Town: Accordion music is street legal
Teen says his 'performances are from the heart'
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 I admit street performances are not the polished, perfected, album-quality fare served up by formal concert venues. 
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-- Jacob Kouwe, 16
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CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (AP) -- After two run-ins with police for playing his accordion on the village's streets, Jacob Kouwe has been cleared to polka.
The Village Council ruled Monday night that street performances by a 16-year-old Chardon High School sophomore do not disturb the peace.
Kouwe began playing polkas and hymns in December in the quiet downtown of the suburban Cleveland village. On February 8, a Starbucks coffee shop employee complained to police that Kouwe was "soliciting."
Kouwe said that he does not ask for money, but some people drop cash in his accordion case. He moved away from Starbucks.
Then a resident complained that Kouwe's music was "tacky."
Police looked into the possibility that Kouwe was disturbing the peace. Chagrin Falls has a 1935 ordinance that prohibits the loud playing of a musical instrument or "other sound-making device."
Law Director Joseph Diemert said the ordinance does not pertain to street performers, but to major events.
"I admit street performances are not the polished, perfected, album-quality fare served up by formal concert venues," Kouwe told council members. "However, my street performances are from the heart."
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