Some are calling it a clash of culture and corporate policy.

Calgary police were summoned Sunday night when several dozen people were turned away from the Telus convention centre from a concert by Gurdas Maan, a popular Punjabi folk artist.

Security officials wouldn't allow entry to many who had paid $100 per ticket because they were wearing kirpans, ceremonial daggers of religious significance to Sikhs.

Officials with the convention centre says they have a no-weapons policy, though many in the crowd were upset at having the kirpan characterized as a weapon.

When the argument between concertgoers and security guards got heated, police were called in.

One concertgoer says the same show was staged in Toronto and Vancouver with no problems, and he couldn't understand why it was a problem in Calgary.