UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
Goa Cream Festival cancelled after South Gloucestershire council refuses permission due to complaints about heavy bass music
A psytrance festival in the UK has been cancelled after locals protested against the event, describing the music as 'a form of torture'.
The Goa Cream Festival was scheduled to take place at Yewtree Farm, near Thornbury, from September 12 to September 14. However, the South Gloucestershire council refused to grant permission for the event due to complaints about 'non-stop heavy bass music' from last year's festival.
Locals had filed 11 complaints with the environmental health team, which reported being shown only poor screenshots of equipment readings and given handwritten notes with sound level data.
The festival organiser, Piers Ciappara, had attempted to address concerns by hiring a professional sound and acoustic engineer and offering to reorient speakers away from homes and reduce alcohol sales.
Despite these efforts, the council rejected the licence application, citing Yewtree Farm as an 'unsuitable venue for music/dance festivals'.
The festival, which raises money for Bristol Suicide Prevention and Sharpness Lifeboat Station, typically attracts a mature audience with an average age of over 40. The organiser has since announced that the festival is not cancelled, but rather seeking a new venue, and has called on supporters to suggest alternative locations.