Since MaCCNO’s inception nearly 14 years ago, one of our most consistent throughlines has been our ongoing support and protection of New Orleans’ longstanding street performance tradition. We’ve mitigated conflicts, provided legal assistance, fought to maintain performance spaces, and engaged with law enforcement agencies. Though we are not the first to work in this space—much of what we do is influenced by the previous efforts of advocates like the esteemed Mary Howell—our consistent, on-the-ground efforts have given us a unique and comprehensive understanding of the formal and informal structures that govern street performance in New Orleans. Unfortunately, this issue can often be quite convoluted, so for this column we thought we would clear up some common misconceptions. Next column, we’ll offer some solutions.
Street performers are legally allowed to use amplification.
From Reddit comments to law enforcement officers, we repeatedly come across statements that claim amplification is banned. It is not. In fact, if you look around, many well-regarded performers use amps as a part of their set-up. However, regardless of what is producing the sound—horn, voice, or speaker—the allowable sound level of 80 decibels at 50 feet remains the same. Amplification is a tool, and when used correctly, you may not even notice it. Problems arise when performers are over-amplified, not because they are using amplification at all.
Street performers do not need permits to perform.
There is also a common misconception that performers need permits, which is in part driven by conflicting statements in City Code. One section states that “Street Entertainers” need a Mayorality Permit (essentially a license to carry out a certain type of business which actually has nothing to do with the Mayor) to set up. Another section states that these same permits are not valid throughout a significant portion of the city, including the French Quarter. This conflicting language creates a clear violation of the First Amendment (performing for tips is protected speech, and the code both requires a permit to perform while simultaneously invalidating the same permit to prevent the performance from taking place). Ergo, no permit is necessary—and even if a performer tries to acquire one from City Hall, they do not issue them.
New Orleans DOES have a noise ordinance, but it is problematic and out-of-date.
Over the years, we have heard a lot of different statements about the state of a noise ordinance in New Orleans, from “transplants moved to the city and tried to create a noise ordinance” to “the noise ordinance starts at 10 p.m.” to “there is no noise ordinance in New Orleans.” The truth is, government in New Orleans has been passing laws regulating sound in one way or another for a couple hundred years. Our current noise ordinance was adopted in 1981 with its last notable revision in the late ‘90s. It is woefully out-of-date and provisions, such as requiring a 10-minute-long measurement period, make it difficult to enforce. It is also overly punitive, making violations a criminal offense punishable by up to 90 days in jail and includes several other problematic provisions (see below).
An unconstitutional ban on playing musical instruments in the public right-of-way after 8 p.m. remains on the books, but should not be enforced.
Spearheaded by former District C Councilman Mike Early and passed in late 1984, section 66-205 of the New Orleans City Code makes it “unlawful for any person to play musical instruments on public rights-of-way between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.” This provision is a blatant First Amendment violation, as it targets a form of expression—if the same song was played at the same volume by a musician performing live and another person was instead playing a recording of an identical performance, only the musician playing live would be in violation of the law. Multiple City attorneys under multiple mayoral administrations have expressed that this law is unconstitutional, but unfortunately an effort to remove it from City Code failed in 2014 due to the objections of several neighborhood organizations. (If you are a street performer and you are told by law enforcement that you need to stop performing because of the 8 p.m. curfew, please contact MaCCNO as soon as possible.)
There is a different curfew for street performers on Bourbon Street.
Confusingly, there is a separate restriction for street performers on Bourbon Street between Canal and St. Ann streets from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. City Code provision 30-1456 makes all “street entertainment” illegal on both the street or sidewalk on that stretch of Bourbon during those hours. However, the law is unclear how far this prohibition extends down cross streets. This law was only enforced sporadically for a number of years, but crackdowns have been more frequent since “Quality of Life” sweeps began during the run-up to Super Bowl LIX.
COVID, construction, and state law enforcement have created new stresses.
By nature, street performance is both dynamic and adaptable, but that does not make the tradition immune to negative impacts. For years, MaCCNO worked alongside a cohort of buskers to reinstate and protect the Royal Street Pedestrian Mall, one of the city’s most important performance spaces. To the credit of City leaders, the Mall is now back in place. Yet a series of other events have proven disruptive, fraying aspects of longstanding social contracts. COVID-19 and the ensuing restrictions on public gatherings created a vacuum in which many long-tenured performers were not able (or chose not) to busk. Meanwhile, a number of new arrivals began setting up throughout the Quarter, many of whom were less familiar with both the legal and social constructs that govern street performance in New Orleans—which has sometimes led to conflict. While the Pedestrian Mall has remained in place, massive Sewerage and Water Board construction projects have disrupted and displaced traditional busking pitches. And, under Governor Landry, there has been an influx of out-of-town law enforcement officers and agencies, many of whom are unfamiliar or uncaring about our cultural traditions. Each of these new challenges has disrupted performance spaces and parts of the long-standing social contract.
Next column (September issue): Addressing these legal and social challenges through support and stewardship.
This space is provided to MaCCNO as a community service and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or editorial policies of ANTIGRAVITY.
