The Warren Summer Concert Series kicked off at Burr’s Hill Park this past Sunday, where “Merchants of Cool” rocked the band shell with a variety of Foreigner covers to a sizable crowd that gathered to enjoy the first of eight shows running through August.

And while there was plenty of concern leading up to the event regarding how much noise would be generated at the series — which neighbors complained at recent Town Council meetings had been disruptive enough to literally shake their homes and rattle their sense of serenity even many blocks from the actual park itself — Parks and Recreation Director Tara Thibaudeau was optimistic on Monday that they had taken a step in the right direction to meet those concerns.

“I have not heard anything,” she said, when asked if she had received more complaints. “I didn’t receive any messages, emails. The Town Council president was at the concert and called me while he was there and told me everything sounded good. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it continues.”

“It didn’t sound overly loud to me,” aforementioned Town Council President John Hanley said. “It was an enjoyable level at the park.” Hanley said he had asked Town Manager Kate Michaud if she had received any complaints during the first half of the concert, and that she hadn’t.

Thibaudeau said that she had met with members of the Town Council in the days leading up the first concert, as well as the company in charge of managing the sound and the concert’s coordinator, and ensured everyone was on the same page about keeping the noise levels at a reasonable volume.

“Everyone was aware that we made those preparations. Hopefully, fingers crossed we resolved it to the satisfaction of most, because I don’t think it can be done to the satisfaction to all,” she said. “Hopefully we did what we were supposed to do.”

Broad Street resident Steve Thompson, one of the original complainants who wrote a letter to the Town Council to bring up his concerns about the noise level, said that he felt there was an attempt to be more mindful of the volume during the first concert, but more could still be done.

“I thought it was slightly better than last summer, though I can still clearly hear the music and lyrics inside my house on Broad Street. I could also clearly hear the music and lyrics while walking my dog on the Church Street side of the Town Common,” he said. “I think it's important to remember as we saw with the Blount Clam Shack issue several years ago that sound travels in very odd ways, especially when it's electronically amplified and also amplified by a structure like the band shell. This seemed like an honest effort at improvement but I think additional adjustments are necessary. I appreciate everyone's desire to resolve the issue.”

Pat Mues, also a Broad Street resident who spoke at one of the council meetings to ask for the volume to be reduced, also had a mixed response.

“I think it was better, but I don’t think it’s yet where it could be,” she said.

Town Council member Keri Cronin, who lives just under a mile away from the park on Union Street, said that she could still clearly hear the music with her windows open, but had less of an issue with the noise itself and more of an issue with the chosen slate of performers.

“If we’re going to do this and impose the sound across the town, could we have some variety here? Let’s have some jazz or have some other culturally interesting acts booked,” she said. “Let’s have a high school concert. I know a ton of kids have bands, and would be pretty excited if they could book a show here in Warren.”

Still, judging by the attendance at the park, which Hanley estimated to be close to 200 people, there were clearly plenty of people who enjoyed both the noise and the musical act generating it.