Under darkened lights, dancefloors become mosh pits and bars are filled with the aura of electricity that emanates from the music. Kamloops has a vibrant music scene that continues to grow, giving local musicians an opportunity to find an audience and fostering a safe environment where everyone is welcome.
Kamloops-based grunge band, Creature, thinks the city’s love for local music grows when new groups start forming.
“Get out there. We need new bands. No matter how bad you are, be brave, be confident, do the thing you want to do,” said guitarist Matt Rane.
“I like getting to talk to people after a show. It’s not for the praise, but hearing people say, ‘I want to start my own band, I’m really interested in this scene, I’m interested in the community.’ I need to talk with younger people who want to involve themselves in the scene,” said bassist Zoe Wilds on the best part of local shows.
For Kamloops’ musicians, often a big challenge is getting people to attend shows. Although we think of social media as the best way to reach a wide audience, online promotion will usually only reach people who already attend shows.
Methods like posting posters in schools and high-traffic areas are common ways for bands to reach new audiences. According to Creature, many people in the scene spend a lot of time downtown and on the North Shore, so advertising in those areas is an easy way to garner an audience. Occasionally, a billboard on Mount Paul Way is used to advertise for both local and touring bands.
Creature also frequently uses word of mouth to advertise, with members doling out invites to people they meet on the city bus.
Many of the popular venues in Kamloops are bars, such as Kami Inn and The Blue Grotto. However, multiple venues, such as Bridgeview Theatre, Pizza Pi and The Effie Arts Collective, commonly host all-ages shows, allowing younger audiences to get involved.
In Creature’s case, two of their members are too young to enter bars, so having events that are accessible to all ages helps ensure the local community has a strong future.
The amount of money a band makes from performing varies depending on the show’s location and crowd turnout. Bridgeview Theatre, a venue many bands frequent, functions as a dance theatre day to day, which is how they make most of their income. They don’t depend on booking the venue for live music or theatre performances. The simplest booking of Bridgeview for an evening costs $300. They offer equipment rentals to musicians, though these will increase the booking cost. Bridgeview also has people who work in partnership under contracts to assist with the planning and production of larger events with multiple acts, helping things run smoothly. The money from ticket sales is divided among the bands that played. Some venues, such as the Paramount Theatre, will keep a percentage of ticket sales in addition to an upfront booking fee.
According to Creature, the amount of money varies from show to show. When they played at the Kamloops Christmas Market in December, they earned $500, but for smaller Bridgeview shows, they struggled to break even. Although they aren’t playing music to make money, some financial success is necessary to sustain the band and afford bookings, posters and new equipment.
Shows are often booked by a band, which then reaches out to other acts to perform alongside them. If a venue is planning the event, they’re in charge of selecting and booking which bands will play. If a touring band is planning to perform in Kamloops, they’ll often reach out to a local band to be their opener.
Tickets for shows or cover at the door, regardless of the venue, typically run from $10 to $25. Accessibility is a priority for Alex Ujiye, one of Bridgeview’s partners.
“I’m trying to raise the quality of gigs, while keeping the price the same. I think when I first started, it was a little jarring to see anything with a price tag, but as time goes on, the price doesn’t go up,” Ujiye said.
What makes the Kamloops scene special is the community’s welcoming nature. Ujiye says that a moment that made him want to get involved in local music happened when he first started attending metal shows.
“I was watching this mosh pit go down. It was pretty brutal in there,” Ujiye said. “I watched this one guy go down pretty hard, and there was a super valiant effort to get this guy up and out of the pit as fast as they could. A lot of these people didn’t know each other, and I think that sense of care and that sense of responsibility is just a small example of what music does for the community. It brings us together…It gives us a chance to have each other’s backs.”