Live music has always been a part of Whistler, and some of my first memories of Whistler were live music. I remember helping out at a young age in our family’s lodge, Mount Whistler Lodge, and cleaning up the breakfast table for the bands that played the lodge most Friday and Saturday nights. Later, as a young teenager, my brother and I would go listen to them. They were adults-only events, but we had some pull, and there were no police around in those days. There were some pretty big bands that played there, and it was a place for the community to gather.
After the lodge closed in 1978, the Ski Boot was the place to go for live music. I remember seeing Doug and the Slugs there so many times my friends and I were getting tired of seeing them. Then the village came, and there were many places to see live music—most notably The Longhorn, and even Buffalo Bills on occasion. I remember seeing Edgar Winter playing there, standing 10 feet in front of him. He had a band, but would play every instrument himself, too. It was amazing.
So live music has a real history here. From bands such as Wide Mouth Mason playing on the top of Whistler in the springtime when they were starting out, to the later World Ski and Snowboard Festival that had big acts like Black Eyed Peas, Big Sugar, etc. Now we have the Whistler Summer Concert Series in Olympic Plaza that brings in out-of-town acts.
Remarkably, there is a lot of homegrown musical talent that lives in Whistler and the surrounding area. We are very fortunate to have such great talent here in our small town. I was at Whistler Blackcomb’s (WB) Mountain Top Feast last Saturday evening, and there was an amazing singer playing who had the whole crowd going. I went and talked to him after to tell him how much I enjoyed his sets, and he told me he’s in a band, but they don’t play together much anymore because there isn’t a lot of places to play. Which is sad, but true.
Red Chair is one of my favourites, and they use to play regularly at Tapley’s and The Longhorn to a lesser extent, but I haven’t seen them for quite a while and even thought they disbanded until I saw them at Art on the Lake/Rockin’ on the Lake.
There are really only two main players in town now when it comes to bar ownership, Gibbons and WB. WB still has live acts, more so in the winter, but occasionally in the summer. It looks like Gibbons has abandoned live music for canned music to maximize profits, most of which I find quite annoying. Dubh Linn Gate is still great, but seeing a full band is a different experience.
If there is no place for these talented musicians to play, they are either going to disband or leave. There is a lot going on behind the scenes of a band. They have a lot of expenses such as equipment, storage, and insurance. They need time and a place to practise. It’s truly a labour of love that I much appreciate. I hope Gibbons and other places will take note and open their doors to live music again. If they do, we need to support that.
On a positive note, Arts Whistler has always been a big supporter of live music, and Art on the Lake/Rockin’ on the Lake is my favourite community event. New this year was the portable stage set up at Lakeside Park, which had full bands playing both days. The atmosphere was amazing, all types of people and families enjoying themselves in a very laidback atmosphere. I would like to see this portable stage put to more use throughout all our beautiful parks next summer and giving our very talented musicians a place to entertain us.
