Why the DJ can't play one more song: festival licences set a curfew for the neighbours. At Coachella, five minutes over costs $20,000, then $1,000 a minute – and Miami voted Ultra out of its park over noise.
The curfew protects the neighbours – and the festival's licence for next year.
Facts
- Festival curfews are set by the authorities that license the event, mainly to protect the neighbours. Coachella's music curfew is 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and midnight on Sunday. Under a 2013 agreement with the City of Indio, going five minutes past it costs the promoter, Goldenvoice, a $20,000 fine for that day, plus $1,000 for every further minute; the money goes into the city's general fund, which pays for police, fire and public works.
- In April 2023 Coachella's first weekend broke curfew all three nights: by about 25 minutes on Friday, 22 on Saturday, during Calvin Harris's set, and about 25 on Sunday, when Frank Ocean, who had started an hour late, told the crowd: “Guys, I’m being told it’s curfew, so that’s the end of the show.” The city put the fines at $117,000 (by the agreement: $40,000 + $37,000 + $40,000, computed); Billboard later reported $133,000. Indio's festival liaison said earlier overruns had been one to three minutes, usually on one night.
- The level is policed outside people's homes. Glastonbury's 2014–2024 premises licence ran its three biggest stages until midnight on Friday and Saturday (23:30 on Sunday) and capped the music at named spots in nearby villages, such as The Old Vicarage in Pilton: 65 dB (LAeq over 15 minutes) until midnight and 57 dB until 00:30, with continuous monitoring and audio recording. Normal conversation is about 60–70 dBA. In 2023 a headliner who started half an hour late had her mic cut at midnight with at least six songs left (BBC).
- A festival noise consultant told Sound On Sound that his team watches the level “every minute, both at the mixing desk and at residential locations”, that weather can move off-site levels by up to 10 dB, and that “the future of an event can be jeopardised if off-site noise limits are breached”.
- In September 2018 Miami's five city commissioners voted unanimously against Ultra's contract for Bayfront Park, after downtown residents described noise that kept them up at night and made their plates rattle. Ultra spent 2019 on Virginia Key. Its 2019 licence agreement to return cut the sound level from 110 to 102 decibels and ended the music at midnight on Friday and Saturday and 10 p.m. on Sunday; it was back in the park in 2022.
- In England and Wales, licensed entertainment outside a licence's terms is a criminal offence (Licensing Act 2003, s136: up to six months in prison, a fine, or both) – but someone whose only part is playing recorded music commits no offence, so the risk sits with the licence holder. Anyone, neighbours included, can ask the council to review a licence, and the council can then change its conditions, suspend it for up to three months or revoke it.
Sources
- SFGATE: Coachella 2023 hit with unprecedented fine after residents complain about curfew (Silas Valentino, 19 April 2023) · SFGATE checked 9 October 2026
- Pitchfork: Coachella fined $117,000 for breaking city curfew all three nights (Nina Corcoran, 17 April 2023) · Pitchfork checked 9 October 2026
- USA Today: Calvin Harris disappoints in 2023 Coachella return, even with Ellie Goulding as guest (Paul Albani-Burgio, 16 April 2023) · USA Today checked 9 October 2026
- Billboard: Frank Ocean finally headlined Coachella 2023 and there's a lot to unpack (Heran Mamo, 17 April 2023) · Billboard checked 9 October 2026
- Billboard: Frank Ocean dropping out of Coachella cost the festival millions (Dave Brooks, 21 April 2023) · Billboard checked 9 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Coachella (Organization) · Wikipedia checked 9 October 2026
- Mendip District Council: Premises licence PRL651, Glastonbury Festival, Worthy Farm (valid 11 March 2014 – 31 August 2024; archived copy) · Mendip District Council checked 9 October 2026
- BBC News: Glastonbury review – Guns N' Roses are sporadically brilliant, while Lana Del Rey is cut short (25 June 2023) · BBC checked 9 October 2026
- Sound On Sound: Jon Burton – Outdoor sounds, engineering sound for festival events (2012) · Sound On Sound checked 9 October 2026
- NIDCD (US National Institutes of Health): Noise-induced hearing loss · NIDCD checked 9 October 2026
- Miami Herald: Miami Commission votes down Ultra Music Festival’s return to Bayfront Park (27 September 2018) · Miami Herald checked 9 October 2026
- Miami New Times: Ultra Music Festival to return to Bayfront Park in 2020 (Jess Nelson, 25 July 2019) · Miami New Times checked 9 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Ultra Music Festival · Wikipedia checked 9 October 2026
- Licensing Act 2003, section 136: Unauthorised licensable activities · legislation.gov.uk checked 9 October 2026
- Licensing Act 2003, section 51: Application for review of premises licence · legislation.gov.uk checked 9 October 2026
- Licensing Act 2003, section 52: Determination of application for review · legislation.gov.uk checked 9 October 2026
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Script
Why can't the DJ play one more song? Because the festival's licence sets a curfew. At Coachella, the first five minutes past 1 a.m. cost $20,000. Then $1,000 a minute. In 2023, Calvin Harris played 22 minutes over. That weekend's fines: $117,000. But the curfew isn't for the crowd. It's for the neighbours. The sound is measured outside their homes. Glastonbury's limit there: 65 decibels, about a conversation. Upset them, and you can lose the site. In 2018, Miami voted Ultra out of its park. To return, Ultra agreed to turn down and stop at midnight.
Sources last checked 9 October 2026.