All-ages, DIY-operated venues play an important role in most major U.S. cities. They bring together touring musicians and underage listeners who can’t attend shows at bars or clubs and are often the first exposure young music fans have to their local music scenes. These venues focus on hosting intimate, inexpensive shows while prioritizing comfort and creating “safe spaces” for patrons. Unfortunately, in Milwaukee these grassroots venues tend to have a short shelf life.
Over the last three years, Milwaukee’s music community has mourned the deaths of several of its most prominent all-ages venues, including most recently Triple Zero, which fell prey to the all-ages curse and closed in August after a brief three-month run. That high turnover rate has many Milwaukee music fans wondering what it will take for an all-ages venue to thrive in a city whose culture is so tied to the legal drinking age.
Right now, the city’s most visible all-ages, DIY event is Freespace, a sporadic, all-ages concert series at the Jazz Gallery. Helmed by famed Milwaukee rapper WebsterX (Sam Ahmed) and high school English teacher Vince Gaa, Freespace has connected Milwaukee youth to local and national artists since August 2015. Ahmed says he hopes Freespace will become a part of the “national discussion” of all-ages venues and has high hopes for the project’s future. “Freespace works because we’ve been able to establish community,” explains Ahmed. “I see it eventually as a monthly event and becoming its own venue. I want to purchase a spot in Milwaukee and have it run as a creative center with a recording studio and performance venue space.” Ahmed’s aspirations may sound idealistic, especially given the city’s history.
The lifelong Milwaukee resident knows how rare a long-term, successful all-ages venue is. In the mid-2010s, the Riverwest spaces Cocoon Room and Lucky Cat introduced Milwaukee youth to the city’s music scene. Both venues were operated by longtime scene veterans and enabled notable, national musicians like Downtown Boys and Colleen Green to perform to all-ages audiences. Renowned local bands like Tenement and Jaill also performed regularly at both venues, expanding their followings even further to teenagers. After a two-year run, The Cocoon Room shut down in August 2015; Lucky Cat followed suit in April 2017.
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In the months in between, the all-ages scene lost an even bigger institution. Located on Milwaukee’s South Side, the Borg Ward had lasted an almost unprecedented eight-and-a-half years. “Your average DIY venue usually has a lifespan of six months to two years, so the fact that the Borg surpassed this and existed for eight-and-a-half years is pretty absurd,” explains Borg Ward organizer Jay Linski. It’s closure was abrupt. After a hardcore show attracted far more fans than organizers anticipated, complaints from neighbors led to the venue’s only police altercation in February 2016. That night, the Borg Ward hosted its last show.
“Underage people were greatly impacted by the venue’s closure,” says Linski. “The Borg Ward was a consistent place for [underage people] to go see bands with a cult following, friends’ bands and music that was too weird for most other places. It also provided a more down-to-earth and intimate environment that bigger venues lack.”
“I feel all-ages venues play an important role to the development of the city, in particular the youth,” Linski says. “If done properly, they can provide a positive, nurturing environment, strength and a sense of purpose to people. It can serve as a place for all different backgrounds to come together, learn from one another, form relationships and gain an understanding of people different from themselves.”
After a disheartening couple of years, things are finally looking up for Milwaukee’s underage music fans. Along with Freespace, a new space on Humboldt Boulevard called the After Gallery has recently been hosting small all-ages shows. The thread that connects every successful DIY venue is a dedicated team of organizers who are willing to compromise when necessary. “People think it’s lame, or a chore, to try and include everyone,” says Ahmed. “It’s never a chore to shut up, learn and watch while we pair [underagers] with other dope artists.”
Milwaukee’s most experienced all-ages organizers echo Ahmed’s sentiments and emphasize the vitality of all-ages venues to the city’s young people. “It’s always extremely beneficial for everyone involved when we have an opportunity to include younger people in the music scene,” says Cocoon Room organizer and DIY veteran Eric Schultz. “It gives kids something to do when they are most vulnerable to falling over the edge … Having a place to express yourself and feel part of something bigger can change your world.”
