"Sound horeg", a dilemma between public entertainment and safety

 Booming music generated by "sound horeg", a traditional cultural phenomenon, is no longer confined to East Java as it spreads to other regions through viral social media content.

Sound horeg draws crowds when groups of people blast music through massive speaker systems mounted on trucks or pickup vehicles.

An arts activist from East Java named Heri Lentho said sound horeg is more than just a matter of speaker technology; it is a social and cultural phenomenon.

The use of loudspeakers—commonly found at weddings, carnivals, village events, independence day commemorations, and various community celebrations—is considered completely normal and became the origin of sound horeg.

Expression through music, sound, and noise has always been part of how people express their joy.

Beyond being entertainment for specific events, sound systems have gained their own appeal over time and become entertainment for the public.

With increasingly larger sound equipment, louder volumes, more spectacular parade vehicles, and fan communities; a sense of identity and pride has emerged among sound system owners.

Gradually, sound horeg grew into entertainment for parts of the lower class.

Beyond entertainment, such expression later created economic activity involving equipment owners, technicians, transport workers, drivers, traders, small business operators, creative workers, artists, and performers.

Controversy

From around 2023 to 2025, the sound horeg phenomenon began sparking debate and triggering protests over its impact.

An incident went viral in 2025, involved a group of residents who tore down a village gateway to clear the way for a truck carrying a sound "horeg" system.

The ability of sound horeg to instantly create a festive atmosphere later drew sharp criticism after its damaging impact on public facilities.

Last month, in August 2026, three people in East Java reportedly died in incidents allegedly linked to sound horeg. The victims included crew members and a person who had rented the truck.

One of them, identified as the initials "SN", 29, died after falling asleep atop a moving truck which was carried sound horeg system. His head struck a gate in Candijati Village, Arjasa Sub-district, Jember district, on August 2, resulting in his immediate death.

Another incident involved Bonari, 44, who died of a heart attack while walking in a sound horeg carnival in Banyuwangi on August 23. He was believed to have consumed alcohol before the carnival began.

The third victim was Slamet Timbang, 57, who died in Jombang, East Java. Timbang was taking his wife to a pharmacy amid a sound horeg carnival parade in Wringinagung Village, Jombang, East Java, when a building wall and canopy suddenly collapsed on him, killing him instantly.

The collapse was believed to have been triggered by vibrations and loud noise from the sound horeg, as well as a cable caught on the body or cargo of the passing truck.

The string of incidents drew attention to sound horeg, especially regarding safety and regulations on the expression.

According to Heri Lentho, sound horeg has become an entertainment for parts of society, especially the lower class. Nonetheless, problems arise when such entertainment loses its social boundaries.

Lentho noted freedom of expression is different from freedom to disturb others. The right to enjoy music must not take away others' right to gain peace, health, and safety.

Lentho said what should be criticised is not the ordinary people who want to have fun, but the moment that joyful expression turns into extreme noise.

He added such noise damages the environment, endangers road users, damages facilities, and disrupts hospitals, schools, or houses of worship, along with other behavior that violates the law and social norms.

Sound horeg should not become a scapegoat for every social problem, though the term of "public entertainment" should not be used as an excuse to justify all kinds of behavior.

Still, ordinary people are entitled to entertainment, as well as to peace and safety.

Meanwhile, a activist on history and culture from Boemi Poeger Jember, Yopi Setyo Hadi, suggested the central government, which has authority beyond that of regional governments, should coordinate across ministries and state institutions.​​​​​​​

Setyo Hadi said the government should take several steps, which include issuing joint inter-ministerial regulations on standardisation and strict sanctions for sound system vehicles passing weighbridges, as well as conducting regular raids and intercepting sound horeg truck convoys on national roads before they enter residential areas.