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

What time concerts must end and allowable noise levels during the Calgary Stampede have changed for this year’s event, according to a city memo, and at least one festival venue has taken issue with the adjustments.

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

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

Allowable 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 memo said.

The new requirements under the city’s noise exemption permit times 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 125 of those complaints were related to the Cowboys Music Festival.

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

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

Penny Lane Entertainment, which runs the Cowboys Music Festival, has taken issue with the changes that it claims were “designed without consultation.”

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

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

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

He also outlined public safety concerns as attendees to the various downtown tents “may empty onto Calgary streets simultaneously,” which could put strain on limited resources.

In his letter, Vickers requested the City of Calgary allow Cowboys Music Festival to operate under the same bylaw rules 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 ask that these changes be reversed and that a return to previously agreed upon levels be implemented.”

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

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

When asked about the situation, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he doesn’t have an issue with the changes and is open to working with the proponents to “find ways to work within the expectations Calgarians have.”

“I think it’s reasonable to have some level of controls around this because otherwise for us to allow this in say suburban environments, I think most folks would not be down for that,” Farkas said.

The 2026 Calgary Stampede runs from July 3 to 12. It will mark the second year the Cowboys Music Festival has operated in 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.