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Barriers to young music fans across the city

» The lack of all-ages music in Vancouver

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

ancouver is well-known
for its breakout music

artists have come from the
area—Hedley, Hey Ocean!
, Marianas Trench, Bryan

McLachlan, and of course,
Nickelback. In addition to the
aforementioned musicians,
many equally talented but
lesser known artists are based
in Vancouver—too many to
list here. If youre between
the ages of 13 and 35, and you
enjoy live music, odds are good
that you've checked out a local
concert at some point.
However, Vancouver's
music scene is extremely
limited in terms of
accessibility—specifically, for

of the most popular and well-
regarded venues are strictly
19+, such as the Commodore
Ballroom, the Rickshaw

: Theatre, and the Biltmore

: Cabaret. All of these stages are

Most cities host concerts

: in liquor-serving venues. To
: avoid serving minors, there
: are usually two options. The

os : first is to simply refuse to serve
scene. Some of Canada's biggest : patrons without valid ID. This

: option is used in Vancouver at
: extremely large venues, such as

‘Adams, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sarah Rogers Arena. In some smaller
: venues, a wristband or stamp

: may be used to differentiate

: between legal and underage

: audiences. The second option
: is to “de-licence” for the

: night, meaning the venue

: has its permit to serve liquor

: temporarily revoked and the

: entire event is dry.

Vancouver is well-known

: for its restrictive liquor

: laws. A recent law passed in
: 2014 actually made it illegal
: fora venue to “de-licence”

: temporarily for an all-ages

those under the age of 19. Some fore unless the lic ensing is
: before a venue’s primary hours

: of establishment. This means

: the Commodore, which opens

: at 7, cannot host an all-ages

: concert after that time—even

: though the vast majority of
: concerts are held at night.

: 19+ due to licensing restrictions :
: involving the serving of alcohol.

There are very few options

: available in Vancouver for an

: all-ages concert as none of the

: venues available seat more

: than a couple hundred people.

: This creates two scenarios for

: touring bands: skip Vancouver

: entirely (as is the case when the
: majority of their audience is

: under 19) or play at a 19+ venue, :
: leaving out many teenagers.
: The irony is that underage

: people are some of the most
: enthusiastic and dedicated

: concert goers around.

A non-profit group known

: as the Safe Amplification

: Site Society is dedicated to

: funding and organizing all-

: ages events across BC and

: Vancouver. According to their

: website, they “are working

: towards the establishment of a
: permanent, legal, sustainable,
: affordable, and accessible

: all-ages venue.” Safe Amp is

: volunteer, extremely low-

: budget, and does not even have :
: a permanent venue established
: (their current rental, Astorinos, :
: holds 350 people). The fact
: that Vancouver does not

: already have such a venue is

: astonishing. Absence of even

: aconcert hall with seats for

: 400 people, focussing ona key
: demographic of live music is

: aserious flaw in the city’s arts
: scene.

The failure of a proper

all-ages venue in Vancouver
: has led to many all-ages shows
: either being cancelled or being :

driven underground, often

: held in non-certified venues or
: even houses. These shows do
: not always have permits, safety :
: regulations, and many feature
: discreet underage drinking.

The limited access to

: music concerts not only hurts
: the audience, but the many

: musicians looking to perform.
: Bands across Vancouver have

: trouble finding show or venue
: opportunities that allow them
: to play to an all-ages crowd.

: This leads to a decline in show
: attendance and a reduced

: number of local concerts or

: active bands.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor

: Robertson has allocated

funding in his capital plan

: proposal for an all-ages venue.
: It’s clear that Vancouver needs

: a permanent place for music

: fans of all ages to enjoy some

: great concerts. However, the

: restrictive bylaws are a much

: bigger part of the problem.

: A lot of money could be

: saved and business could be

: increased by simply lifting the
: restriction of “de-licensing.”

: The intent of the law is to

prevent underage drinking

: from occurring—despite the
: venue's lack of alcohol being
: the entire point of letting

teenagers inside.
Cancellations of shows

: and inadequate opportunities

: for thriving talents to perform

: isa prime example of art

: suppression and why Vancouver
: is often known as “no-fun

: city” Youth arts—especially

: music—have huge benefits,

: and blocking music is a huge

: barrier to supporting talent

: and creativity. Reasonable

: lawreforms are necessary to

: free the music scene of such

: barriers. It would not only

: encourage the bands and

: musicians, but would also help
: boost the economy of the city

: and help more people tune into
: the arts community.