The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #136132 Message #3109760
Posted By: Ruth Archer
08-Mar-11 - 01:33 PM
Thread Name: What's happened to Sidmouth?
Subject: RE: What's happened to Sidmouth?
A couple of points, and then i will disappear again.
"I sympathise with members of the Sidmouth team who feel tempted to say 'if you don't like our festival, try organising your own'. But some critics do have a valid point – particularly on the issue of noise levels."
Hi Mike,
I believe Ralph, in his heated defense of the festival, was speaking for himself as an individual. He was not speaking on behalf of the festival, or in fact our technical team.
"Whether any band is aesthetically "good" or "bad" is a subjective matter. But whether or not a band is loud enough to damage the hearing of the audience (and of the musicians) is an objective question. To answer it there are measuring instruments, and health and safety guidelines."
This is absolutely true. There is also the issue of venue licencing, which the festival takes extremely seriously. We have strict sound limits imposed by the council and we DO NOT exceed them. Our Technical Director can be found most nights in or around the Bulverton with a sound meter, or sitting in his car at various locations nearby, checking sound levels. We have neighbours who are very sensitive to noise infringements, which is another reason for the vigilance. The local authority is extremely careful about excessive noise, and we would not want to jeopardise our currently excellent relationship with either them or the local community by flouting the sound limits. In fact, Silent Disco as an event was first staged in 2009 in order to help us work within the strict local noise restrictions on Sunday nights.
I hope this is helpful.
Joan Crump