WESTBROOK, Maine — The owners of Maine Savings Pavilion at Rock Row in Westbrook are looking for solutions after numerous noise complaints received from people who live near the concert venue.
But in order to find answers, they needed to make a little more noise Monday morning.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Rock Row venue conducted a series of loud sound tests -- using both "pink noise" and music.
Nationally renowned sound consultant David Coate is leading the sound test. Using technology, he examined the noise levels at the Rock Row venue and in neighboring communities.
Coate explains, "We use pink noise, which sounds like a jet engine, because music varies a lot and we want something that will give us an apples to apples comparison."
Using computer modeling, Coate is trying to figure out why noise from the venue is still permeating into Portland's Nason's Corner neighborhood.
"Once we have that information, we can figure out what happens if we change the orientation of the speakers or some other aspect of the facility and how that affects the propagation of sound into the community."
Venue spokesperson Greg John says the Rock Row owners have been listening carefully to complaints made by venue neighbors and want to appease them.
"We want them to be happy," said John. "We want them to be patrons here, we want to be good neighbors. We're a company of integrity and we want to demonstrate that."
The venue is turning to science and technology for answers, so next year's concert season starts on the right note.
The concert season is over for the year.
John says there is no clear path forward yet. He anticipates the venue will work with sound consultant David Coate continuously into the coming months until they've found a solution.
