On a picture-perfect Sunday, hundreds of people flooded downtown Golden with river tubes and shopping bags.

But one thing was missing — music.

Washington Avenue, a place where locals play live music on street corners, was quiet on Aug. 3, just three days after Golden began enforcing a new ordinance banning amplified music on public right-of-ways.

Meanwhile, around 17 miles away on Denver’s reinvigorated 16th Street, buskers were performing on every block and amplified tunes filled the summer air. 

While Golden’s new ordinance doesn’t outright ban busking, it may push buskers from the quaint tourist destination to other locations such as the bigger, more lenient 16th Street, where Denver officials are encouraging buskers to return.

“That’s a huge win for me,” Chris Popovich, a busker in Golden who performs under the name Chrispy, said about being able to perform in Denver, which still allows amplifiers.”I figured downtown Denver was spreading like wildfire after Golden’s ban.”

Leaning away

The ordinance bans the use of amplifiers on Golden sidewalks following a bevy of complaints from downtown businesses and residents, according to Golden Police Chief Joe Harvey.

“Amplified music has never been an issue for our business,” Thad Briggs, co-founder of Mountain Toad Brewing on Washington Avenue, told The Denver Gazette. 

Councilmember Don Cameron, who helped spearhead the ordinance, told The Denver Gazette that a lot of the complaints have been anonymous to avoid backlash, but that he has heard “many.” 

Prior to the ordinance, amplifiers were allowed on sidewalks as long as the noise stayed at 65 decibels or less. City employees used measurement devices to try to enforce the noise limit.

The Golden City Council unanimously approved the ban on July 22, putting the policy in place on Aug. 1. Playing of acoustic instruments is still allowed.

The ordinance does not ban the use of megaphones, which are common at protests. Businesses can also get permits for outside performances through the city.

According to both the council and the police department, the main issue was enforcing the decibel-level restriction policy.

“We’d ask them to turn it down. As soon as the community service officer would leave, they’d turn it back up,” Harvey told the council.

According to Harvey, the ban is easier to enforce because officers don’t have to worry about what sound level the amps are set at. 

“It can come across as draconian, but if we don’t have a really bright line, it becomes unenforceable,” Councilmember Rob Reed said. “A lot of people use our streets and they want to have conversations when they walk the streets and use our sidewalks.”

New law result of ‘lazy enforcment’?

Popovich, a guitar player and singer who has been playing in Golden since 2017 as one of his part-time jobs, believes the concept stems from lazy enforcement — potentially stripping Golden of the art-based charm it once had.

“Every city has a code against noise,” he told The Denver Gazette. “They should enforce the codes they already have. If someone turned the amp back up, that’s where you write the ticket. Instead of writing a ticket, they created another law.”

Brewery owner agreed, saying: “The ban is unnecessary. If there is a noise complaint, the police should measure the level with a decibel meter, issue a warning first if it is outside the allowable noise level, then issue a ticket if the level is not corrected.”

Popovich needs an amplifier for his performances. He uses an electric guitar and microphone to craft together songs through a looper, creating each piece of the song one-by-one, eventually layering into a complete tune.

He said he’s only ever been told to turn his amp up by residents and businesses.

“They are still allowing me to come down and sing and play a guitar. That’s supposed to make me happy. I create a loop and use loops to build songs you know,” he said. “None of that happens with an acoustic guitar. The art of looping is gone; acoustic guitar is not special for me.”

“One of the things I like best about Golden is the vibrant and loud artistic street scene,” Joshua Lackey told the council in a letter. “Not only should you keep street performers and amplified music on the streets of Golden, you should encourage it.”

Cameron said that the ordinance isn’t a ban on busking — it’s just a ban on amps.

“When people couldn’t hear, we have a tendency to lean in,” he said in the meeting. “That’s the right thing for street performers. Where you’re in an intimate situation, you lean in, you listen and you’re part of an experience. I was not finding that from the amplified music. I was leaning away. I was not leaning in.”

On Denver’s 16th Street

Denver’s 16th Street, now reopened after nearly three years of construction, is a completely different story for buskers.

While the Downtown Denver Partnership does require a permit for amplified music, the permits are free. Performers are allowed to use amplifiers at or below 65 decibels and take up an eight-foot radius of space.

There are also two stages — one across from the Paramount Theatre and one at 16th and Welton streets.

The Welton Street stage is first-come, first-served for buskers to perform on. The other stage is planned to become a busker stage with an hour limit after the Downtown Denver Partnership’s summer concert series, according to Sharon Alton, senior vice president of downtown experience.

“It’s so important,” Alton said of busking in downtown. “It highlights local culture. So many of these buskers are local to Denver and have been doing this for years. … It’s really important to showcase local talent and art.”

During 16th Street’s kick-off event after its reopening on May 31 and June 1, the partnership paid buskers to perform. Now the partnership is actively asking buskers to come to 16th Street, according to Alton.

She added that while there are restrictions — like not being able to play near business patios that are also playing music — all of the business owners seemingly enjoy the music, as do the customers.

“When the buskers care and are passionate about 16th Street, it creates a cool vibe,” she said.

Residents seemingly agree.

Jarod McClimans sat on a patch of grass watching Orientale, a belly dancing and live music group, play on the Welton Street busking stage, smiling from ear to ear.

“To get more performances, more actual culture over here, is beautiful. This is making my day right now,” he said. “We need more of this in Denver.”

Greg Porch has been playing downtown for nearly 10 years, jamming out country tunes through an amplifier on a Tuesday afternoon. Despite stints in Los Angeles and other Colorado cities, he doesn’t plan to leave, playing five days a week on the busy street.

“I was looking for places like in downtown Golden, Arvada and downtown Boulder, but they just reopened the mall, and I’ve been happy to be back here as much as I can because I always have so much fun,” he said.

To Porch, busking has been his life — even meeting the mother of his child while performing on 16th Street.

“I’ve been out here playing loud and no one’s even told me to quiet down. Not even people with the Downtown Partnership,” he said.

Chip Fuller, an acoustic guitar player and singer, has been back at 16th Street playing for around five months. 

“I haven’t had a single issue,” Fuller said of performing downtown, especially after years of construction in the area.

Fuller said he plays outside because it’s easier than practicing at home. He’s still practicing his new songs but other people can enjoy them, too.

He added: “Every once in a while, you’ll draw a crowd. You’ll get a group of people that will just stop and chill.”

What’s next for Golden?

Golden buskers aren’t happy with the ordinance, but the decision on whether they’ll move over to Denver still looms.

Lackey, for example, said he plans to stop playing in Golden altogether due to the ban.

Popovich plans on playing in Denver. But he still wants to fight to perform in Golden, his preferred locale. 

“Golden is special to me because it’s a tourist town,” he said. “I need to feel special and make money and that’s in wowing new people, not the same people every day. You see people doing the Coors tour or coming down from the mountains. I make more money when there’s no other music around and patios in earshot.”

He added that he could go back to working full time, but busking has become his life.

“I can turn down my amp quieter than a person yelling obscenities about a business over a megaphone. How does that make sense?” he asked.

But city officials said it was essential to keeping Golden a peaceful destination for travelers.

“Acoustic music is a great way to exercise your First Amendment rights and express yourself,” Councilmember Reed said during the council meeting, noting that a ban on amps shouldn’t stop people from playing in the city.

“I think that we will find a better experience,” Councilmember Cameron said before the vote. “I don’t think we’re taking away something. I think we’re creating something.”