Bellingham’s Downtown Sounds goes virtual to save these local music venues
Bellingham’s annual Downtown Sounds outdoor concert series will go virtual this year to raise money for local music venues impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Downtown Bellingham Partnership organized the fundraiser to save venues in danger of closing due to the ongoing crisis, according to a news release.
“Music is the heartbeat of the community’s culture,” Craig Jewell, co-owner of the Wild Buffalo and Petty or Not band member, said in the release. “The thought of losing that is devastating and it aches me to grasp that we are currently having to recognize that there is a reality where we could actually lose our beloved music industry.”
The partnership will broadcast and stream performances on BTV, Comcast Channel 10, and YouTube at 7 p.m. on three Wednesdays in August, the release read.
“We understand live-stream concerts are abundant right now,” Lindsey Payne Johnstone, events director for the Downtown Bellingham Partnership, said in the release. “Our goal is to help raise funds for these venues that we know and love.”
The line-up includes Petty or Not at the Wild Buffalo on Aug. 12, Dryland and Mostafa with a live band at The Shakedown on Aug. 19 and Hot Damn Scandal at Boundary Bay Brewery on Aug. 26.
Viewers can donate on Facebook or through the Downtown Bellingham Partnerships’ website.
“If you would normally be enjoying a beer or wine in the beverage garden on Bay Street, consider donating that $5 to our venue support fund,” Johnstone said.
Jewel told The Bellingham Herald that the fundraiser aspect of this year’s event surprised him. He said he initially planned to take part just to keep the tradition alive in some capacity.
“It was just this tradition that the town loved and cherished,” Jewell said. “It grew and blossomed and became such a wonderful thing that our community could look forward to. With everything that has happened with COVID-19, it was like, ‘How can we at least salvage something to give people a reminder of normality and live music?’”
Johnstone said the each of the three music venues will receive an equal share of the money raised through this event. However, Jewel said he plans to use the money to support his currently unemployed staff rather than on mounting rent costs.
“They’re all hurting as bad as they possibly could and so I’m going to be directing all of that money to them based on individual need,” Jewel said.
Jewel said he has been working full-time with the Washington Nightlife Music Association, an advocacy organization, and Keep Music Live Washington, a planned fundraising campaign, to help save the live music industry.
He said most music venues including the Wild Buffalo rent their locations and have not been paying rents. If they do not get some assistance soon, many will have to vacate spaces that could be repurposed by landlords.
“We were the first to close and we’re going to understandably inevitably be the last ones to open that up,” Jewell said. “And the other scary thing is that if we go away, we’re gone forever.”
The Shakedown is under a constant state of uncertainty because of the evolving nature of the ongoing crisis, owner Hollie Huthman said. However, she said she’s hopeful for federal and state assistance.
“Right now, things are looking really hopeful because so many people have mobilized to try and save venues,” said Huthman, who is also a member of the band Dryland and the Bellingham City Council. “People are paying attention. A lot of people care that music venues stay around.”
Venues still have to contend with overhead costs until the crisis ends, Huthman said. Even once the crisis ends, she said, venues will have to wait several months for artists to plan and start their tours again.
“So, that feels pretty dire without having a whole budget to stay afloat to be able to open again,” Huthman said. “We’ve been waiting to see what the federal government would do and the first kind of help that they were giving out wasn’t really helpful for venues.”
The National Independent Venue Association has been advocating for bills such as the proposed Save Our Stages Act to keep venues afloat, Huthman said. The Wild Buffalo and The Shakedown have both endorsed these efforts.
Huthman said she will determine how to best spend her share of the funds from the virtual event once the fundraiser concludes.
Boundary Bay Brewery also did not expect the fundraising element to the virtual event, communications director Jenny Schmidt said. She added they got involved in the event because they wanted to keep the Downtown Sounds tradition alive.
As a restaurant, Boundary Bay Brewery has been able to reopen at a limited capacity, unlike other music venues. However, the lack of live music has changed the summer atmosphere at the brewery, Schmidt said.
“We’re grateful that we’re able to dine outside at least,” Schmidt said. “But it would be so much lovelier to be able to have some sort of music outside to get some vibrancy to this new sterile way of dining.”
Schmidt said the brewery has not yet decided how to use the funds from the virtual event but is interested in supporting the local arts community.
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 11:31 AM.
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