Noise complaints force halt to outdoor music events at Tanjong Pagar Distripark

Outdoor music events at Tanjong Pagar Distripark have been paused after noise complaints from neighbours, with venue owner Mapletree asking licensees and tenants to temporarily stop such events. The move has hit independent organisers hard, with Ice Cream Sundays co-founder Jake Camacho saying the K

Outdoor music events at the Tanjong Pagar Distripark on Keppel Road have been halted after noise complaints from neighbouring residents, dealing a blow to independent organisers who relied on the venue's capacity and central location.

The venue, owned by Mapletree and also home to the Singapore Art Museum, notified organisers on 16 Oct that outdoor music events could no longer proceed without tighter restrictions. Mapletree later posted on Instagram that it was asking licensees and tenants to temporarily pause events that might cause disamenity to neighbours, though it did not specify how long the pause would last.

Independent music collective Cream Team, which has held its long-running Ice Cream Sundays dance music event at the Distripark since 2023, was among those affected. Co-founder Jake Camacho said the group was told that events in the form they had been doing would not be possible for the foreseeable future. The first complaint came in August via an anonymous email sent to the group and some government agencies, citing noise from multiple events at the site.

Ice Cream Sundays events typically draw between 1,000 and 1,200 attendees, and Mr Camacho said the car park spine between Blocks 37 and 39 was a suitable size for such a scale. The group had already taken steps to mitigate noise, including moving its Oct 3 event behind Block 37 to create an extra barrier from nearby housing blocks, and taking decibel readings every two hours during events. Despite those measures, the pause notice followed.

Mr Camacho called the news very disappointing, particularly as venues have become scarcer. Haw Par Villa, another of the group's signature venues, became unavailable after redevelopment began in December last year. Losing the Distripark, he said, would be a particularly hard blow to swallow. The Cream Team has been reaching out to developers and government agencies for possible alternative sites.

Other independent organisers echoed the concern. Culture SG co-founder Vira Suria, whose group held the R&B event SoulSet at the Distripark in June this year, said the venue's spacious warehouse environment and proximity to the city centre made it suitable, but finding similar spaces at affordable rates was difficult. He noted that venue costs often determine whether independent organisers can realistically cover their events, and losing an option like the Distripark adds another layer of uncertainty for the independent music scene.