As of Thursday morning (July 9), the Calgary city has logged 186 noise complaints coming from outdoor music tents and events. The Cowboys Music Festival has reached the same number of complaints as it did during the entire festival last year, with three days left to go.
The Calgary Stampede continues to buzz throughout the city, and so does the ongoing controversy around noise curfews.
The famed rodeo, exhibition and outdoor festival is receiving a higher number of noise compared to last year, with the city logging 186 noise complaints related to its outdoor music tents and events as of Thursday morning (July 9), a 30% increase according to Livewire Calgary. The complaints follow a period of controversy following noise reduction bylaws and curfews that were imposed on the Stampede's outdoor music tents and other festivals in Calgary, just weeks before they were scheduled to begin.
Despite having another three days to go, Cowboys Music Festival has already racked up 124 noise complaints, nearly the same number of complaints it received across the entire festival last year (125). According to the city, Cowboys received 40 complaints during the first three days of Stampede, up one from 2025.
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Badlands music festival has reportedly doubled the amount of noise complaints it received last year. It has received 37 complaints as of Thursday, compared to just 16 last year, with 15 coming in within the first three days. The event received a ticket from the city for surpassing the permitted decibel levels, although it was recently rescinded by the city after an internal review.
“We are encouraged by the reduction in decibel levels over the past three nights; however, bass levels remain a challenge,” says Ryan Pleckaitis, Calgary's chief of community standards about Badlands. The festival has currently received 37 complaints compared to just 16 last year.
Noise levels and complaints have been a hot topic over the past month. In June, the city council introduced a stricter curfew on concerts during weekdays, which required them to stop an hour earlier at 12am and reduced the allowed decibel levels by 5dBA and 5dBC from last year. The move received heavy pushback from organizers, including Penny Lane Entertainment, the organizers of Cowboys, as well as the Country Thunder Alberta festival, which cancelled its 2026 edition with two days notice and directly cited the "restrictive noise bylaw" as a main motive. The city upheld the restrictions, but was willing to compromise by allowing the period of cool-down music, which plays as crowds filter out from the site, to run until 1:30 am, a half hour later than originally envisioned.
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Mayor Jeromy Farkas spoke on the recent noise activity on site, adding that another noise bylaw update is coming on Sunday, July 12, the festival's final day.
"It’s really just that post-midnight activity that we are concerned about. Not just noise, but also some of the other impacts that are spilling over the local residents, like social disorder, public intoxication, and so on,” he said.
“We’re going to continue to very closely collaborate with our law enforcement partners, bylaw enforcement folks as well, to make sure that we can execute on the stampede that’s lively but also safe and respectful for the communities that ultimately need to have a good night’s sleep to be able to work the next day.”
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Cowboys Festival runs until Sunday night, with closing headline performances by Nelly and Steve Aoki. The pair will replace Yungblud, who was pulled from the lineup by his management last-minute for personal reasons.
