Three years ago, a small group of friends hatched an ambitious plan: an all-ages space for music and art in the heart of downtown, with high-quality sound and lights, and a focus on local and regional performers over big-money touring acts. That vision became the Blue Room — and this March, the venue is getting ready to celebrate its anniversary.
I checked in recently with Martijn Wall, now the sole owner, to hear a little bit about the journey they’ve been on and what’s coming up. They’ve always prided themselves on the willingness to try not just all sorts of genres but all kinds of different approaches to their events, and that range and adaptability continues to be their strong point.
When The Blue Room started, it seemed logical to assume that the venue’s main appeal was going to be to the college and immediately post-college crowd. Wall and his partners were all members of that demographic, and there was a lot of energy buzzing around the house show and DIY scene at that moment.
As time has gone on, though, The Blue Room has broadened its demographic appeal — hosting not just the expected indie rock and hip hop but also jazz, folk, soul, classic rock and electronic music. That’s before we even get to all the other sorts of events: comedy, cabaret, dance performances, silent disco, they’ve tried all kinds of things.
Wall said the venue’s basic philosophy is: If they can find a community partner who wants to organize an event, they’re going to give it a shot. The Blue Room has also partnered with festivals like Bellingham Exit and the Bellingham Folk Festival.
I don’t pretend to know too much about the business end of these things, but I know it’s hard out there right now for a lot of venues, and that when the Blue Room opened there were lots of rumblings about how difficult it was going to be for them to make it work. Their space (at the corner of Railroad and Holly, above the former location of K-Pop Chicken or Bob’s Burgers and Brew) is amazing. However, it’s also been the home of several failed nightlife businesses in the recent past.
The fact that The Blue Room is going into its fourth year with a packed lineup of upcoming shows is deeply impressive. They were able to add a license to serve beer and wine in a designated part of the space while still keeping all their shows all ages, which I’m sure has helped quite a bit. (They also looked into serving food at one point, but it didn’t work out.)
The venue has some pretty fun stuff lined up for its anniversary week. The Diego Romero Band are headlining the actual anniversary night, Tuesday, March 4, with high-energy blues-based rock.
The next night, Olympia folk duo Countercurrent will be in town for an album release, a show that will combine a concert with a contra dance. (The image of those dancers forming long lines and twirling their partners in a fancy downtown nightclub makes me pretty happy to contemplate.)
Friday, March 7 will be a rave, whereas Thursday, March 6 and Saturday, March 8 will be rock shows headlined by Old Town Astronaut and Guava Tree, respectively.
With all this going on, there’s something happening for just about everyone. If you haven’t checked it out yet, let this anniversary be your invitation.
News
Robert Sarazin Blake’s new album, “Let The Longing Run Wild & Free,” is out now. If you’re not familiar with his work, he’s a singer/songwriter/guitarist/raconteur who makes raw but literate folk music. The new set of songs includes a bunch of songs that he had originally planned to record all the way back in 2020, but the pandemic ruined that plan. The extra marinating time may have helped in some ways, though.
If you’re familiar with Blake’s earlier music you know it had a very spontaneous, almost stream-of-consciousness feel sometimes. These songs, by contrast, feel carefully sculpted, lived-in, almost elemental. He’s got a superb band backing him up for it, too, folks who’ve played with Steely Dan and Bob Dylan.
Rather than verses and choruses, the structures of the songs are better described as peaks and valleys, as the tight-knit crew of musicians traverse a wide dynamic range. My personal favorite moment is the incredible crescendo that leads into the solo of “Disappear”. He’s also got an album release show at Boundary Bay on Feb. 28, if you want to hear some of these songs live.
Out there in social media world, there are some stirrings of local music life now on BlueSky. Pete from Hot Damn Scandal put together an automated feed, @bhamlivemusic.bsky.social, so musicians and fans can start using that to share gig info. I’ll check it too, so that gives you another way to let me know about things I should be including in my calendar.
Jesse Stanton's music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at jsbhammusic@gmail.com; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled. Live music events in Whatcom County: http://www.cascadiadaily.com/category/living/arts-and-entertainment/music/music-calendar
