a situation where “the all-important part of hitting send didn’t occur.”
After much debate April 16, the 2025 festival received a higher-than-recommended sound level variance on a 4-2 council vote.
News of that vote surprised members of the Union Park District Council (UPDC) and Hamline Midway Coalition. Both groups met with music festival representatives over the past few months and expected to weigh in on the variance. Neither knew the matter was slated for a public hearing and vote April 16.
In asking for a public hearing, UPDC stated it is “very disappointed” in the process. The district council statement said, “UPDC was unaware of the volume levels requested by the applicant and recommended by staff until it appeared on the city council agenda this week, which did not permit UPDC an actionable amount of time to provide input. As widely covered in the press, the sound from this event last year reached far outside the radius the city used for detailed notification this year. No adequate notice was provided to allow public input on this request.”
The 2024 Breakaway festival roiled neighbors with sound that carried as far south as Mendota Heights. Then-Ward Four Council Member Mitra Jalali, who lives near Allianz, said she could hear and feel the sound in her home. Other neighbors described rattling windows, upset children, and the inability to relax or get to sleep.
The event generated more than 200 calls to the Ramsey County law enforcement dispatch center.
Breakaway president Jarrod Fucci claimed the high music volume is needed for the event to be a success. He acknowledged the 2024 problems and said the organizers are seeking a different Saint Paul location in 2026.
“It’s not lost on me that our event was disruptive,” he said. One key change Fucci noted is that the main stage will be oriented toward the stadium, so that it can absorb noise. Last year the stage faced Midway Marketplace and Cub Foods.
Breakaway is expected to draw about 12,000 people each day, with about $2 million daily in ticket sales and $6 million in overall economic impact. Breakaway bills itself as the nation’s largest outdoor traveling music festival.
The level of allowable sound varies by zoning district. The Allianz Field property is zoned for traditional neighborhoods use and have an allowable sound level of 70 decibels (dBA).
Barbara McMonigal-Saint Dennis of DSI outlined the permit request and city staff recommendations. The initially approved permit request is for 103 dBA measured at 125 feet from the main stage and 100 dBA measured at 100 feet from a secondary stage. The event time request was 4-11 p.m. Fucci said the time could be changed to 3:30-10:30 p.m.
DSI recommended 100 feet measured from 100 feet for the main stage and 99 dBA measured from 75 feet for the secondary stage.
Staff also asked Breakaway to pay overtime for 10 hours of a DSI staff member’s time to be present and note any sound level violations during the event, which Breakaway organizers agreed to.