Musicians Worry Over Potential Trend in Live Music Permit Rejections
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Ironbound Restaurant – Inn – Gatherings.
BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Town Council’s recent denials of two special amusement permits that would allow outdoor amplified music for a small number of musicians performing has worried some independent musicians who play at venues in the town.
The permit denials have also been lauded by some residents who were concerned that the potential amplified outdoor music would negatively impact their neighborhoods and lives.
The recent permit denials occurred at Siam Orchid, a restaurant on a busy downtown street that runs parallel to a residential street, and at The Links Pub at Kebo Golf Course at 136 Eagle Lake Road, which is not in downtown proper, but still zoned to allow music.
Kip Young, who also represented Emily Young (EM & Co.) in his discussion said that he was unaware of the circumstances that led to the denial of these two special amusement permits.
“That being said, businesses with live music have neighbors, and club owners and musicians alike have to be good stewards of our industry,” Young said.
Neither Siam Orchid or The Links Pub’s new owners has had the permit previously.
Dave Miers, a musician who lives on Rockwood Avenue was concerned about the Kebo site itself and said, “Music will echo.”
He suggested a trial period rather than a blanket go for it.
The town’s ordinance doesn’t allow for that. However, the license itself has a mechanism where if there are three substantiated noise complaints within a year then the license is revoked. Similarly, the council could choose to not renew a license after a year if there were multiple complaints from neighbors.
“We’re here to work with our neighbors, not be a burden to them,” Bo Jennings director of operations for The Links Pub also said during the meeting.
Many of the neighbors, however, had a litany of worries, mostly focused on how the amplified acoustic music could potentially ruin the quiet nature of the residential neighborhood. and their lives.
THE WORRIES OF MUSICIANS
Some musicians are concerned, too, about the potential impacts of multiple permit denials on their livelihoods.
“I'm worried that we are setting the stage to make it a lot easier to deny these permits. It seems these denials weren't based on anything that has actually occurred, but rather, on a preconceived notion that some members of our community have about live music,” Robert Reid said. “I have been playing live music in Bar Harbor for over 15 years and have seen the town write rules and established guardrails to make it community friendly. Two examples would be the volume ordinance and the one-year limit on special amusement permits. I personally know that venues take measures to police themselves so they can continue to have live entertainment every season. This may not stop community members complaints about live music but ultimately following the rules and guidelines set by the town should be the only determining factor in whether permits should be approved or denied.”
Others shared Reid’s worries.
Keith Lewis said when asked if the recent decisions made him nervous, “I'd like to say that I'm not because I do believe music and especially live music holds a special place for many of us not just us performers, but there is absolutely a part of me that is worried because I've witnessed multiple times in my life at local, state, and federal levels even, where a very vocal minority can push their agenda through if the majority that disagrees stands idly.”
Stephen Vecchiotti had similar thoughts.
“The bottom line is that the council needs to wake up and stop catering to residents who have nothing better to do than complain about live music, like the resident in the Links Pub denial who said she goes to bed before the music ends at 8 p.m. and has to get up at 4 a.m. to go to work,” Vecchiotti said. “This is getting to be a big deal. Residents read about the denials and now it seems as if they want to jump on the bandwagon and try to get the music denied. Live music is an integral part of our community and people of all ages love going out to listen to it. There are also a lot of musicians who need the money and no one seems to care about them.”
Jai Higgins was also worried.
“I am a little concerned that live music may get a negative stigma and cause more denials. I would like to say that I think the local music establishments have been diligent and taking measures to operate within the local sound ordinance,” Higgins said.
Vecchiotti said denials had impacted him before.
“Another denial affected me directly two years ago when Bar Harbor Lobster Pound was denied a permit. This venue was strictly for solo musicians who played outdoors behind the lobster pound in a wooded area from 5-8 p.m. I performed there by myself with an acoustic guitar and a small amplifier. The music was not loud,” he said. “Yet at the town council meeting, over a dozen local residents who lived at least 1/2 mile away were present to complain about the loudness of the music.”
The group objecting had said that the amplified music would impact their quality of life.
“This was simply an ambush on the owner of the lobster pound, who is a big music lover, who had plans to build a gazebo for musicians to perform in. The town council should be educated from a musician’s POV,” Vecchiotti said.
MUSICIANS DEPENDANCE ON GIGS
Sonia Chien wrote for Music Alley, Wednesday, July 30, “Despite overall revenue growth and strong demand in the live music industry in 2025, benefits are not being felt across the board. The aftershock of the pandemic has continued to reverberate, and is likely a significant cause of historically low ticket sales.”
Chien goes on to say, “Many grassroots venues are either operating on tiny margins or have closed entirely.”
This can make it difficult for venues like the Criterion Theatre, smaller venues throughout Bar Harbor and Hancock County, and for the musicians that play in those spaces.
Last year Mix Mag reported that in a survey by recording studio network PIRATE of 1,700 musicians, the survey found that “29% of musicians have reported a decrease in gig fees in recent years.”
Many independent, local musicians rely on live gigs for income. Potentially losing opportunities has created some worries about their ability to do their jobs and survive.
“Live music gigs account for my entire yearly earnings. If a venue feels that under paying performers is OK as long as they provide a couple beers and maybe some cheap food, it's always a pass for me,” Reid said. “I feel that gig work is often looked at as ‘side work’ or ‘side hustle’ that is done by people with a full-time job. Folks seem to think live performers are just music hobbyists who are trying to earn some extra money through tips. There are times when I am asked by people at gigs what my ‘real job’ is. It often seems a bit condescending. When I tell people it is my full-time job and how I make a living it is a mixed reaction of confused disbelief, insincere support, or genuine support.”
