As disappointing as the cancellation of Country Thunder Alberta has been, the inaccurate conjecture from critics has only added to the gut-punch of this difficult, but, ultimately, necessary decision.
Misguided Speculation
It’s hard to determine what has been more entertaining in the last 24 hours: Online armchair festival producers who don’t buy tickets or speculation from others not involved in the event. The idea that Country Thunder Music Festivals would arbitrarily cancel a major event because it might rain is absurd. Setting up an entire stage production and festival site only to cancel due to the speculation of lacklustre ticket sales is even more absurd. Further speculation that an artist cancelled — news to us — resulting in the festival’s cancellation is not only absurd, but also irresponsible.
To be clear, though we always wondered why there were two sets of standards when it came to event curfews — Stampede and everyone else — we never claimed that our imposed curfew was at all at issue.
Noise Bylaw Challenges
Critics would have you believe the same festival, which has brought stadium-level artists (Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, etc.) to the incredible Confluence Park setting for the past several years, must surely have been looking for any excuse to cancel one of the world’s top-selling artists: Lainey Wilson, who was scheduled for Sunday evening. Common sense is out the window in this scenario.
So is a true understanding of decibel levels and their meaning, even for officials who may implement event-killing policies. There are claims, including some made by Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, that Calgary’s noise bylaws are standard compared to other “world class events,” but the city of Edmonton seems to have a different standard: Our noise permit for Rockin’Thunder stands at 110 — acceptable limits for live music is 105.
The Facts
Here are the facts. Again. The noise from the crowd alone would exceed the city’s permitted sound levels (70 DBA and 80 DBC) at the nearest residence, even before adding any amplified music. For context, a typical drum kit and guitar amps on the stage, before being put through any sound system, would exceed the allowed levels. To put this example into layman’s terms: A vacuum cleaner exceeds the allowable Db limit.
Forcing the festival to operate within these restrictions would require substantial changes to the artists’ performances and result in a disappointing experience for the fans. No one in this business can accept this. As well, the risk run by the festival to exceed these levels in order to provide a positive fan experience was untenable. The bylaw clearly states: “Criminal charges and up to a year in jail” can occur. Strange but true — you can’t make this stuff up.
Construction Issues
Regarding the challenges of putting on an event surrounded by major construction, you work around the issues until you no longer can. Construction is a given in any urban environment and it’s a factor the Country Thunder Ops team vehemently prepared for during the past six months of planning.
