CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) -- Residents in Chula Vista say bands rocking Mattress Firm Amphitheatre can be heard across the city, leaving neighbors with lots of ideas about why they’re catching songs so clearly.
10News took a look into the role new development may be playing on the acoustics and what the city is doing to manage the noise.
For concert goers who are metal fans, the music heard throughout surrounding neighborhoods may deserve an encore, but if you’re 9-year-old Ethan Mader trying to get some sleep, the sound isn’t so welcome. "There was a bunch of noise. And I'm like… uhhhhh… Turn it off already!"
Ethan’s mother Veronica was about to call police on what she thought was a rowdy neighbor blasting music at 10 p.m.
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"The vibration of the bass is pretty intense." But after walking outside, she didn’t find anyone hosting a party. She then figured out that the noise was coming from the Mattress Firm Amphitheater, located five miles away.
"Holy moly this is new because in ten years, I've never heard such a thing" Wednesday night’s line up included metal bands with some hardcore drumming. So are the concerts getting louder?
Chula Vista Police say no. All sounds at the concert within decibels legally specified for the venue.
But now, Mader is asking how neighbors all the way in East Lake Shores are suddenly hearing the concerts.
Some people speculate that because the hill next to the amphitheater was recently bulldozed, the sound is somehow traveling through the city a little better.
"If you kind of take into consideration of all the construction, all the openings, that could be maybe opening up the sound wave,” said Mader.
The City of Chula Vista, on the other hand, says they have an explanation. Officials say it’s an atmospheric phenomenon where high temperatures and high humidity levels allow for sound to travel faster through the air. Basically, on hot summer days, the music from the amphitheater can be heard as far away as Bonita.