Reid’s emphasis on musician as worker is reiterated in a research article in Popular Music and Society Volume 46, 2023, Issue 4 by Martin Cloonan.
Cloonan writes, “The contemporary gig economy is characterized by temporary working, insecurity of tenure, and lack of employment and social rights, then it is noticeable that these are the very same things that led to, first, the formation of many benevolent societies for musicians down the ages and, subsequently, the founding of musicians’ unions in the 1890s.”
The gig economy isn’t only for folk, rock, blues, and acoustic artists that often play the restaurants and inns in Bar Harbor. Managing the need to create, earn money, refine craft, promote, and keep up with technology was recently worried over by a classical musician playing in Bar Harbor this summer.
Lewis said that unlike Reid, he earns most of his income at another job.
“I would say this year playing in Bar Harbor is going to make up around one-fifth of my total income as I have a full-time day job as well as being a musician. One-fifth may not sound like much to some, but it really helps make monthly bills manageable and allows me to further grow my career in music,” Lewis said.
For those musicians who don’t completely rely on their gig earnings, the money they make still matters.
“It pays for a lot of things, such as food, gas, electric bills, etc.,” Vecchiotti, said. “But there are numerous musicians that I know who totally depend on the money they earn from performing at gigs.”
The venues in Bar Harbor are important to them.
“We depend on these clubs financially as much as any that we play in. We do this to supplement a large portion of our income, and having regular places to count on helps in many ways; financially yes, but it reduces stress among musicians as the more clubs that exist, the less we have to compete over, and instead we can collaborate and support each other,” the Youngs said.
Some, though, don’t depend on the money and do it for other reasons.
“I do not depend financially on playing gigs in Bar Harbor. I play because I enjoy it. It is nice to be able to buy some new drum sticks once in a while though,” Higgins said.
THE ROLE OF LIVE MUSIC
Another aspect that worried the musicians was outward focused.
Vecchiotti said live music has a very big role in communities.
“Locals and tourists frequently come to venues for live music and without question, it adds to revenues (for) the venues,” he said.
The Youngs believe that live music is a huge draw for the town.
“I am inundated daily with questions on where we are playing and what time,” Kip Young said. “The clubs have their own regular patrons, but the musical acts have followings of people who will simply go where the music is, whether it is Bar Harbor or Winter Harbor. Live music is a culture, either a town has it or it doesn't.”
Some of the musicians worry that Bar Harbor won’t have it much longer.
“I think it only enhances the positive experience people seek to find when they travel to Bar Harbor,” Reid said of live music. “Over the years I've had the pleasure of meeting visitors from all over the world that have said how hearing live music in Bar Harbor made their overall experience here better. One of the questions heard frequently from visitors is something along the line of ‘Where can we have some good food and drinks and listen to live music?’ I am frequently receiving messages from local workers inquiring where I'll be performing because visitors they have spoken with are looking for live entertainment. Visitors and locals alike want to experience local art in all different forms. Local live music is one of those art forms.”
Former president of the Maine Blues Society, a local on the island, and key player of Cryin’ Out Loud, Brandon Stallard told the Bar Harbor Story in 2023 that it’s a unifying force and something special happens when live music happens.
“There are these moments in live music that you can’t ever capture,” Stallard had said. “There are these things that happen in live performances all the time. I’ve always enjoyed that more than anything else. Live—that is the real deal. That’s the real players, the real stuff.”
“What makes it all come together is the people. I swear it’s the truth: when you play to a group of people who are giving you energy back, you play better,” Stallard had said.
And that feeling?
“I find it more often in Bar Harbor than anywhere else,” he’d said. “People are on vacation. They are there to enjoy. They start to give you that energy. It’s not just us. I see it happening to every band playing at the Annex.”
The Annex, whose owners were denied the permit for the Links Pub has music every night in the summer, and also hosts the annual Bar Harbor Music Festival.
“I thinks its huge for communities to have live music and arts in general. Aside from the proven mental benefits (live music) has on us, I think especially now in a time where everything is so divisive and hyper-independence is becoming the norm, myself included in that one, it can make people feel very isolated both physically and mentally,” Lewis said. “Live music/entertainment provides an integral communal and social setting for people to leave the rest of the world at the door for just a couple hours and try to be people again instead (of) just trudging through the day to day.”
Though a denial is rare; it has happened before. In 2023, the town denied a special amusement permit to Pat’s Pizza after first tabling the permit.
“I feel that live music is vital to a community, especially Bar Harbor with all the visitors. They need entertainment at night, and music is good for the soul. I would love to see the village green open to more music acts of all different genres throughout the summer season,” Higgins said.
In a 2021 Psychology Today article on music and Oxytocin, Shahram Heshmat Ph.D., wrote, “Music is a powerful tool that can bring individuals together and promote trust, empathy, and relief from stress. When we dance and sing together, there is a sense of community, where everyone moves together with shared intentions and a mutual goal.”
“We love playing in Bar Harbor, and as a result we have made friends all over the world from Mongolia to Norway. It would be a shame to lose such a vibrant and exciting venue as Bar Harbor Maine to play in,” Young said.
In a world where us-vs-them and polarization feels common to many, the potential division over live music and permits worries some and musicians like Reid don’t want to be the scapegoats for other issues.
“I do care about how local residents perceive the arts. Especially live music. I want them to see the positivity it brings to the community and just life in general. I understand that living in a tourist community can come with frustrations. We have congested sidewalks, terrible parking, awful traffic, among other issues. I think that at times the frustration starts to boil and when that happens it's easy to point at a crowded place with live music as problematic. It's an easy target. ‘Low hanging fruit.’ Since the pandemic years there has been a steady rise in venues with live music and what's going on this season seems like an unwarranted push back,” Reid said.
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