Following venue closures, Victoria’s music scene is changing
Illustration by Abby Koning.
On Oct. 27, the Victoria Event Centre (VEC) became the fourth live music venue in Victoria to close in the past two years. These recent closures leave local bands and musicians scrambling to find places to play.
“It is … super f***ing lame that it’s closing,” said Benjamin Marshman, manager of local rock band Dysaynia. “The VEC is a special, dedicated venue that’s always been supportive of new bands, and it’s just always been a good scene there.”
The community-driven arts and culture hub was forced to close after 20 years of operation due to a rent increase. The venue was highly beloved, known for hosting a range of art events including theatre, burlesque, comedy, and live music.
Dysaynia performed its ’90s rock music to a packed crowd at the VEC just one day after the closure was announced. A month later, another venue, Quadratic Sound, also announced it would be going out of business, following the closures of two other local gems, Hermann’s Upstairs and the Carlton Club.
The reasons for these closures vary, including zoning regulations, financial challenges, and building infrastructure issues. “It just kind of feels like the first domino in a big domino effect of Victoria’s music scene deteriorating slowly,” said Marshman.
Booking gigs is becoming increasingly competitive. For bands like Dysaynia, looking to grow but hindered by Victoria’s unreliable venues, they are leaning toward playing in other cities.
“It’s always a bit of a struggle in Victoria because there aren’t that many venues in the first place.” Marshman said. “We’re kind of at a point right now with our band where we want to try and play more shows in Vancouver, just because Victoria’s feeling a bit small.”
While some musicians are giving up on Victoria’s music scene, other local musicians have turned to non-traditional spaces as a solution. West Coast Barn Dances organizes public events with a live fiddle band and lessons in old-time barn dancing.
“One of my friends has been involved with a few of these other venues that have come and gone and ended, and it’s always disheartening,” said Massimo Calabrese, UVic alumni, fiddle player, and co-organizer for West Coast Barn Dances.
“This is kind of like an outlet. It’s not a direct replacement … but it’s definitely a way to fulfill that want to play music and go listen to live music, in a different kind of setting.”
The fiddle dance event has been growing rapidly, with almost 100 people attending their most recent dance. “Most of the people that are going are university students. I was surprised by that because … I don’t normally associate that younger crowd with that kind of thing,” said Calabrese.
The group needed ample space for dancing, so they specifically searched for churches to rent, but found few available. Initially hesitant about the unfamiliar event, St. Matthias Anglican Church eventually agreed to host their monthly dances. While affordable, the church is not designed as a music venue, which limits support for equipment, sound, and promotion.
Despite these challenges, the venue’s reliability compensates. “The church is non-profit and because we’re not making any money off this, we just put it away for the next dance — you don’t have to worry about business models and all that kind of thing. … They’re not raising our rent to a place where you can’t afford it,” said Calabrese. “It’s a good situation.”
While West Coast Barn Dances offers creative solutions for the community, UVic’s campus pub, Felicita’s, faces added pressure to serve as a key venue for small artists.
The pub’s Battle of the Bands competition will return to campus in the new year, running from Jan. 31 to April 4. Many local bands are relying on winning the top prize: a day in a recording studio with Mike Lang, a member of the rock band Current Swell.
“It’s a platform for, ideally, student bands to get more exposure and get their names out there,” said Roger Kwan, Felicita’s manager. “It gives them an idea of how the industry works … and what to expect … going through that whole process.”
Only 16 bands will be accepted into the competition, with priority given to those featuring UVic students. The top four bands will earn the chance to headline a Friday night at Felicita’s — a rare opportunity to secure a performance venue in Victoria.
