Bringing culture and vitality to downtown Calgary

Bringing culture and vitality to downtown Calgary

DowntownVibe, a joint project of Stagehand and the City of Calgary, is an ongoing lunch hour music fest featuring talented local musicians performing in unconventional downtown spaces.  

Pre-pandemic, Stagehand worked with the Calgary and Edmonton Airports to host over 3000 live performances in a single year.  A staggering number, the YYC VP at the time bragged that the airport had become the largest live music venue in the city!  The airports discovered that working with local musicians brings a glimpse of local culture, humanity and energy into a space that can be seen as stressful.  

The goal of DowntownVibe is to bring more vitality back to a downtown core battered by the pandemic and a downturn in oil before that.  What better way to energize your day than to experience the talent of local and often little known artists.  

Kudos to folks at the City like Thom Mahler, Jennifer Thompson and Ben Brackett for supporting this local initiative. Kudos to the property managers like Manulife, Morguard, Brookfield, Colliers and Aspen (and more joining every day) for embracing this opportunity. Kudos to the libraries for bringing music into their hushed spaces. 

Find upcoming performances at downtownvibe.ca. Performances are welcome spaces: Drop in, stay for a song or a whole set.  As the temperature drops and the days grow shorter, it’s an easy way to bring a little extra light and warmth into your day.  

Stagehand is a Calgary-based tech company that connects artists with venues. If you are a property manager and would like to get involved, send a note to info@stagehand.app.  If you are an artist go to stagehand.app, set up a free profile and apply to be part of the action.