The City of Montreal says small concerts held outside Martha Wainwright’s Plateau-Mont-Royal café should be allowed to continue.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Wainwright had organized small concerts in the alleyway behind her Mile End café, Ursa. A few dozen people would attend the outdoor events. The concerts were livestreamed on the cafe’s Facebook page.
Earlier this summer, a neighbour complained about noise coming from the concerts, featuring a wide variety of local musicians. Wainwright didn’t have a permit for the concerts, so police shut them down. She had initially applied for a permit in early June, but because Montreal was then in orange zone, the permit was denied.
But now with Montreal in a green zone, Plateau-Mont Royal Coun. Alex Norris says he believes if Wainwright reapplies for a new permit, the city would grant it.
“We have every reason to believe a permit can be issued now for this event, so we are in solutions mode,” Norris said. “We want this event to happen. These are the kinds of events we love to have in the Plateau. We have every reason to believe Martha Wainwright will be able to hold her concerts in the laneway as she wishes to.”
Norris says he isn’t aware how many noises complaints were made against the concerts. But he said the Plateau has a thriving local arts scene that must be supported.
“We have the largest concentration of artists across any community across the country. We want to keep a lively art scene here, so these are the type of evens we want to encourage,” Norris said. “We are optimistic we will be able to issue a permit now so that is why we have encouraged her to reapply. We do think this event will be able to go ahead.”
Wainwright opened her café in 2019. Her representatives said she is travelling and was not available for comment.
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