Longevity John Falkner's dream wasn't to cater to drinking and dancing like many venues, but to stand out with an intimate eclectic venue that was all about the music, and all other creative endeavours. With a vibe like no other, the Duncan Showroom celebrates its 22nd year.
"Live music venues are closing at an alarming rate as audiences stay home and tune into technology, thereby missing the full scope of live music and what it does to one's soul," said Falkner. "For us to be celebrating 22 years open as a listening venue in a small city is an anomaly. I believe the 39 Days of July / Wine Down Wednesdays in August / 40th Day of July lets people feel what live music can do and trust that they will understand the benefits and attend as many concerts as they can throughout the fall/winter and spring seasons."
The season was fall when the Showroom rose up to first open its doors on Sept. 27, 2003 at its first upstairs location above the Duncan Garage Cafe and Bakery at 330 Duncan St. They christened the stage with a folking good time by folk duo Andrews and Lawrence, who opened for island folk trio Slow Drag.
While life can sometimes be a drag, the Showroom was the place to swiftly let your cares melt way though music. After a successful, and divine first decade, the Showroom was forced to close its doors at the end of November 2013. Can't pause performance; Falkner continued to present shows out of the Silver Bridge/Ramada Inn over the next three months.
Moving on up: the Showroom then relocated to the heart of downtown Duncan in the upstairs level of its current location at 131 Station St. Re-branding to the Duncan Showroom, Falkner proceeded to once again bring good original music to the people. It was a sweet day for the Showroom on Aug. 31, 2015 when the main floor of the building, which was first built in 1909 as Jaynes Hardware, became available. This move to ground level was much appreciated by some of the Showroom's more elderly patrons.
Since, the Showroom has been a one-stop shop for entertainment, providing some of the best music you never heard through a myriad of live concerts with international, national, provincial, island, and of course local musicians as often as possible.
While the Showroom prides itself on being all about the music, it is actually so much more as every month community members are invited to take part in open-mic nights known as 'Dress Rehearsal Tuesdays', and sing their hearts out with Sober Karaoke on the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m. Creatives can also go with the 'FLOW' and either take part or take in 'For the Love Of Words' hosted by Bill Levity on the last Tuesday of the month. Those who prefer being in the audience rather than on stage can also settle in with the Island Storytellers on the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.
The monthly magic of the Showroom will have lovers of the arts spinning right round like a record so what better way to celebrate 22 years of Canada’s most unique intimate listening venue than with spinning a small portion of the Showroom's very large LP collection from noon to 4 p.m. For more information on this vital venue for the arts visit www.showroomproductions.ca or call 250-597-1554.
