Photo by Dino Perrucci


According to a report by WBEN, New York State’s ban on ticketed live music events has been ruled unconstitutional. Back in August, the New York State Liquor Authority declared that bars and restaurants could not advertise or host ticketed live music events. Instead, those events must be “incidental.” “This means that advertised and/or ticketed shows are not permissible. Music should be incidental to the dining experience and not the draw itself,” read the SLA guidelines.

According to the report, “New York State Supreme Court Justice Frank Sedita ruled against the state’s ban that live music cannot be advertised and ticketed.”

In a segment on WBEN radio, attorney Paul Cambria, who “brought the lawsuit on behalf of the Sportsmens Tavern,” explained the ruling. “It means they can advertise that they have musical groups,” he said. “The state agreed that we could advertise so-called background music, but…our position was that it was an impediment of free speech because it’s content-based. Secondly, we’re already bound by all the safety and capacity regulations, so it doesn’t matter how people come to the establishment.”

“They still have to follow distancing and stage limitations and sanitization and food service and all the rest of it,” Cambria concluded.

It is possible that New York State will appeal the ruling, but it has not yet moved to do so.

For more information, read the report at WBEN.