On the weekends Mikey's Music Club — a live music venue and pub in Calgary's Bowness neighborhood — has officially closed its doors after 18 years. A GoFundMe a campaign has since been launched to support the owner Mike Clark and his family, raising money to cover “moving expenses, final bills, general losses.”[,] and pay salaries to your staff.”
“Mike Clark and his family have worked hard for years to create a place for musicians and music event goers,” fundraiser Emily Brown wrote in the campaign description. “For obvious reasons, music venues are some of the hardest to sustain. Since COVID, music venues in particular have struggled to continue to provide a platform for musicians to perform and share art.”
That's why Clark created Mikey's Juke Joint in 2007: to give local musicians a place to get together and make art together. Vancouver-born singer, songwriter and saxophonist Clark received his music education at UBC and has performed in blues and rock bands throughout his life, recording six albums under his latest project. Mike Clark Band.
“I'm hopeful for the live music scene because I'm still a part of it, I'm still playing, and we have some good shows and things like that that we can do,” Clark said. Calgary Herald after a packed last night on Saturday (November 8). “But people definitely need to come out and support it.”
He added: “We had some truly world-class musicians on stage, as well as local open mics where people could get their feet wet. I think we've created a pretty good legacy for our music here in Calgary and a lot of people know what we do and what we're about.”
As of this writing, GoFundMe has raised $7,232 CAD of its $10,000 goal to help Clark and his family move on to the next phase of their lives now that Mikey's Juke Joint has closed.
