A popular outdoor concert series in La Conner goes quiet as the town imposes a 55-decibel noise limit. Supporters are sounding off.
LA CONNER, Wash. — A small Skagit County town is looking for a cure to its summertime blues.
For more than a decade, local businesses have invited musicians to La Conner’s Gilkey Square on Sundays to draw people downtown between Memorial Day and Labor Day. But complaints from some businesses prompted town officials to impose a 55-decibel noise limit — and now the entire La Conner Live concert series has gone silent.
To put that number in perspective, a typical noisy nightclub registers at 110 decibels; a construction site at 100. At 55 decibels, the La Conner limit falls below standard street noise in the small town.
James Cox, guitarist for the Casaundra May and James Roots Blues Duo, was still playing on the streets of La Conner when a KING 5 crew caught up with him — and he was only half joking about the consequences.
“Yeah, I didn’t want you to film me because I didn’t want any evidence,” Cox said. “I might get subpoenaed or something.”
When told his band was routinely registering above 70 decibels — and that it could be construed as a Van Halen concert — Cox laughed.
“For sure,” he said. “I’m surprised I’m not in chains.”
Gloria Hulst, who runs Skagit Cellars and organizes the La Conner Live music series, was forced to cancel this summer’s entire lineup. She calls it “the day the music died” — and says tourists and their spending are disappearing along with the music.
“We’ve had comments all over the Facebook posts that it was nothing for people to drop $300, $500 in La Conner on concert series days,” Hulst said.
La Conner’s mayor told KING 5 the 55-decibel threshold was set in accordance with state law for areas with residential units. She expects a solution to be worked out at next Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.
In an email to KING 5, Mayor Marna Hanneman wrote, “La Conner is a small town, and history has shown that we tend to work together to solve issues. Council will discuss and deliberate what is best for the community as a whole. This is who we are and what I support. And that’s what makes La Conner so special.”
In the meantime, a petition with hundreds of signatures is circulating to save the series.
“Overall, a lot of the surrounding communities are really in support of the event,” said singer Casaundra May.
As for Cox, he summed up the mood with an improvised lyric from his street-corner set: “We can’t play the blues in La Conner no more.”
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