Outdoor party collective Ice Cream Sundays faces restrictions
Over the past three years, pop-up party collective Ice Cream Sundays (ICS) hosted several outdoor music events at the arts and entertainment hub Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
But on 28 Oct, ICS announced on Instagram that it would cease all outdoor music events at the Distripark for the foreseeable future.
Such events would likely face heavy restrictions going forward.
This is due to an anonymous netizen’s allegations against events hosted at the Distripark by ICS and other promoters.
Source: Ice Cream Sundays via Instagram
Resident anonymously files noise complaint with NEA
The anonymous netizen, known as Singapore Residents, claimed: “These types of events promote the abuse of alcohol, public drunkenness and smoking, including illegal drugs and vaping, which are offences and extremely harmful to Singapore society.”
However, previous ICS events have enforced house rules including a ban on vapes, smoking in non-designated areas and harassment of any kind.
After the Night Session of Rainbow Disco Club Singapore, a dance music festival hosted by ICS on 3 Oct, a noise complaint was filed by an anonymous netizen with the National Environment Agency (NEA).
They claimed to be a resident of the neighbouring area.
The report alleged that noise exceeding 115-125 C-weighted decibels (dBC) was heard from Spottiswoode Park Road, past 10pm.
The residential block is located across from the Distripark.
Noise above this limit breaches regulatory requirements and authorities’ permit conditions.
It also claimed that the bass noise exceeded the acceptable threshold on 4 Oct.
At this time, ICS was hosting a music recovery session at RASA Space.
Source: Ice Cream Sundays via Instagram
ICS raised doubts about this allegation, stating that 115-125dBC was equivalent to standing in front of a loudspeaker at a live performance.
As the Night Session was an indoor party, they questioned how the resident could find the noise intrusive from a concrete residential block located 200m away.
Additionally, ICS pointed out that the speakers used for the event were not physically capable of producing that much noise to begin with.
Source: Ice Cream Sundays via Instagram
The party collective maintained that they took all necessary steps to reduce noise disturbance.
During the event, staff members submitted compliant decibel readings every two hours.
ICS said it never intended to cause a disturbance.
Sadly, it only takes one anonymous troll with absurd claims to spoil things for everyone.
Attempts at mediation ignored
Jake Camacho, co-founder of ICS, told MS News that the complaint was not an isolated occurrence.
On 2 Aug, ICS received an anonymous email with a link to their ticketing page and complaints about an upcoming music event. It was signed off as “Singapore Residents”.
The complainant sent ICS multiple emails containing threats of legal action.
Emails were also addressed to government agencies that previously worked with ICS.
This included the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The 34-year-old said the venue reached out to the complainant to find a solution. However, this was ignored.
Mr Camacho mentioned he was disappointed there was “no sincere effort to mediate on the complainant’s part”.
He also maintained that ICS events have always abided by the safety regulations imposed by the authorities.
“It only hurts us if we receive noise complaints,” he said. “It jeopardises our ability to do more events.”
Unaware of other complaints
Rainbow Disco Club took place over two sessions.
The Daytime Session was held outdoors at the back of Block 37, while the Nighttime Session was held indoors on the third floor of Block 39.
Mr Camacho stated that the outdoor portion was originally going to take place in the carpark between Block 37 and 39. However, three weeks before the event, ICS agreed to move indoors to minimise impact.
A checking staff member reported that highway traffic, not the event, caused most of the recorded decibel noise.
Furthermore, Mr Camacho pointed out that if there had been noise complaints, SPF would have visited the site to ensure it was properly licensed.
However, SPF did not show up to the event. ICS were also unaware of other complaints on-site.
He stated: “It doesn’t add up to the lived experiences of the attendees and staff members present at the event.”
Source: Ice Cream Sundays via Instagram
On 16 Oct, ICS was informed by management that the Distripark would not be allowed to freely allow outdoor music events without enforcing tighter restrictions.
It was implied that the current format of ICS events would not be possible for the foreseeable future.
Mr Camacho stated that he does not know what specific restrictions will be enforced.
“At this moment, everyone is taking time to figure out the next steps,” he said.
Frustrated but not deterred
Mr Camacho felt the restrictions were a shame, given that the Distripark has built itself as a lively culture and arts hub and a standout favourite amongst local promoters.
He felt that the anonymous complaints were “so ridiculous it had to be highlighted”.
On 25 March, ICS posted about the top 10 ICS venues that were no longer available for use, which attracted attention online.
However, Mr Camacho never imagined their most recent post would blow up the way it did, garnering over 7,000 likes in the span of five days.
ICS later clarified that they did not aim to mourn the death of Singaporean nightlife. The party collective also added that they were not speaking on behalf of other organisers or events at the Distripark.
“Our intention is not to blame anyone, but more to raise awareness of the unique challenges and hurdles that the music community is facing,” the co-founder told MS News.
We understand and empathise with the difficult position the Distripark has currently been put in.
He added that they were mainly facing pressure from the complainant and not the authorities, who have reportedly been understanding and receptive.
While Mr Camacho was frustrated to see things take “backwards steps”, he continued to have faith.
There is still a vibrant music community that is overcoming the obstacles we [promoters] all face.
The co-founder encouraged netizens to support their local music promoters.
In the comments section, netizens were concerned that a single complainant could shut down an outdoor music event.
Source: Instagram
Despite the setback, ICS expressed gratitude for their supporters. The party collective stated that they would continue working hard to bring fresh spaces in 2027.
This issue is bigger than one person or one venue. It’s a brutal pattern that’s been playing out long before we started. But we won’t let it deter us.
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Featured image adapted from @icecreamsundays_ via Instagram.