advertisement
Culture

Montreal Announces Music Venues Now Exempt From Noise Bylaw

Following public outcry over the closure of venue La Tulipe due to noise complaints, mayor Valérie Plante is saying "yes to neighbourliness, but no to the dictatorship of neighbours."

Montreal

Montreal

Photo by the Bialons on Unsplash

Changes are coming to Montreal's nightlife.

Following public outcry over the closure of the popular venue La Tulipe, Mayor Valérie Plante announced today (September 25) that venues will now be exempt from the bylaw that led to its closure.


The Plateau-Mont-Royal venue announced this week it would cease operations due to a decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which mandated the venue to not emit sound that could be heard in an adjacent building.

Specifically, in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, music venues will no longer be subject to Section 9 of the bylaw governing noise regulation, which specifies that amplified sound cannot be audible in a neighbouring building. Projet Montreal, Plante's party, has also committed to improving the city's soundproofing program and presenting a new nightlife policy in October.

advertisement

Plante posted a video on Instagram, sharing her own dismay at the news that La Tulipe would be closing its doors for the foreseeable future. She expresses concern that one person could derail an entire music venue.

"Yes to neighbourliness, but no to the dictatorship of neighbours," Plante says in the video.

Plateau-Mont-Royal Mayor Luc Rabouin said today that the change to the bylaw will be ratified tomorrow, Cult MTL reports.

No word yet on what this bylaw change might mean for the future of La Tulipe.

La Tulipe isn't the only venue in the city to be affected by noise bylaws. Popular spots like Divan Orange and Diving Bell Social Club have previously closed down due to noise complaints. The outcry to the news about La Tulipe indicated a growing frustration amongst cultural labourers in the city, which has a reputation as a haven for arts production in Canada.

advertisement
Johnny Neel during Johnny Neel in Concert at Wetlands - 1992 at Wetlands in New York City.
Steve Eichner/WireImage

Johnny Neel during Johnny Neel in Concert at Wetlands - 1992 at Wetlands in New York City.

Music News

Johnny Neel, Songwriter & Allman Brothers Band Keys Player, Dies at 70

The musician joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1989.

Johnny Neel, songwriter and former member of the Allman Brothers Band and the Dickey Betts Band, has died. He was 70 years old.

His former bandmate Warren Haynes confirmed the news of Neel’s death in a heartfelt social media post. No cause of death has been given. “Aside from being an amazing musician and singer, Johnny was one of the funniest people on the planet — a true character. ‘Johnny Neel stories,’ as we refer to them in our little chunk of the music world, are legendary,” he wrote. “There was always music in his head. It was his savior. Whenever we were writing together, he was an endless fountain of ideas, and the same on stage or in the studio. His uncanny ability to draw from so many musical styles and genres was amazing and his gift for improvisation was unmatched. We wrote a lot of music together, we played a lot of music together, and we traveled the world together, and maybe most importantly, we had a lot of fun times and created a lot of beautiful memories. Hence the stories. Johnny’s music and his legend will live on forever. Miss you Neely.”

keep readingShow less
advertisement