3 days ago
Electronic music festival cancelled after Cambridge council denies noise exemption
A music festival that had been scheduled to take place in Cambridge next month will not be happening after city council denied their application for a noise exemption.
The Rising Tide Music and Arts Festival was supposed to take place in The Gaslight District on July 5 from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. Afterwards, an indoor event would follow until approximately 2 a.m.
In social media posts, organizers called it 'more than a party – it's a movement.'
However, during a council meeting on May 27, councillors raised concerns with how loud the event would be.
'Most of us understand what that music festival is all about and the kind of noise that is going to create,' Mayor Jan Liggett said. 'We have a senior's home right next door to it; we have condos all around it – [it's] right on the river where it's going to carry across the river. That entire neighbourhood is going to be very disrupted.'
Councillor Sheri Roberts also shared concerns about the level of noise the festival would generate.
'Even a regular concert that happens there, I do get a lot of complaints from neighbours and people reaching out with their concerns about the sound,' Roberts said. 'Those are events that end at 10 p.m. I just really have trouble with this one going until 2 a.m. I think that it's maybe not the right location to have an event that goes until that time, being right in the middle of the residential neighbourhood.'
Ultimately, all councillors present voted to deny a noise exemption. Councillor Ross Earnshaw was not at the meeting.
In a social media post on Monday, the organizers of the Rising Tide Music and Arts Festival wrote, 'With heavy hearts, we must share that Rising Tide Music & Arts Festival will not be moving forward this year. Despite our best efforts, the City Council has denied our noise exemption with no opportunity to appeal this decision.'
The post said all ticket holders would receive a full refund in the coming days.
'We are devastated,' the social media post read. 'So much passion, planning, and community support has gone into bringing this event to life, and we know many of you were as exited as we were to come together in celebration this summer.'
Organizers are planning to move forward with another event, Rising Tide Presents: Cloverdale, at Room 47 in Waterloo on June 13.
