A proposal that will be up for debate at London City Hall next week has one member of the local music scene asking politicians to turn down the over reach.
City staffers have authored a report that, if approved by council, would ban special event concerts from going past 9 p.m. on weeknights after Labour Day. That would would mean outdoor festivals like the ones at Victoria or Harris Parks would have the plug pulled early.
"It's the hardest hit of the hardest hit impacted industries," said music tourism expert Chris Campbell. "When you're talking about special events, the people who are taxed and paid to support special events, you'd hope they'd be a little more supported."
The proposed by-law came from city staffers, and aims "to limit amplified concerts on weekdays after Labour Day between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. for 2021, to limit the disruption caused by special events on a school and/or workday."
Events like Rock the Park, which is scheduled for July of 2022 in Harris Park, wouldn't be affected. However, Park Jam, a festival that was shelved due to the pandemic, ran in early September.
Battles over the sound and time limits of outdoor music aren't new to London - and that hurts the industry, according to Campbell.
"It wasn't too long ago we had a no dancing on patios by-law, which is ridiculous, in the same special event manual, I might add," Campbell said. "It's definitely not conducive to business, and a business that's been hit hard."
Campbell spoke to 519 Podcast host Craig Needles, you can hear that conversation below.
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