Rocket Market: Save the Music!

Our beloved neighborhood gem, The Rocket Market, has been hit with a lawsuit. The plaintiffs are a very small number of neighbors (three households) who are demanding that they stop their live music series. These events take place twice a week, in the summer months only. If you have ever attended the live music at the Rocket, you will see people of all ages enjoying a warm summer night, talking, laughing, singing along.  At a time when our connection to one another is more important than ever, the Rocket Market provides a priceless sense of community. 

I live three doors away and can't tell you how much I enjoy watching people come from all around, walking, biking, pushing children in strollers, carrying lawn chairs to come to these events. I actually chose the house I live in BECAUSE of the proximity to the Rocket. 

The plaintiffs complain that the music is so loud that they cannot hear their televisions, and are asking not only that the music series stop, but they are asking for damages including psychological treatment. The Rocket's owners, Alan and Shanda Shepherd have been exceedingly considerate to their neighbors' needs, changing the hours so that the music stops by 9:30, well ahead of the city's noise ordinance. They don't allow amplification beyond the singer. The music is mostly folk or jazz. They stopped, after only one or two events, showing movies outdoors out of consideration for their neighbors.  The city has tested the noise levels before (after previous complaints) and found them well within limits. Those who have attended and/or live in the area know that the traffic going past is by far louder than the music, often drowning it out. I can barely hear the music from my front yard (three doors away), let alone inside my house.

If you value what the Rocket Market contributes to our community, please give what you can so that the owners of the Rocket don't have to bear the burden of fighting this lawsuit themselves.  

Alan and Shanda have requested that any money above and beyond what is needed to pay attornies fees goes to the college fund for Isamu "Som" Jordan's children.  As many of you know, Som was a vital force in the local music scene and he was instrumental in establishing the music events at the Rocket. Som died unexpectedly, leaving behind a family and friends who loved and miss him greatly. 

Thank you so much.

EDITED to add: It's not that they cannot hear their televisions, it's that the noise "disturbs the plaintiffs' ability to listen to audio sources such as radio or television." Words matter, friends.