Last year, Nas' Spring Weekend performance went on past 11 p.m., irritating some neighbors who weren't able to sleep that Friday night. As a result, the Brown Concert Agency is taking extra care to inform the community about the potential for noise at this year's shows, which will take place April 23–25 and will feature Snoop Dogg, MGMT, the Black Keys, Major Lazer and Wale.
The group received "a bunch of complaints" last year, said Alex Spoto '11, BCA's administrative chair.
"It was loud," he said. "I think Nas had some low frequencies rumbling Fox Point."
The response from neighbors encouraged BCA to keep the entertainment coming while taking neighbors into consideration this year. Its first measure was to send the immediate College Hill areas a mass e-mail with details on this year's Spring Weekend.
"I think people were caught off-guard last year," Spoto said, adding that with the appropriate warnings, neighbors will at least know what to expect.
BCA has also acquired a decibel reader, and it plans to measure the volume levels at this year's concerts. This way, it will be able to get an idea of how loud the concerts get. As a sign of respect toward the city and the community, MGMT will finish their show at 10:15 p.m. and "the sound system will shut down" 15 minutes later, Spoto said.
"Hopefully this will solve some of the problems," he said. "If we get complaints this year, we're just going to have to turn it down."
Allison Spooner, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, said she didn't get any complaints from Brown's neighbors last year. But she said her association hopes that Brown students will act respectfully this year.
"We trust they will balance activities for the weekend in consideration with our residents," she said.
She also added that she hopes local residents will be better informed about the different shows. "If they participate in them, then it will all be more fun," she said.
Spoto said despite the challenges posed by putting on a large-scale concert, he and BCA intend to work together with the community.
"When you're amplifying a concert for 5,000-plus people, it's going to get loud," he said. "But, hopefully, we'll be able to figure something out that works for everyone."
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