A major multi-provincial music festival has cancelled this year\u2019s show in Calgary, citing construction and noise levels that the city contests should not be an issue.<\/p>\n
Country Thunder Alberta announced it would cut its scheduled concerts two days before its shows were set to begin on Friday.<\/p>\n
The festival\u2019s late cancellation is the second such dispute over sound level restrictions introduced this year after a recent social media spat between the city\u2019s mayor and the province\u2019s premier over how they could affect events during the city\u2019s signature festival, the Calgary Stampede.<\/p>\n
Megan Benoit, a manager for Country Thunder Music Festivals, said organizers met with city officials Wednesday morning and reached an impasse over decibel levels the festival says were reduced too much.<\/p>\n
Organizers say construction and changes to the site also affected their decision, but noise levels were the final straw.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would not have been able to run the festival the way that we would want to,\u201d said Benoit.<\/p>\n
Mixed signals between organizers and city council<\/p>\n
The City of Calgary says that\u2019s a departure from how they believed the meeting went, stating the festival seemed satisfied with mitigation plans over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The two sides also couldn\u2019t publicly agree on what maximum decibel levels were being implemented.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, Farkas quoted a recent CityNews article on Monday that quoted organizers saying the changes wouldn\u2019t affect the festival\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this was a major problem for months and months and months, why did they say two days ago it wasn\u2019t an issue?\u201d said Farkas.<\/p>\n
Farkas called the festival\u2019s statements a \u201cblatant mischaracterization.\u201d<\/p>\n
City council debated sound limits and noise curfews Tuesday after a spirited squabble between Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith over how the changes would affect some events held during the upcoming Calgary Stampede.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Farkas says the city is respecting residents while Smith has said it\u2019s cutting into festival fun.<\/p>\n
Sam Blackett, press secretary for the premier\u2019s office, said Wednesday that \u201cit is unfortunate for concertgoers, venue operators, and the many businesses and workers involved to see a festival in Calgary cancelled after so much time, planning and investment has already been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis reinforces our view that the city and stakeholders should come together to find a solution that allows these events to continue in a way that works for both businesses and surrounding communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
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