The legal battle between a popular Austin-area music festival hotspot and neighboring community is over, with a noise curfew in place. Carson Creek Ranch—the host of events including Levitation (previously known as the Austin Psych Fest), EDM festival Euphoria, as well as the Texas Bandits and Outlaws Country Music Festival—drew the ire of a nearby farm and will now be forced to shut down earlier in the evening.
The new laws require music to end prior to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 P.M. for the rest of the week. That might draw the ire of some festival-goers, used to the property's previous, unrestricted settings, which allowed for music to continue around the clock. However Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea noted that, at least when compared to the more urban parts of Austin, the new rules were more than fair.
"I don't think having limits that are even more generous than the City's is going to drive music out of the County," she said. "If I thought that were the case, I wouldn't have supported any of it."
The current laws for the downtown area are that music must end before midnight on the weekends, before 11 on Thursday, and before 10 for the rest of the week. Just like the downtown area, which extends the curfew for the weeks of SXSW, Travis County authorities will allow event organizers to petition for extending the curfew for events. It's not clear what would merit an extension.
The legal challenge to the all-night policy on the outskirts came after a local organize farm complained of the noise at events past. Property owners of the Carson Creek Ranch argue that big music events such as Levitation are the best way to make money off the property, as its location nearby to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport prevents them from developing the property for housing.
