Venue age limits?

When I was under 21, I was quite upset with events happening in major cities across the country when government officials were trying to impose all-ages bans on music venues that either serve alcohol or have any kind of live music happening. It’s still a topic of debate in several American cities, and this would make it nearly impossible for anyone under the age of 21 to attend shows at most premier venues.

The bans are mostly in response to violence happening outside of night clubs. First off, the people committing these acts are all above the age of 21 and often were not even in attendance of the shows people were coming out of. Denying kids the right to attend a live music performance will not solve the issue of crime at all. That is the job of police, and in a greater sense, the job of society in general. Of course there are certain constraints for every venue and every city, but the main idea is that kids should be provided a place to go to see bands live. Period. And I am not just talking about 18+ all over, I’ve been to plenty of 18+ shows and they are no different than all-ages ones. Prohibiting underage people from going to these venues will not help solve anything, but instead it will deny youth the right to live music and will substantially and significantly cause tremendous financial harm the venues, promoters, and artists.

Now I am obviously mostly focused on the issues in Seattle and in Boston (considering I spend 5 months of the year in Seattle and 7 in Boston now), but it’s happening elsewhere too, including Washington D.C. And as if I need another reason to admire Ian Mackaye, he gave me one more in his recent speech testifying against the DC ban seen here.

Although it’s nice to avoid 14-year-old fangirls at some shows, I remember what it was like being underage and feeling like I had another home in crowds. Without a doubt, these experiences only helped keep me out of trouble growing up rather than getting into it.

If I want to meet older people and have a drink I’ll go to a bar, but music should be something that’s shared and experienced with everybody, regardless of age. If something is going on like this where you live, I encourage you to get involved and write letters to your city council, mayor, or whoever is making the decisions. I’m confident that if enough people continue to speak out, this legislation will be prevented from passing into permanent law.

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