Curfew

Clubs usually have a closing time in their licence. Open-air stages and festivals often have a sound curfew in their permit, especially near homes. The curfew is a hard limit: a promoter who breaks it risks fines or the next permit, so the sound goes off on the minute.

Example

An open-air stage has a curfew at 23:00. The timetable: opening act 19:00–20:30, [Artist A] 20:30–22:00, closing act 22:00–23:00. If the opening act overruns by 15 minutes, every following set starts 15 minutes late, and the closing act loses those 15 minutes, because the end can’t move.

What to watch for

• The curfew is when the sound is off. A last track started at 22:58 still stops at 23:00.
• Ask for it in the advance, with its source: licence, permit or house rule. A house rule can sometimes move; a permit can’t.
• Under a curfew, the last act carries every delay. If the artist plays last, agree in writing who loses time when the night runs late.
• On the October night the clocks go back, a club that closes at 06:00 local time is open an hour longer. Agree whether the extra hour is played, and paid.
• In Austria, a venue’s closing hour is its Sperrstunde. Ask the venue which one applies to the night.