The concert, which will be headlined by the Austin-based cover band Suede, will take place in the field north of the venue at 1501 E. New Hope Drive in Cedar Park “to allow attendees ample room to spread out,” according to owner Jeff Haynes.
“We’ll be limiting groups to 10, and each group will be asked to maintain 6 feet of distance between one another,” Haynes said. “We will be limiting attendance to 2,500 versus our usual 10,000-person field capacity.”
Attendees will be asked to wear cloth face masks, but they will not be required. Attendees will not be allowed to congregate or dance near the stage, where barricades will be erected, according to Haynes. Hand-washing stations and hand sanitizer will be available to attendees.
Haute Spot employees and volunteers will be wearing masks and gloves and will enforce group size limits and social distancing during the concert, Haynes said.
Haute Spot’s Summer Concert Series is scheduled in the field every weekend through November, Haynes said. Concerts will occur on Fridays, Saturdays or both days. The venue is planning an Independence Day Celebration for July 3-4.
Tickets to the June 13 event are available online at Eventbrite and cost $13-$30. Those who purchase tickets must agree to an assumption of risk and a liability waiver. An open bar and food trucks will be offered.
Haute Spot's last major concert took place Nov. 9-10, when nearby residents complained to law enforcement, city politicians and on social media about the noise.
The Cedar Park Police Department received 35 calls about the sound level at the Haute Mess music festival, but some of the complaints might have been “repeat callers,” CPPD spokesperson Alicia Inns said immediately after the event.
CPPD issued Haute Spot one citation Nov. 9 for exceeding the sound limit, Inns said. The fine was $125.
According to city documents, Cedar Park’s noise ordinance caps sound at 85 decibels from 7 a.m.-10 p.m., extending that window to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, and then 70 decibels at night.
The venue, on the northeast corner of New Hope Drive and Toll 183A, lies just inside Cedar Park’s northern city limits and north of Town Center. Some of the residents who complained did not live in the city limits.
Williamson County has no noise ordinances but adheres to Texas state law.
According to Texas State Law Title 9, Ch. 42, disorderly conduct covers a variety of nuisances. When it comes to noise, the code broadly defines disorderly conduct as “unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range ... or near a private residence that [the individual or entity] has no right to occupy.”
Haynes said Haute Spot wishes to be a good neighbor and continues to add features to mitigate sound.
“We are currently remodeling our main Haute Spot venue to include large sound walls on both sides of the property,” he said. “For concerts held in the festival field, we will be using technology to carefully pinpoint the direction of the sound. Additionally, we do not allow touring bands to control the sound board. This gives us greater control of the sound and ensures that we stay within code. We will also end all concerts in accordance with the sound ordinance.”
Inns said CPPD enforces all ordinances.
“We respond to all calls for noise complaints,” Inns said June 9.
Haynes said proceeds from the concert series will support Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, which provides health care to those in the music industry, and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, which supports black trans women and women of color.
