For 11 years, Al Boyce and Beth Williams invited singers and folk music groups to their St. Louis Park home for low-key "house concerts" in their basement and backyard.

Boyce always let his neighbors know what was going on by sending out a flier a few weeks before each concert, inviting them to attend.

But last month, as he prepared for his midsummer event, he ran into an unexpected roadblock: City Hall.

Those fliers, and the fact that they advertised future concerts and asked those attending to pay to hear the music, were a red flag to city officials. After receiving a complaint from someone who saw a flier, the city told Boyce that the informal concerts he'd been holding six times a year at his home on Edgewood Avenue constituted illegal commercial activity in a residential neighborhood.

That didn't make sense to Boyce, who said he never made any money off the gatherings, which drew 30 to 80 people. He viewed them more as neighborhood parties, often preceded by a potluck dinner.

"I think anybody of good common sense would know it's not a commercial activity if I'm not making any money," Boyce said early last week. "We lose money on any show. The checks are made out to the artist, and we buy plates and cups and toilet paper."

More than 300 people signed an online petition to save the concerts, and many described the outdoor gatherings as low-key family events that children sometimes attended.

Last Thursday, Boyce met with city officials to discuss the situation. They emerged with an understanding that would allow Boyce to continue concerts -- as long as he no longer advertises or charges admission.

Boyce, relieved that he can continue to host bands at his home, said he will find a way to make the concerts work as private parties. There will be no more fliers to the neighborhood. Instead, friends will get an "invitation" by e-mail, phone or in person.

"We will invite our friends and ask for donations to the artist," he said. "I think it's great that this will continue."

The city's position

One of those present at the meeting last week was Kevin Locke, the city's community development director.

"It's pretty clear from our perspective that if someone in St. Louis Park in a single-family home in a residential zoning district is selling tickets and promoting concerts at home for fairly good-sized groups of people, we don't think that's appropriate," Locke said.

Boyce and Williams have hosted the house concerts since 1999, after Boyce was introduced to the concept during a visit to Atlanta. Over the years, performers at the Boyce home have included Pat Donohue, the Middle Spunk Creek Boys, Cam Waters, Prudence Johnson, Dave Moore, the Becky Schlegel Band, Claudia Schmidt and Jim Post. July's backyard concert featured Boiled in Lead.

Boyce said he advertised the gatherings to friends via e-mail as well as sending fliers to neighbors living on the surrounding three blocks so they knew about the concerts and could come if they wanted.

He also asked people to reserve seats by sending him checks made out to the band that was playing. That way, he said, he could limit attendance and make sure his basement or yard wasn't overcrowded. He limited attendance for the basement concerts to 40 people, while attendance at the outdoor concerts has sometimes reached 80.

On the fliers, Boyce listed a suggested attendance charge -- for Boiled in Lead it was $15 in advance -- as a donation. He said some neighbors have attended for free, and that he's never charged for beer.

But the city said charging for attendance and running a series of concerts made the music a commercial enterprise. And St. Louis Park's ordinances forbid commercial enterprise in residential areas.

Locke said the city cracked down on Boyce's concerts this summer because someone who got Boyce's Boiled in Lead flier was disturbed by the $15 admission and the fact that it also advertised two upcoming fall concerts at the house.

Locke said the fliers meant Boyce was promoting the concert to the general public, not just to friends and immediate neighbors.

"The 'donation' is tied to having an actual seat and being able to attend," Locke said. "So is that really a donation, or is that a charge?"

Neighbors' views

Ryan Cassem lives next door and has attended many of the house concerts since he moved there in 2004. He said he felt fortunate to have Boyce and Williams as neighbors. As a young single guy, he said, he welcomes the social outlet offered by the concerts and the potluck dinners that precede the backyard music.

"There were never any complaints. I think it brings the neighborhood together," Cassem said. "It was just a great time." If they were stopped, he said, "I will miss it greatly."

At July's Boiled in Lead concert, 50 to 60 people sat in lawn chairs facing Boyce's garage, where the band played. Boyce, a home brewer who dubbed the events "Old Kitchen Rug Brewery House Concerts" after the brew he makes, offered free beer to the audience. Cassem said that in his adjacent yard, the noise level "was no louder than a small portable radio."

"I can't figure out why [the city would want to end] this unless they're the fun police and they want to kill a good neighborhood event," he said.

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380