Southborough, MA Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Section 130-4(F) of the Southborough noise bylaw covers amplified sound at licensed venues. Any establishment granted a license for entertainment that is amplified by microphone, amplifier, or the like will be subject to the bylaw, and the entertainment should not be distinctly audible beyond the property boundaries of the establishment. Like the rest of § 130-4, it applies to activities that generate an unreasonable disturbance.

The measuring stick is the defined term DISTINCTLY AUDIBLE in § 130-2: any sound that can be understood by a person using his or her unaided hearing faculties. The definition gives its own example. If music is playing, the words or instrumentation is discernable, and if a conversation is occurring, the words and context can be understood. No decibel limit or meter reading appears in the subsection, so the question is whether someone beyond the property boundary can make out the words or instruments.

Subsection F is tied to entertainment licensing. A venue holding a liquor license also faces § 130-4(G), which bars noise distinctly audible beyond the premises between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. For music played by an individual outside a licensed venue, § 130-4(A) prohibits playing music or making loud noises so as to annoy or disturb identified persons between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and § 130-3(A) separately bars loud noise causing an unreasonable disturbance beyond the property line that disturbs the peace.

Section 130-5(E) exempts parades, public gatherings, or events for which appropriate permits or licenses have been issued, and § 130-5(C) exempts non-commercial speech as guaranteed by State and Federal constitutions. The Select Board can grant temporary exceptions of no more than three days under § 130-7(D), and the Police Department enforces under § 130-7(A).