Are house shows becoming a thing of the past?

For as long as San Luis Obispo has had a music scene, house shows have allowed the community to enjoy a fun night of live music for just a wad of cash. But could this staple of indie music culture in the city slowly but surely become a relic of the past? 

Organized mainly by students and local booking agencies, these concerts are an accessible avenue for people to discover new music and support the independent artists that make up their local music scene.

In recent years, however, hosting a house show in San Luis Obispo seems to have become a huge liability for organizers. More often than not, shows held in neighborhood homes have been cut short because of police officers being called to the address. Not only do concert-goers leave disappointed, but the hosts who have volunteered their home as a venue then have hefty fines imposed on them.  

Operating houses as live music venues is illegal under San Luis Obispo county law, according to Title 9.13 of the city’s municipal code. Christine Wallace, public affairs manager of the San Luis Obispo Police Department explains that while law enforcement officers do have to shut down local house shows if they receive a complaint about noise or an unruly gathering at an address, they also want to encourage musicians to utilize venues that are set up for live music. 

“That [show] probably was really exciting for those folks, but that was really damaging to the neighborhood,” said Wallace. “Because where do all of those people put their pee? Where do they put their trash? Where do they park? 
Are they being quiet if they come up and into the house? Probably not. Is the music really loud? Yes. Was it really late? Yes.”

Aside from live music, house shows also act as third spaces for artists, students and music fans to gather together and socialize. However, large gatherings in residential neighborhoods are prone to eliciting negative responses from certain neighbors, who usually end up contacting the police to solve the problem. 

“We don’t want people to have to pay an exorbitant amount of money in fines. We want them to find somewhere to have their event that’s going to be compatible with what they want to do,” Wallace said. 

This year, at a Halloween house show, local band Grayce was the last group scheduled to go on for the night. They had just begun playing their set when police showed up to the address and shut down the concert, leaving the band and audience members disappointed, according to biochemistry junior and Grayce bassist Andrew Gezon. 

“It sucks,” Gezon said. “
You prepare all day, play your set, set up the show, you’re excited to play, you’re nervous, you have that anticipation and then cops come. You aren’t able to do anything you’re preparing for. Everyone has to leave, and you have to shut down in a hurry.”   

Even designated music venues in the county haven’t been exempt from police confrontation. Locations like SloDoCo have had recent issues with police officers showing up to scheduled concerts and shutting them down, according to Geidi vocalist and guitarist Bodhi Miller. This growing frequency of law enforcement crackdowns on live shows in San Luis Obispo has been a cause of concern for many involved in the city’s music scene. 

For up and coming independent bands and artists, who may not have the connections or budget needed to book larger, more “official” venues, the suppression of house shows can leave them without many viable alternatives. A growing lack of house shows being held in the area leaves people with fewer events and spaces to come out and support local, independent artists. 

Electrical engineering junior Owen Vance is a guitarist for the band Windchime. Since the beginning of his time at Cal Poly, Vance had been frequently attending house shows and finding community in other music fans before he started making music and playing shows with his band. 

Vance expressed his frustration over residents who make the calls hoping to get shows shut down in the first place. 

“They kind of just have to understand that they live in a town full of college students,” Vance said. “The college students are gonna do what they’re gonna do no matter what.” 

Despite what may seem like an unprecedented era of increased crackdowns on house shows and other DIY music venues, local artists have continued to persevere and find ways of performing their music for fans to enjoy. 

“It doesn’t really stop us from playing. Either way, the show’s still fun, and even if it gets shut down, it’s still a fun experience,” Miller said.