The Edgartown select board voted unanimously Monday to start Dock Dance an hour earlier after hearing concerns from Chappy ferry co-owner Peter Wells and the Edgartown police about underage drinking.

At the meeting, Mr. Wells read a letter from Edgartown police Chief Bruce McNamee that endorsed his request to move the Dock Dance start time from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. The weekly summer music show on Memorial Wharf will now end at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.

“It is my hope that with an earlier start and finish time, these dances, which are steeped in local tradition, will return to the ‘family friendly’ events that they were long known for,” Chief McNamee wrote in the letter.

The police department has spent $700 per dance to pay officers on duty and despite their increased presence, the department is still encountering numerous disturbances and instances of underage drinking, Chief McNamee wrote.

“When the police chief says what he says, it’s pretty serious,” select board member Michael Donaroma said at the meeting on Monday. “I think we did our best to save it by keeping it from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00pm when originally it sounded so bad that we almost wanted to close it.”

Dock Dance has been a tradition for over half a century, and Mr. Donaroma said that in years past, moving the start time to 6 p.m. helped reduce underage drinking. 

At an Edgartown select board meeting on August 12, band members Niko Ewing and Alex Karalekas shared their preference for the 7 p.m. start time, saying it would be difficult for band members with nine-to-five jobs and young children to accommodate the earlier time.

The select board offered switching to 6 p.m. on Sundays, but Mr. Ewing and Mr. Karalekas declined, saying band members use Sunday evenings to spend time with their kids.

John Stanwood, another band member and a new father, wrote to town administrator James Hagerty echoing Mr. Ewing and Mr. Karalekas’ concerns. He said Monday’s decision made it impossible for the band to continue performing.

“[The select board] has set parameters that make it infeasible for a person who has a nine-to-five job to physically make it work,” Mr. Stanwood said. “...I’m pretty upset about it.”

The band has been performing at the dock dance for free the past 15 years. 

Mr. Stanwood said that the band repeatedly makes announcements during their set denouncing underage drinking, and they do their best to work with police to make sure everyone is having a safe and fun time.

“There’s very few outlets for the youth to come out and express themselves positively and dance, and we feel like [Dock Dance] has been a service that’s been painted in a terrible light because there’s a couple of bad apples that make everyone look bad,” Mr. Stanwood said.

Mr. Stanwood said with music events and venues such as Beach Road, the Dive Bar, the Lampost Atlantic Connection and Nectar’s closing, there are few places left where bands can play, threatening the Island’s once flourishing music scene.

“It just seems like music is not being supported like it should and it’s really hard to keep the fight going when the town seems to have different priorities,” Mr. Stanwood said.

Dock dance will return on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. The band performing has not been announced.