Sound on Sound (Soundside) Festival: What Happened, and What to Do Instead

Updated June 2026 · 4 min read

For two years, Sound on Sound was the biggest music festival Connecticut had seen in ages. It ran two days on two stages. The site was Seaside Park, on the water in Bridgeport. Here is the short version: it was renamed Soundside. Its last planned show was cancelled. There is no confirmed date for 2026. The full story is below.

What Sound on Sound was

It launched in September 2022 with a huge lineup. Stevie Nicks, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, The Lumineers, and Brandi Carlile all played. There were more than twenty acts on two stages. No sets overlapped. You could see them all. In 2023, the bill had the Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Mayer. A big national promoter ran it. It soon became the top music weekend in Fairfield County.

The rename and the cancellation

In 2024 it was renamed Soundside Music Festival. The next one was set for fall 2025, with a stacked lineup. Then it was cancelled. They blamed "circumstances beyond our control" and gave refunds. As of mid-2026, there is no new date. Its future is unclear. Refunds came through the original ticket seller.

It is not the first big festival here to end. Gathering of the Vibes ran at Seaside Park for years. That jam-band event held its last show in 2015.

Where to go instead

The harbor still has live music. The Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater is minutes from Seaside Park. It runs national touring acts from late spring through fall. It is the best stand-in for a festival night. Find more in our guide to concert venues in Bridgeport.

Want a real festival? CT still has plenty. Jazz in Hartford, bluegrass in Goshen, folk in New Haven, and more. See them all in our Connecticut music festivals guide. For free shows all summer, see our CT summer concert series guide.

We will update this page if Soundside returns. Until then, watch the calendar. The CT Concert Center app tracks shows at 40+ CT venues.