Beneath Vancouver's busy streets lies the city's hidden pulse: a dingy rhythm that echoes through skate parks, laundromats and small, dark back rooms.
Recent Saturday NightGuitar riffs drowned out the faint sounds of passing traffic as a local punk band transformed a neighborhood music studio into an impromptu concert hall. The crowd packed into the tiny DIY space swayed and screamed like a mosaic of electric faces.
Alger Liang/Drill Event
DIY (Do-It-Yourself) spaces are a staple of Vancouver's underground music scene – temporary venues for parties, events and shows in unconventional locations.
take 648 KingswayFor example, the show might take place in a small old building with windows covered in red curtains, hiding the storm raging inside. Victory Square EventsHosting a rally in a park in Vancouver's Hastings Street neighborhood; and Antisocial Skateboard Shoprecently held an event right outside their skate shop.
Vancouver's underground music scene thrives in unlikely places, unconventional venues with few rules, providing a stage for pure, unfiltered expression.
At their heart, these events are about a community's passion for performing, partying and connecting, and the shows are often promoted with a sense of secrecy, with venue addresses not even announced until hours before the show begins.
Vancouver has long been criticized as a laid-back, quiet city with little nightlife. Drill Eventis working to deconstruct that notion.
“If you really look, you'll find [are] “There are amazing spaces and collectives operating here. There's a beautiful underground scene here that's grown by leaps and bounds,” Gonzalez said.
Understanding DIY Spaces
By transforming unconventional locations into vibrant venues, organizers like Gonzalez are giving local artists a platform to perform and redefining the city's cultural landscape, one secret show at a time.
The ethos behind these temporary venues is rooted in creativity, community and accessibility, even in the face of opposition from the city, which recently closed Black Lab, a staple of the DIY scene, despite locals’ huge love for the place.
“Venues have closed, opened, closed and then shut down with no warning.” Music Waste“Maintaining DIY venues has always been an issue in Vancouver and will continue to be. However, I think it's a sign of the will of our community to keep DIY venues open and operational in the future.”
Saadi Doulay, music officer for the City of Vancouver, said the city wants to make space for DIY organizers, but must prioritize safety above all else. Doulay said he wants to strike a balance between supporting arts and culture in a city where it's cost-prohibitive and preventing accidents.
“Organizers are occupying these spaces because they are more affordable, but they are not built for gatherings,” Doerr said, citing reasons for the continued closures.
Gonzalez said DIY venues often operate with little to no legal framework due to lengthy permitting processes: Drill events apply for special event permits, but many DIY organizers struggle to obtain them, putting them at risk of closure.
“For years we've called it the whack-a-mole of DIY venues: One closes, another pops up, then it closes again, and so on and so forth.” Redgate Arts Association.
“I feel like DIY venues are on the decline,” she added, noting that one makeshift venue after another has closed and there's a lack of places to play or see a show.
Red Gate Arts Society began as a group of friends hosting events and art shows in a not-so-legal way at Vancouver's famous music and arts space, but has since evolved into a legitimate non-profit organization.
“When we faced eviction and were eventually evicted, we decided to become an official nonprofit,” Carrico said. “Now we work with the city as much as we can; Licensing for arts and culture events The program was designed to make it easier for organizers to host pop-up performances in unconventional spaces.
Doulet said the City of Vancouver released an infrastructure plan in 2019 called “Making Space for Arts and Culture,” which aims to raise awareness of Vancouver's arts spaces.
“There's a growing awareness among both the community and city officials of the need to support these uses and groups,” Doerr said. “There's definitely a lot more work to be done … It's a slow process.”
Keeping the music alive
DIY spaces are typically organized and run by local music lovers and artists, who are passionate about creating an inclusive environment where anyone can perform and everyone feels welcome. Unlike traditional music events, unconventional temporary venues run on a shoestring budget and rely heavily on community spirit.
“We call it a labor of love because a lot of the time a lot of us don't pay ourselves. This is just for the community,” Gonzalez said.
Volunteers often handle everything from setting up the sound to selling tickets, and the events themselves often boast secret locations and are promoted through word of mouth and social media.
These spaces provide a refuge for artists who might not be able to perform in a more commercial environment, fostering a vibrant grassroots music culture that thrives on innovation and self-expression.
“Our number one philosophy is there's zero barriers to entry, so it doesn't cost anything to apply. We're trying to focus on bands that maybe have never performed before or are just getting started in the industry and give them a platform to play,” said McDonald, Music Waste's events coordinator.
Music Waste teeth, 70 Bands It hosts DIY festivals across a range of genres, showcasing its appreciation for the DIY scene while providing a platform for under-the-radar artists and performers. This year's festival took place from June 6-9, marking its 30th anniversary.
These informal venues are the heart of Vancouver's music scene, facilitating the exposure and stage time that allows up-and-coming talent to gain wider recognition.
“An artist like Adele couldn't exist without a 50-person venue where she could get her start,” Carrico says. “Without a place where people can get started, where they can experiment, where they can fail and not be financially ruined, there can't be any other level of the cultural ecosystem.”
Underground artists would struggle to showcase their work to the broader Vancouver community without the collaborative spirit and reciprocity inherent in these spaces, where event organizers make minimal profits or even losses.
Participate in underground events
Vancouver has a vibrant landscape to explore, you just need to know where to look.
Across the city, creative types host spaces and events that give artists and music lovers something to enjoy. From punk rock to EDM, Vancouver's unconventional spaces are buzzing with talent and energy.
These organizers, event organizers and music lovers are redefining the spaces that are at the cultural heart of the city, showing just how dynamic this city is. To stay up to date on the latest happenings in Vancouver's underground scene, check out the following sites:
Drill Events: Event organizer
Red Gate: Live Music Venues
Resident Advisor: Event Pages and Promoters
Vantech: Event organizer
Victory Square Park: Event organizer
Green Auto: Live Music Venues
YVR Underground: Photographer, event promoter
604: Do604: Event Pages and Promoters
Paradise: Live Music Venues
Dolly Disco: DIY Venues and Recording Studios