Can you remember your first season in Whistler? The first time you visited this place? The first time you went out for a night at The Boot? Maybe you saw The Hairfarmers at Merlin’s, or a Marble Canyon show at the GLC, or Monty Biggins and Kostas performing at the Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival!
Whistler and its vibrant music community used to be synonymous with one another. People would come for all the incredible outdoor activities and stay for the creative and inspiring arts scene—a scene that would punch far above its weight for the size of our community.
Working in the arts and culture sector and being the frontman of a local band (The Big Love Band), I have seen first-hand the state of our live music scene here in Whistler and its recent decline. I personally went from performing one to two nights a week with a full band and another one to two nights solo, to this winter where I’m lucky to have two solo shows in a month. Musicians from across the Sea to Sky used to flock to Whistler for a chance to play one of the many lively venues only to now have Whistler locals commuting to Squamish and even the city (making enough to cover gas) for the chance to find a stage.
The decline in our local music scene should be something this community takes personally.
We need to foster our music community. There needs to be investment in performance space, or incentives for existing spaces to provide a home to our local live musicians. Performers need rooms to practice their craft. Original work should be celebrated. To sum these ideas up, arts and culture needs to be funded! Some folks reading this might incorrectly interpret this as the art sector looking for handouts, but I would say that the revenue generated by a healthy music scene is proven. Cities around the world have recognized the benefits of supporting a thriving music ecology and industry. Vancouver was recently one such city that had seen a need and stepped up with its 10-year “Culture Shift” plan, which includes a “Vancouver Music Strategy” to put more supports in place to revitalize its industry. Now, I understand we are not a city, and Vancouver has a host of different challenges, but our tourism industry can stand alongside some pretty big players. The impact our music community could have on that industry alone seems like reason enough to start investing more into our live music sector.
Having been a tourist and knowing tourists (yes, they are just people who generally like similar things to you and me, haha) I can say that when visiting a new place it is important to me to have genuine interactions with that place and the people who live there. Can we honestly say, once visitors finish their daytime activities and evening meals (which we do really well), that our nightlife is a genuine expression of our village and our culture? I would argue that we have so much more to give and showcase.
I write this with an intention. That intention is not to join a chorus of negativity or to complain about how things “used to be,” but rather to try and inspire readers to embrace our creatives to make sure we can continue to work in the Sea to Sky!
What can we do to support our artists?
Well, we can book live music in our many venues, to start. When possible, consider the local talent we have right here in the Sea to Sky first.
We can tell our elected officials that we want to see support for the arts and culture sector from our municipal government. It’s a fragile sector, but it is vital to the visitor experience (tourism), the community and its well-being.
We can add recorded material to our playlists both for individuals and businesses in town. The royalties earned through plays are not huge, but they do add up. It’s also important to have our songs heard here in town. Who knows? You might just find your new favourite tune! (On this note, you can find an all-Sea-to-Sky playlist under “This is Whistler” on Spotify.)
We can support organizations that continually work for arts and culture any way we can. That could be by considering donating to help fund programs or by volunteering your time to these organizations.
Most importantly, please try to make it to the shows. Have a look what’s happening in town and make the decision to go and support. It is vital to the success of venues to house these musicians, and guess what? It’s also way more fun than Netflix!
Please don’t stop supporting your artist friends. It’s a tough job, but without them, Whistler would feel a lot… quieter.
