Live Music Clubs: Country, Bluegrass, Blues

Guitar by Frank Merenda

In our series about bars and clubs that feature live music, we’ve presented you with articles about Rock and Latin music clubs. It’s time to introduce another article from this series and reveal the most interesting live music venues where blues, bluegrass, and country music are favoured. When it comes to music, Vancouver has so much to offer.

Live Rock Music Clubs in Vancouver

Superdrag's Guitars by Seth Sawyers

Live music is becoming more and more popular among people visiting bars and clubs in Vancouver. Whether you want to dance the night away, attend a rock concert at the local rock bar, listen to some quality jazz, or let the blues take your mind away, there is a place for you in Vancouver. The city’s nightlife will pleasantly surprise you with its variety and number of quality venues. There’s nothing like a great musician sitting on the bar chair tuning in the atmosphere, or a young rock band giving you the opportunity to jump for two straight hours and clear your head completely. This week, we start the series with the live music bars and clubs that play rock.

Put Your Hat on, You’re About to Discover Jazz Vancouver

Saxophone by Elisabeth D'Orcy

Jazz music has been around for more than a century, and Vancouver has always been one of the cities where you can fully enjoy its empowering presence. From small jazz pubs to the annual Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Vancouverites are no strangers to the tunes of jazz bass, guitar, drums, and horns played by vivacious Canadian and international artists. This article will walk you through the selection of Vancouver’s jazz clubs and present the 26th TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Top 10 Canadian Albums (1957-2007)

Neil Young Live by NRK P3

This article is a tribute to Canadian music and proof that there is a lot of quality music that comes from Canada. The chart was inspired by the book “The Top 100 Canadian Albums” by Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions. The book assembled a collection of over 600 expert opinions about which 10 albums released between 1957 and 2007 are the best. I am offering you an additional list that was compiled by neither a professional musician nor a music journalist, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway.

Summer Music Events in Vancouver

Now that summer is rapidly approaching, it is time to consider some activities to help relax and unwind and forget all about work or school. Why not pack a picnic, load the family into the car and head into Vancouver to spend a few hours sitting in the park, enjoying the music from the 2 major festivals that are held there every year. Let’s have a look at what is in-store for you if you decide to visit any of these festivals.

(Summer Music Events in Vancouver continued…)

Havana’s Hot Music Scene

We just came back from a trip to Cuba where we checked out the local music scene. Check out our Vancouver music series.

Mark improvises with Cuban band

Cuban street musician
asks Mark for song requests

In Cuba, turistas may be overwhelmed by culture shock Communist bureaucracy, widespread poverty and currency confusion can have a dampening effect on even the sunniest of beach holidays. The best antidote: kick back and enjoy incredibly layered, vibrant music! Havana has a thriving, varied music scene – music is an integral part of the Cuban experience, found everywhere from fast-food stands to open-air plazas to hopping nightclubs, and it is loud.

American music is popular, and if the supply often dates from the last three decades, it at least serves the dual purpose of entertainment and development of language skills; one cab driver asked us what ‘creeping’ meant and had me write it out for him (he was listening to rapper Akon’s ‘Smack That’).

(Havana’s Hot Music Scene continued…)

Pink Beats – Music from the Gay and Lesbian Community

Oasis Ultralounge Lounge

Vancouver has a vibrant, well-established gay and lesbian community that revolves around the city’s uber-trendy West End. The main thoroughfare, Davie Street, is the hub of most of the activity, with its impressive array of boutiques, bars and coffee-shops. Any time of the year, Vancouver has some fabulous places live-music. Here are the hotspots to celebrate… Vancouver music guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Vancouver well-established gay and lesbian scene.

Our House – The spin on Vancouver’s Dance-Club culture

Caprice Nightclub

Going on sheer volume, Vancouver’s nightlife can be defined by its dance-club culture. Rain or shine, most nights will find long lines of immaculately-dressed, umbrella-toting Vancouverites queuing in front of their favourite downtown dance-party establishments. There’s generally a tempo for any taste, whether you’re planning on waving a glow-stick to some house-beats, waving your hands to some phat beats or anything in between. Bottom line? You’ve got choices. Lots of them… Vancouver music guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Vancouver dance-club culture.

Only in Vancouver – Places Too Unique for Anywhere Else

by Stephen Hubbard

Like any major city, Vancouver has a distinct flavour due in part to elements such as geography, population, industry and cultural diversity. And a charming product of this blend of ingredients is sometimes the unique enclaves that appear — establishments and events that couldn’t be anywhere else. Here are the places that, for lack of a better term, are "So Vancouver". Vancouver music guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Vancouver unique enclaves that appear.

Mobscene – Arena Events and Mega-Shows

The boys rock by Jennifer Stoddart

Like any major city, Vancouver is on most major concert producer’s maps. For decades, Vancouver has enjoyed some of the most epic shows this continent has seen, providing some of the biggest and most electric crowds. Bands like playing this town – it’s a fact. And these are the super-venues that attract them… Vancouver music guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Vancouver arena events and mega-shows.

Fraser Valley round-up

Roosters Cabaret

With its down-home blue collar demographic and a booming agricultural industry through the Fraser Valley, it’s no wonder that Vancouver has an established Country Music scene and the population to nurture and appreciate it. The genre has an eternally-popular radio station, JRfm 93.7. If you’re looking to hang your hat, take off your stirrups and crack a cold one, we do have a few places you might want to mosey on down to. C’mon, partner… Vancouver music guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Vancouver Country Music scene.

Hip-Hop and Rap music in Vancouver

Vancouver sees its fair share of world-class Rap and Hip-Hop talent playing at such mainstream venues as Richards on Richards, the Commodore Ballroom, the Pacific Coliseum, GM Place and even BC Place Stadium. While feature nights change from establishment to establishment, there are also other, lesser known hot-spots where you’ll always find beats to bounce to, Monday through Sunday. In the latest chapter of our Vancouver music guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Vancouver Hip-Hop and Rap scene.