On Saturday (March 19), Los Angeles’ neo-soul and hip-hop music festival returned in L.A’s Historic Park, featuring performances from Erykah Badu, Nas, Jhene Aiko, Smino, The Roots, Musiq Soulchild, Slum Village, Roy Ayers, and many more.

The stacked lineup made for an evening full of memorable performances from classic acts and emerging artists alike. However, the neo-soul festival was not exempt from the perils of technical difficulties throughout the event, with many concertgoers complaining about the sound quality during many of the artist's sets. 

One fan took to Twitter during the event to complain about the sound at the festival's largest stage, The Smokin’ Grooves Stage, demanding the festival to make a public statement addressing the sound quality. 

“@smokingroovesla you guys have to address the sound on the main stage. It’s been off all day and does not sound good.  I have heard multiple people comment on this all day long,” said a Twitter user. “Jupiter stage is good but the Smokin grooves stage is bad.”

Another fan took to Twitter, demanding a refund for the unfortunate sound quality during the first half of the festival. “Smokin' Grooves owes me several hundred dollars!! This sound mixing is absolute trash. I’m upset.”

Once the sound got figured out at the main stage, the festival suffered set time delays, resulting in the headliner, Erykah Badu’s set being cut short. Fans were under the impression that Badu abruptly stormed off stage before clarification of a sound curfew. 

“Smokin Grooves cut her sound because they were past their permitted time. She started 30 mins  late because prior performers had also started late. Organizers should've allocated more time for transitions and stuck to end times more consistently.”

See more fan reactions to the Smokin Grooves festival below and stay tuned for more hip-hop news.