Canberra's musicians are banding together to break the law in a bid to "save" the city's nightlife, amid concerns that plans for a five-star hotel and currently unenforced noise limits could stifle nightlife.

Key points: Canberra musicians say they have noticed a downturn in live music

Canberra musicians say they have noticed a downturn in live music There are fears noise complaints will rise, threatening more venues, with plans for a five-star hotel

There are fears noise complaints will rise, threatening more venues, with plans for a five-star hotel On Friday, acts will gather in Garema Place to defy noise restrictions

Some of Canberra's biggest music success stories, including Safia, Hands Like Houses and Citizen Kay, plan to meet in Garema Place on Friday to defy noise limits — but they are unlikely to get in trouble for it.

The group said they were taking action because they wanted to change Canberra's noise laws, which advocates claim are "silencing" the city.

Bass player Joel Tyrell of Hands Like Houses, which has twice hit the top 10 album charts in Australia, said he believed it had become harder to play in Canberra over the past decade.

"We did start to notice more and more when we came back to Canberra, we were more limited with our options," Tyrell said.

"It definitely has been a problem for us over the last four or five years.

"[Canberra] seems to be moving towards this arts and music culture, but we don't really have the setup or infrastructure for it."

'Protest jam' for entertainment precincts

The city centre's sound laws permit just 60dB of noise in the daytime, and 50dB at night — the equivalent of restaurant or office chatter.

However the entertainment strip's many restaurants, bars and clubs do not get fined or shut down despite breaking those limits almost every weekend, because there is nobody living in the area to complain about it.

The Geocon hotel planned for the corner of Garema Place and Cooyong Street. ( Facebook: Geocon )

A commitment to review Canberra's noise laws has sat on the ACT Government's to-do list for eight years.

But last week advocates renewed calls to protect Canberra's night life, fearing a planned five-star hotel overlooking Garema Place and Bunda Street could unintentionally "silence" the city centre if its guests complained about noise on the street below.

David Caffery, who heads MusicACT, said a change to sound regulations could allow for the development of active precincts while still ensuring people could sleep in their apartments.

"MusicACT wants to see a harmony between residences and music venues," Mr Caffery said.

"There are some very simple ways we can achieve that, which we have documented at length for the ACT Government, [including] entertainment precincts that require double glazed windows and a sound limit set on the inside, so we can guarantee residences are quiet, but also so that music venues can do what they do."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 41 seconds 41 s MusicACT head David Caffery explains what 60dB sounds like.

On Friday the Canberra-based acts will meet in Garema Place and make some noise, using noise measurement devices to show how easy it is to break current laws.

The bands have invited Canberrans to come onstage with their own instruments and join them in a "protest jam".

"We [are] seeing artists leave Canberra … but the bigger issue MusicACT has identified is the sector is not growing," Mr Caffery said.

Shannen Egan, the band manager for local act Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, said the recent loss of some smaller venues has made it difficult for emerging acts.

"It's been a lot more difficult for the community to play their shows, for young emerging artists it's been really hard to establish themselves without live music spaces," Ms Egan said.

"If you can't play your own headline shows in Canberra, what is the reason to stay here?"

Venues closing due to noise laws

Bryan Fitzpatrick, the former owner of small club Toast on London Circuit, said he was forced to close due to repeated noise complaints from the nearby Waldorf hotel.

He said he was brought before the liquor licensing tribunal a dozen times over complaints, despite the Environmental Protection Authority never finding he had violated noise laws.

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers say the number of local venues they can play at is shrinking. ( Supplied: Tim Floyd )

"I put acoustic foam in, sheets of gyprock, curtains, raised the subs up off the floor … meanwhile the Waldorf sat there for six years and did nothing," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

"I would have spent $10,000 just on noise mitigation … and, off the top of my head, something approaching $100,000 on lawyers."

Despite reportedly never receiving as much as a warning, the board advised he would be banned from making amplified sound at night when his licence was renewed.

"It's no coincidence we closed in November [of 2007], when licences were up for renewal," he said.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the financial and emotional burden of the complaints made it impossible for him to trade.

"I came to own a venue because I used to watch my friends move to Melbourne one-by-one because everybody couldn't wait to get the hell out of Canberra," he said.

"But it became, 'I really can't be bothered fighting this shit anymore'."

Planning Minister Mick Gentleman said he would meet with MusicACT, after the group wrote to him and Chief Minister Andrew Barr calling for change.

In a statement, he said the Government was developing reforms to encourage Canberra's nightlife.

"We are looking at measures to support the existing night-time economy, such as extending daytime noise limits later into the evening in our town centres on Friday and Saturday nights," Mr Gentleman said.

"We are also pursuing reforms of strata laws to better manage mixed-use precincts to meet the needs of everyone concerned, including those that choose to live or to run a business in a mixed-use development."