On a Saturday night, a single house rumbles a few plots down the road. Heat lamps tower at the entrance, where two people stand behind a table checking in groups of people, concert-goers, into a cramped, living room-size basement.

The Reef, a popular house show venue, is putting on a concert.

A local artist named Westhead is playing inside, the opposite end of the basement. There is hardly standing room. Everyone is trying to get a look at the band. If they can’t fit into the basement, then they are in the garage, listening from the joining wall. Some sit on the staircase leading into the basement behind the stage. Kingsley Wang, director of The Reef, said that there was approximately 190 people there.

House shows are DIY venues typically created by IU students in their homes. They operate as spaces to host live concerts. These shows have been a staple in the Bloomington music scene on and off for years.

Venues like The Reef have come and gone as often as IU students graduate. But the house show scene has resurged once again after a two-year hiatus. The reason for the return? Bands and venue runners alike say it is for the music.

 

Antonio Rosario is a guitarist and vocalist in local Bloomington band Mindfully Blind. To him, part of the appeal of the house show scene is its accessibility.

“For starting out bands, it’s a lot easier to get into a house show than it is to play at a bar, especially if you’re under 21, and house shows are really where you’re gonna get crowds that actually kind of want to hear your music,” Rosario said.

Rosario says that the crowds at house shows are engaged listeners, something that The Reef director Kingsley Wang says differentiates it from the bar scene. Wang associates the bar scene more with cover bands, where people go to get drunk and pay less attention.

“People come here knowing that all they’re guaranteed to get out of it is a good musical experience,” Wang said.

Wang hopes that other house venues continue to establish themselves. While they may be competition, Wang says that he thinks it is healthier for there to be more spaces for more musicians to play.

There were multiple reasons for the long-hiatus of the house show scene in Bloomington. Wang says that there are two major reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major reason why. With the restrictions on mass gatherings and concerns about preventing spread, it was not possible to put on shows in enclosed spaces.

Wang also brought up a  second reason why: a shooting in 2019 at a venue called the Brick House. The double shooting, according to reports, resulted in the students living at the house being evicted.

When asked about his approach to safety at The Reef, Wang mentioned that he and his team hire security staff to keep lookout for any suspicious behavior. He says that they have a zero-tolerance policy toward behavior that that the venue is looking into handheld metal detectors.

Despite past events, bands like Mindfully Blind still find a lot of value in playing at house shows. Rosario acknowledges the harm that occurred at Brick House, but says that they can’t let it stop them from doing what they love.

Rosario says that the energy at the shows is unique. He calls it a celebration of life.

“It’s the pure joy of being able to be in a space where people are experiencing the same thing as you, and enjoying it just as much as you are,” Rosario said.