Calgary councillor drafts motion to reverse course on new noise rules ahead of Cowboys Music Festival

A Calgary city councillor plans to put forward a motion to ease new rules surrounding outdoor concerts, just ahead of Stampede.

The city’s new regulations this year called for maximum noise and bass levels at outdoor shows to be cut by five decibels before midnight, and for weekday concerts to end by midnight. The changes came after Cowboys Music Festival received about 125 noise complaints at last year’s Stampede, in its first year at its new home in Cowboys Park.

Now, Ward 1 Coun. Kim Tyers has drafted a notice of motion that would allow weeknight concerts to end at 1 a.m. and would reduce maximum noise levels by just 2.5 decibels.

Her motion argues the new rules created operational challenges for festival organizers, and raised concerns from industry partners about feasibility and reputational impact.

Tyers’ motion also calls for city administration to partner with event organizers and law enforcement to find ways to address social disorder and to expand temporary sanitation infrastructure like portable washrooms — two other sources of complaints.

The motion would direct administration to report back early next year with recommended improvements for the 2027 festival, after more consultation with stakeholders.

Cowboys Music Festival begins on July 2.

Alberta premier urges council to reconsider

In a letter on Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith similarly urged city hall to immediately consult with businesses, workers, artists and organizers about the noise bylaw changes.

Her letter calls on city council to respond by June 30 about how the city is addressing stakeholder concerns, so the province can evaluate whether it can play a role in resolving the issue.

“Residents deserve to have their concerns heard and addressed. However, meaningful consultation with affected stakeholders should occur before significant operational changes are implemented, particularly when those changes affect one of Alberta’s most important annual events,” Smith’s letter said.

Calgary’s chief of community standards Ryan Pleckaitis said the city heard from residents living near the festival that the music was loud enough to shake their windows and force items to fall from the shelves in their homes.

He said the city made its decision after looking at complaints to the city and Calgary police, and talking to residents as well as event organizers.

“It’s a polarizing issue; it’s contentious. There’s no perfect formula on how we manage this,” Pleckaitis said on CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener on Monday.

Penny Lane Entertainment president Paul Vickers did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News on Monday prior to publication. Penny Lane owns Cowboys Music Festival.

In a previous interview, festival organizers criticized having to end concerts by midnight on weekdays, saying it could put around 250 jobs at risk and lead to less local acts opening at the festival.

But Pleckaitis noted other local festivals, like Chasing Summer, Country Thunder and the Calgary Folk Music Festival, and some international music festivals like Lollapalooza in Chicago, all typically end by midnight.

A sound engineering company is set to provide a report to the city after this year’s Stampede, he added, to offer insight for future years on noise levels.

Residents should notice volume change: audiologists

When officials measure volume to respond to noise complaints, they do so from where residents are complaining, which is typically from people’s homes. As a result, Pleckaitis noted the actual volume inside Cowboys tent will be much louder.

The city’s new rules drop volume limits to 70 decibels from 75 before midnight, which roughly equates to 75 per cent less sound. That’s like the difference between standing outside on a busy road and sitting inside a vehicle with a moderate amount of traffic around you, said audiologist Carrie Scarff.

“They are trying to make a realistic change in how much people are noticing the sound at their homes, in their beds or out in their backyards,” said Scarff.

Anne Woolliams, an audiologist at Soundwave Hearing Care, said it could be difficult for sound engineers to ensure noise is reduced five decibels outside of the venue. She said sound measurement can depend on how far away officials are measuring from, which direction the speakers are facing, and how many sound barriers — or trees and houses — are absorbing noise.

“Sound dissipates from a sound source. It’s like dropping a pebble in water: sound goes out in waves,” said Woolliams. “The bigger a rock you drop, the bigger the waves.”

Political pushback

Smith’s letter comes after she criticized the new rules on Saturday, saying the “fun police” were targeting the Stampede music scene.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas responded that a recent increase to the minimum alcohol price by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) is an example of the province’s own version of the “fun police.”

Alberta reversed course on its AGLC decision on Monday “to provide businesses and Albertans with greater certainty and consistency,” said Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally in a statement.

“I would encourage the City of Calgary to take the same approach by working with industry and local businesses to find solutions that support jobs, tourism and the Stampede music scene, including repealing its misguided noise bylaw,” he wrote.

Farkas declined to comment to CBC News on Monday.

More cops at Stampede

The province also announced on Monday it was taking complaints about the Stampede seriously, by introducing more police.

Alberta Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said the Alberta Sheriffs and Calgary Police Service agreed to establish a joint team of officers to patrol and monitor Stampede tents, including Cowboys.

“As Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas stated last year, several hundreds of people brought complaints to city hall last year such as property damage, disorder and excessive intoxication spilling into nearby neighborhoods,” said Ellis in an emailed statement.

“This kind of nonsense is unacceptable.”

Cowboys Music Festival moved to its new home on the west end of downtown Calgary last summer. Cowboys Park is tied to a naming and sponsorship deal Penny Lane signed with the city to take over the former Shaw Millennium Park.

The agreement has been met with public criticism for a variety of reasons, including a lack of transparency surrounding the deal, Cowboys shutting down part of Canada’s largest outdoor skatepark during peak summer months, and renovations Cowboys made to the park.