Just Playing Guitar: Free Speech for Street Musicians in Saugatuck
About The CaseClient Biographies
Legal Documents
About the Case
Seeking to protect the free speech rights of street musicians, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Saugatuck on December 17, 2014 on behalf of two accomplished college musicians who were prohibited by local police from performing and accepting tips on the public sidewalks. One of the musicians was even jailed for a weekend.
“Silencing artists for playing music in public is an egregious violation of free speech principles,” said Michael Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director. “Few freedoms are as enshrined in American tradition as our right to express ourselves on public sidewalks. If the City of Saugatuck’s policies are allowed to stand, police officers could arrest Christmas carolers simply for singing ‘Silent Night’ on a city sidewalk.”
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of viola player Christopher Waechter and guitarist Gabe Novak, asserts that the city violated the performers’ free speech rights by enforcing a “public entertainment ordinance” designed for business establishments against street musicians. The ordinance requires businesses that wish to provide public entertainment to apply for a license 60 days before the event and to provide proof of liability insurance, a corporate surety bond, sufficient toilet facilities and off-street parking. Although the law is clearly not intended to apply to street performers, city officials, in separate incidents last summer, ordered Novak and Waechter to stop playing because they did not have business licenses.
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Client Biographies
Gabe Novak
Gabe Novak, 19, is a music student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, a highly selective conservatory. He plays guitar and is studying composition as well as piano and jazz performance. Novak has performed at a number of prestigious venues, including the Avery Fischer Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City. In 2013, he was named a Distinguished Scholar at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival. In 2014, Novak taught vocal arrangement at the famed Interlochen Center for the Arts.
On being arrested: “I had to spend three days and two nights in jail for playing guitar and entertaining families on vacation. The fact that other musicians and I would be arrested for entertaining people in public spaces is beyond me. Free speech is essential. If we don’t have public spaces, where are we going to express ourselves?”
Chris Waechter
Chris Waechter, an engineering student at Hope College in Holland, Mich., has been playing viola for 11 years. Waechter, 21, was first chair viola in the Hope student orchestra for two years. In 2013, Waechter received Hope College’s Junior-Senior Instrument Scholarship. Currently, he is a member of three different string quartets.
On being prohibited by police from performing on a public sidewalk: “I was a little scared to be approached by police and told that I wasn’t able to play on the street — especially when police called for backup and two more officers arrived. I was really surprised that such a simple act brought such a serious response.”
► Read the legal complaint
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