MINNEAPOLIS — As the inaugural season ends at the biggest permanent outdoor concert venue the Twin Cities has ever seen, its operators and customers can rightfully brag the place got off to a rocking start.

Mystic Lake Amphitheater will have hosted 41 concerts in just three and a half months once rapper Bryson Tiller wraps the season on Wednesday. More than half a million tickets were sold. Twelve Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees were on the calendar. Even Lil Wayne, who’s notorious for canceling, showed up for his date (albeit two months late).

For some area residents, though, the new 19,000-person venue near Canterbury Park horse track was a little too rocking.

“I had a friend visiting from out of state [in August], and she asked me why it was so loud in my house,” said Heather Chase, who lives in Eden Prairie across the Minnesota River from the amphitheater.

“She thought it was one of my neighbors throwing a really loud party.”

Noise complaints have been cranking up as the season has been winding down at Mystic Lake Amphitheater, which is owned and operated by concert industry giant Live Nation, parent company of Ticketmaster.

The mayor of Shakopee said he has been receiving a lot of phone calls and emails over sound levels. So have other city officials and venue representatives.

The growing ire led the city and Live Nation to create what could be called a complainers hotline, a guideline with a phone number, email and tips on how residents can complain and gauge the amphitheater’s decibel levels at their homes.

“The City and Live Nation are continuing to address noise concerns as they arise and are actively partnering on further mitigating the auditory impacts of the amphitheater,” reads the special advisory on the city’s website.

Mayor Matt Lehman said he and Shakopee city staff are taking the complaints seriously and working to lessen them in 2027. At the same time, he said the community has mostly responded positively to the new amphitheater.

“It’s nice to not have to drive far to see world-class entertainers,” Lehman said. “But that comes with a few glitches that we knew would have to be figured out. And we are.”

Live Nation’s representatives also acknowledged the noise complaints and pledged to address them. In fact, they already have, according to Josh Lacey, president of Live Nation’s Minnesota office.

“We actively monitor sound levels from multiple locations at the venue during each show, making real-time adjustments as conditions like wind and humidity affect how sound travels,” Lacey said in a statement.

Weather really does make a difference in how sound carries. So does the direction the speakers are pointed.

Surprisingly, many residents who live closest to the amphitheater — in the apartments and townhomes just west of Canterbury Park — say they often don’t hear the music at all. The venue’s sound system points in the opposite direction, toward the east and northeast.

“I don’t hear a thing most nights, and I kind of wish I could,” said Robin Schmitt, a resident of the nearby Addison apartments who was out walking her dog Stella on Sept. 4.

As Schmitt talked, one of the opening bands for thrash-metal band Slayer took the stage at the amphitheater. The music was inaudible outside her home.

“I think people need to cool their jets on this,” Schmitt said. “A lot of people are happy [the amphitheater] is here. This is a blue-collar city, and any new revenue is a good thing.”

Blame the bassists

For the residents more in the line of the sound — including in the southern ends of Eden Prairie and Bloomington and other parts of Shakopee — a lot of what they are hearing are the low-end range of bass guitars and drums.

“You can’t hear words, just sounds, like someone has a car parked in your driveway with a subwoofer in it,” said Kari Lyons, who lives off Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington. She said it’s only during some of the shows and doesn’t consider it a major nuisance.

“It’s always done by 11 p.m., and for four hours five times a year I don’t think they need to change it,” Lyons said.

Those low-end frequencies do concern Shakopee City Councilmember Jim DuLaney, who said “most shows generated little or no feedback, but a smaller number of concerts had a noticeable impact.”

“The residents who are experiencing noise and bass inside their homes are dealing with a genuine quality-of-life issue, and that is something we are addressing and taking seriously,” DuLaney said.

City staff has worked with sound engineers and weather experts to address the issue in recent weeks, he said. One proposal calls for installing sensors on poles in the most problematic neighborhoods before next year’s season, and adjusting accordingly during each concert. DuLaney credited Live Nation staffers for already making adjustments inside the venue, including lowering the delay speakers that go up to the venue’s back lawn area.

City leaders and Live Nation representatives, however, said they are not considering changing the venue’s 11 p.m. curfew, as many of the upset neighbors have requested. The curfew was based on previously existing rules for large-event permits in the city.

“The issue is complex but solvable,” DuLaney summarized.

Cheers from bars, fans

Restaurants and bars in the area certainly are not complaining.

At Badger Hill Brewing Co., part of the enclave of bars and restaurants in the Shakopee Social District walkable from the amphitheater, owner Chris Cole said sales were up about 45% on concert nights. Their coffee business also saw an uptick the morning after shows.

“A lot more people are spending the night out here, too,” Cole noted. “The neighborhood really feels like it’s popping whenever there’s a concert.”

Ironically, Badger Hill’s best night for business this season was when the Dave Matthews Band’s gig got rained out on June 23. The postponement was announced around showtime when many concertgoers had already arrived to the area.

“I guess I shouldn’t hope for more of that,” Cole said with a laugh, but then gave a serious assessment to the season: “It was a bit of a learning curve with traffic and all, but mostly it was awesome.”

Live Nation’s local president also sounded very satisfied.

“It’s been an incredible first season, and we’re excited to carry that momentum into 2027,” Lacey said, promising another loaded calendar next year. “The response from fans has been exciting to see, and we’re looking forward to building on that momentum in Year Two.”

Fans have responded enthusiastically, for the most part. Read any message board about the amphitheater, and you will see widespread complaints about the $15-plus beer and $20-plus cocktail prices. You’ll also read a lot of praise for the venue.

“Overall, it’s one of the best amphitheaters we have been to, and we have traveled to many across the country,” said Chad Johnson, a musician who made it to four of this season’s shows with his wife, Tracy Johnson, including both Iron Maiden and the B-52’s with Devo two weekends ago.

The Johnsons praised the widely available free parking around the venue, short security lines, car traffic flow getting in and out, plus the sound quality.

They did have one quibble about the sound system, though.

“Could be louder,” they said.

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