By Gazette StaffAugust 16th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Social media has given people an opportunity to say what they think on major community issues.
A Burlington resident who lives in a Lakeshore Road condo that over looks Spencer Smith Park posted a question on Facebook about funding the Sound of Music.
Here are some of the responses:
Charge $5 per person for entry. Small enough to be affordable but enough to help with costs.
Try reaching out to streamers on X/Twitter. A lot of people on there don’t mind contributing to events they can stream with their proceeds. Try reaching out to schools for garbage pick up or minor volunteer work because students need to have so much community service hours put in. My parents did this for students when they were running a walk-a-thon in Hamilton for a bunch of years.
Suggestions: Electronic artists. This is recently been added as a category at The Juno Awards. It is popular. Another category to be added is Latino music. One more idea is traditional bluegrass music. Correct me if I’m wrong but I did not see any of these styles on this year’s SOM schedules.
For me it is about accessibility. It just isn’t feasible with a walker or wheelchair. I too would pay for more appealing line up with accessible ease. In this changing climate cooling areas and stations would be welcomed.
Bring back street closings and street festivals, was just talking to a,retailer on Brant Street who did half in sales compared to last year. The street festival part of Sound of Music was the best.
I attended a symposium this year that discussed the future of music venues, large and small, in Toronto. Two of the key things that were noted by the presenters / experts are that too many people put their noses up at the thought of paying a cover fee to enter the venues when live music is being performed. As well, that alcohol sales are way down due to the cost to the consumer and cannabis now being legalized (and not for sale at the venue). I for one have no issue paying a reasonable cover charge when I know music I am interested in listening to is being performed. I do not have a solution to propose, but those are two of many issues that were discussed.
Partner with Rotary and merge with Ribfest, perhaps without the ribs and let the focus be local music with miscellaneous food options.
Sound of Music>Ribfest
I was at the free kitchener Blues fest over the weekend. Looks like that event is thriving. Might be worth organizers to reach out to other successful events to see what they do differently.
Cogeco Ontario what happened? Support your city
It was better when it first started. Closing the streets & having various types of music in different areas.
Go local. Get back to basics. Not every band needs to be a head liner.
Get a good fundraiser. There are numerous businesses in Burlington.
Ditch the fence, that is suffocating & hard to get out.
Find a better park, with parking.
Keep it free – by donating at entrance with whatever one can afford. $1.00 / $2.00 etc…
Im on the charge bandwagon, wouldn’t go higher then 20.00. That’s what the biggest Canadian festival charged, the sars benefit cost. Also, When I was there this year. I was also sad seeing no street festival. Maybe that could come back as well. Music wise it hasn’t been too bad, but putting all music in one place with the two stages, with staggered times. This would cut some cost.
Do what Oakville used to do. Charge a small fee for a weekend pass but allow the pass to give access to public transit to get down there as well. Anything on the side streets remain free but anyone wanting to go get in on the actual concerts have to pay.
How about moving from Burlington to Hamilton
For the people that want this festival to live on and others as well pay what you can afford for a entry fee.. that would help with keeping the festival alive 
What if you were to downsize the event but go over more days?
I think we should do a go fund me and anyone who’s ever been will donate.
It’s got to crowded. I used to enjoy it.
Absolutely start selling tickets/wristbands ($10 per person for a weekend of fun, will add up on your end). Oakville used to have the Waterfront festival. You purchase a button and with that came your entrance and free bus transportation all weekend. People will pay. I respect that you hold so high being a free festival, but free is in the past (unfortunately). SOM is Burlington. People will pay. Good luck!
Broad range of views . Are the Sound of Music people listening?
A lot of great ideas and feedback, particularly, bring back the street festival and, pay to listen at the park, $5 to $10 for a pass. Free is nice, but you get what you dont pay for., i.e SOM is going down the tubes and its not “really” free in the true sense of the word.
For the last few years there has been a “toonie fee” to enter the park for RibFest. An event that gave nothing away for free.
As a matter of fact residents paid very high prices for food, which many people took home and didn’t even use any aspect of Spencer Smith Park.
One paid the entry fee every time they went in.
I would be interested in knowing if this affected the number of people attending the event.
Are attendance figures available for say the past 5 years?
I’m with those that there should be a small entry fee. Nothing is ever free? But it must be taken into account that a $5 per person entry fee for a family of six six is $30. That may be early starts to be off-putting. The entry fee if there is one should cover the entire weekend.
I am also with those who believe shutting off the Lakeshore Road/ Brant Street intersection and having the festival go up Brant Street to at least James Street would enhance the event considerably.
Major Burlington Businesses should be pressured to support this community event.
Cut public funding so we dont have to have ridiculous tax increases every year. Soon wont be able to afford to live here. Make the SOM a paid event and charge appropriately. Free is a fallacy