Station on Jasper, a music venue in downtown Edmonton, announced it was closing.
The venue, which has been open for five years, posted a message on its social media on Friday afternoon, saying in part, “We have worked hard to reopen after all of the COVID closures, but it has been a tough journey.
Our team is working to find homes for future shows. Unfortunately, some instances where ticket refunds are issued may be waived.
CBC has contacted Station on Jasper for further comment, but has received no response at the time of publication.
The venue had shows scheduled over the next few weeks, including concerts for the Road the Junos concert series.
Jo Johnson, lead singer and guitarist of local band River Poets, said the closure was a loss for Edmonton’s music community.
“It really felt like a punch in the stomach yesterday,” he said in an interview on Saturday.
River Poets played their first show at Station on Jasper in October and said it was great working with them. Johnson praised the staff’s professionalism and attention to detail.
The band was scheduled to play there next month.
“These guys don’t just book people and they bring music to communities, they bring people together where they feel it’s going to be a cohesive show, and that’s great. We really enjoyed that,” Johnson said.
He added that the person who booked them for that first show also contacted other venues and encouraged them to book River Poets.
“We need more of these sites, not less,” Johnson said.
Brian Fauteux, associate professor of popular music and media studies at the University of Alberta, said the loss of medium-sized venues was a big blow for small bands.
“It’s something Edmonton doesn’t have too much of,” he said in an interview Saturday.
Fauteux said The Station and Starlite Room are two examples of medium-sized venues in the city.
“And when you’re older, you kind of have it [the Edmonton Convention Centre] or something like birthday. But having these medium-sized venues is really important for a lot of bands that might be touring Canada,” he said.
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