Las Vegas Strip Officials Weigh Noise Rules for Street Performers After Business Complaints

Mounting noise complaints along Las Vegas Boulevard are pushing Clark County officials to consider new rules for street performers, even as some performers push back against regulations they fear could silence them.

Street performer Scott Bower, who has worked the Strip for three years, said he has no intention of stopping.

"I can turn mine down as low as can be, and I can still sing, I can sing with the music and without the music, so they're not going to stop me from singing, that's all I can say," Bower said.

Bower said performing is about more than making noise — it is about connection.

"If you're having a bad day, if you're having a good day, whatever, if I can bring out some emotion in you, bring some kind of memory back to your mind, a good time in your life or whatever it is, then I'm doing my job," he said.

Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said the volume of complaints from resorts has become impossible to ignore.

"Over the last several years, we've received, the resorts have received, countless complaints about the noise and the conflicts," Gibson said. "The problem is that the noise levels are very difficult to manage," he said.

Officials noted that a current exemption in Clark County's noise ordinance applies to the Strip, a factor that may now open the door for targeted new regulations. Officials said most complaints stem from commercial sidewalk activity — particularly noise levels near restaurant patios — rather than from performers alone.

During a workshop, officials from Fremont Street Experience outlined a noise-management model that uses decibel meters and a system of painted circles designating where performers may set up.

"Those circles ended up being a tremendous asset for all parties involved," one official said.

The circles can be adjusted depending on foot traffic and nearby dining activity.

"If there's a high-traffic weekend, and there's a beautiful patio going on and they have music, they can close the circle for days and reopen a different circle," an official said.

Bower said he wants a balance, stating, "There needs to be some kind of noise ordinance, but not too much, you know.”

County staff is expected to conduct a study and return with recommendations that could be shaped into a new ordinance.