Is the music at Port Douglas Carnivale's Street Art and Music festival too loud?

The festival, which brings together both professional and amateur artists and performers, is currently underway at Port Village Shopping Centre.

Patrick Belcher, manager of the nearby accommodation complex Newport on Macrossan, said several of his guests had complained about the volume of music being played during the festival, with some saying they had to shut their windows to block out the noise 

Mr Belcher passed on these complaints to organisers of the festival and the volume was lowered for following days. 

Mr Belcher said he and his guests were not opposed to the festival itself or live music, but the high volume. 

“On the first day the volume of what was being played was just a little bit ridiculous,” he said. 

“If I had to guess I’d say it was easily 90 decibels.

“After they turned it down it was all lovely but some people seem to have this idea that if it’s good when it’s loud, it’ll be fantastic when it’s really loud and that can cause problems for the rest of us.

“I’m not having a go at the event, I think it and Carnivale are great things for the community, it’s just not good to have really loud music blasted at you - and you might say ‘oh it’s only for a week’ but a week translates to 150 room nights for me. 

“It’s a community event, and if you want community backing you can’t forget other people’s rights.”

Musician Stu Forbes, who was playing on the day Mr Belcher made the complaint, said trying to muffle live music in the centre of Port Douglas was detrimental to the town’s tourism economy. 

“I’ve been here for 22 years and I’ve seen Port Douglas change from quiet fishing village to tourism town,” he said. 

“Logic dictates that if you’re visiting a tourism town and you want action and convinence, you look for a place to stay in the centre of town. If you want somewhere a bit more quiet and out of the way, you look for a place a bit more out of town.”

Mr Forbes said sometimes a bit of oomph in the volume was part of the performance. 

“There’s a thing called dynamics - certain noises go up and down and it really changes how that music feels to the listener,” he said. 

“Part of the experience for visitors to Port Douglas is ‘beach, shops, restaurants and also music - Carnivale is the start of our tourism season and it means smiles on faces.

“If you don’t have live music in town, the town starts to stagnate.”

What do you think?

Have you been listening to the music played at the Street Art and Music Festival? Is it too loud, or is the volume fine?