Weeknight concerts during Calgary Stampede must end at midnight, city memo says – Calgary

What time should concerts end and permissible noise levels during The Calgary Stampede have changed for this year’s event, according to a city memo, and at least one festival site has run into problems with the adjustments.

According to a memo to city council from Calgary Community Standards chief Ryan Pleckaitis, obtained by Global News, concerts during Stampede Week in Calgary must end at midnight, with “soothing music” allowed until 12:30 a.m. to “support the safe and orderly exit of patrons.”

The permitted end time for weekend concerts is unchanged from last year, the memo said, which allows music until 1:30 a.m. and chill music until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Permissible noise levels (dBA) and maximum bass levels (dBC) have also been reduced from 75 dBA and 85 dBC to 70 dBA and 80 dBC before midnight, and from 65 dBA and 85 dBC to 60 dBA and 80 dBC after midnight, the memorandum said.

The city’s new noise exemption permit timing requirements apply to all music festivals outside of Stampede Park, the memo said.

Pleckaitis said the changes are in response to community concerns, after the City of Calgary received 225 noise complaints related to downtown music festivals during last year’s Stampede. He noted that 125 of those complaints involved the Cowboys Music Festival.

According to the memo, residents reported shaking windows in the apartment towers late at night, as well as items falling from tables and shelves.

“We also had complaints of social disorder, public urination, excessive drunkenness,” he told reporters on Thursday. “We made the decision that we had to do something this year.”

Penny Lane Entertainment, which runs the Cowboys Music Festival, has objected to the changes which it claims were “designed without consultation”.

In a letter from Paul Vickers, founding partner of Penny Lane Entertainment, also obtained by Global News, Vickers argued to the city council the changes “create uncertainty” in the “just days” before the festival begins.

“If the bylaw requirements remain unchanged, our festival, and likely others across the city, will be forced to cut hundreds of employees who have already been hired and are expected to start work within two weeks,” Vickers wrote.

According to Vickers, artists performing in the downtown marquee during the Stampede “may cancel due to the proposed changes” and that the adjustments are “unattainable for any event of this scale.”

He also described public safety concerns as attendees at the various downtown tents “could empty onto the streets of Calgary simultaneously,” which could strain limited resources.

In his letter, Vickers asked the City of Calgary to allow the Cowboys Music Festival to operate under the same bylaws as last year’s event.

“We are ready to welcome the world to our city and these changes will not allow us to demonstrate Calgary’s full potential,” he wrote. “We demand that these changes be reversed and a return to previously agreed levels implemented.”

Venues operating after midnight in 2025 were informed of the changes in February, Pleckaitis said, with another email sent to event organizers about lower sound levels last month.

“The biggest concern we’re hearing is when they’re allowed to operate on weeknights because that will reduce their profit margin. We understand that,” he told reporters. “It’s trying to strike a balance between supporting the events and then supporting the community.”

When asked about the situation, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he has no problem with the changes and is open to working with the proponents to “find ways to work within the expectations that Calgarians have.”

“I think it’s reasonable to have some level of control around that, because otherwise for us to allow this in, say, suburban settings, I think most people wouldn’t be upset about it,” Farkas said.

The 2026 Calgary Stampede runs from July 3 to 12. It will mark the second year that the Cowboys Music Festival has run at Cowboys Park, formerly known as Shaw Millenium Park on the west end of downtown.

Global News reached out to Penny Lane Entertainment for comment, but did not receive a response.

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