[MUSIC by Kilbarron]
[O'CONNOR] The 8x10 in Baltimore has been a powerhouse rock venue for decades. When its owners recently announced plans to close the doors for good, the news sent shockwaves through local musicians, fans, and venue owners across the DMV. The closure has brought attention to the fragility of small art venues and just how essential they are to the communities they serve. I'm Jenny O'Connor for Delmarva Public Media. In Delaware, the listening booth owner, Marissa Levy, knows that fragility well. As both a venue owner and a musician, she sees firsthand the amount of unseen labor it takes to keep a space alive, and she deeply sympathizes with the owners of the 8x10.
[LEVY] This is such a hard business. It is not a lucrative business. It's not one that I have personally taken a paycheck from.
[O'CONNOR] But as an artist who's been performing for years, Levy, after casually mentioning she shared a lineup in New York with Lady Gaga before her rise to fame, she confidently said these venues create opportunities that simply don't exist elsewhere. Levy says these closures can feel deeply personal for independent venue owners. At the Milton Theater, marketing director John Paul Lacap says venues like the Listening Booth or Milton Theater become deeply personal to their regular attendees.
[LACAP] They have a sense of ownership for the theater. When they describe the theater to like friends or family, they say that, oh, our theater, that is our theater. Our theater is doing this.
[O'CONNOR] Part of that loyalty comes from artists and audiences feeling genuinely taken care of.
[LACAP] Our director, Fred Munzert, he is very particular with paying artists properly because you always hear about all these like theater performers, you know, being nickel and dimed by other venues. We truly see to it that as much as our audiences enjoy the shows, we really make sure that the artists that come and perform for us equally enjoy performing at our venue.
[O'CONNOR] But even thriving venues face challenges. The Milton Theatre is currently navigating funding uncertainty for a new education wing as public arts support is scaled back. In Salisbury, one of the only music venues on the Eastern Shore has faced similar struggles. Bryan Whipple, the owner of Lurking Class Skate Shop, has fought his fair share of battles, but continues to push forward.
[WHIPPLE] I'm not going to lose. I can't have that. So I just have to do it tired.
[O'CONNOR] And he can't lose, not only because this is his passion, but because it's become a safe haven for so many people. Caleb Perkins is a sound engineer and regular attendee at Lurking Class Skate Shop. He says the skate shop has become a community center for local music-lovers and creatives.
[PERKINS] For me, it's like a church. Your church has the guy that can do your roof. The church has a guy that can do your fence. It's a little community, right?
[O'CONNOR] These venues give people space not only to start bands, but to discover entirely new creative paths. George Southworth, vocalist of the Frederick band Marrowed and local band Calloused, found a new passion at Lurking Class shows. Before eventually launching his own production company, Open Doors Productions.
[SOUTHWORTH] A venue like this has a broad spectrum of opportunities for people. Like I've personally got my start in photography and videography at Lurking Class Skate Shop. However, I've also developed as a music artist being able to kind of explore the boundaries of what kind of music I'd like to create or the type of musicians that I'd like to work with.
[O'CONNOR] And it's not just musicians finding connection here. People across generations and genres come together over a shared love of live art.
[PERKINS] Some of these people that come out like this is it. They're not part of a book club. Maybe they don't drink or maybe they're in high school and this is it. It's important to have that social interaction at any age.
[O'CONNOR] As venues like the 8x10 close their doors, their absence leaves more than an empty stage. It leaves a hole in the community. Supporting these spaces doesn't always mean buying a ticket to every show. It can mean sharing events, respecting the work behind the scenes, and recognizing that when we invest in local art venues, we're protecting spaces where artists can take their first risks, audiences can feel seen, and strangers become collaborators and lifelong friends. I'm Jenny O'Connor for Delmarva Public Media.
