The Revival of Underground Music Venue Dolly Disco

Dolly Disco

Grab your glitter, disco balls and dress to express, Vancouver. Underground electronic music venue Dolly Disco is back, going live after more than a year in public health order hibernation. 

Dolly Disco is bringing the club to your living room with their newly-launched Dolly Stream—a series of online live stream performances curated by Nikki McLean every Friday and Saturday night in June, featuring some of Vancouver’s finest local DJs. 

“There’s an umbrella of electronic music in Vancouver and many micro cultures within it. We wanted to involve the whole electronic music community and create a programming schedule that really celebrates everything Vancouver has to offer,” says Nathan Drillot, Dolly Disco founder. 

As a community-minded DIY venue, Dolly showcases new and emerging DJs, producers and musicians playing alongside more experienced local talent outside the confines of the mainstream nightlife industry. 

With new cameras, live mixing, enhanced sound quality and shape shifting, geometric visuals by Alanah Lam, Dolly Stream is achieving an impressive Boiler Room-inspired feel. The ability to replay weekend DJ sets on Twitch means there’s nothing to stop you from spicing up your Tuesday night with an at-home rave, either. 

Adam2 playing at Dolly Stream’s opening night / Photo sourced from Dolly Disco’s Twitch, with permission from Dolly Disco

Dolly’s revival is a heroic feat after a year that has shuttered cultural spaces and left artists struggling financially without live shows. The venue may not have survived without a Creative BC grant and financial support from the community, through studio and rehearsal space rentals. 

And its comeback is only just beginning. Drillot is “cautiously optimistic” that Dolly will be able to welcome small groups into its physical space at East Hastings Street and Heatley Avenue for an intimate dance experience during live streams in July. 

He is also hoping to secure a neighbouring outdoor space to host seated live music performances over the next few months until crowds can be welcomed into the indoor venue at full capacity. 

“It’s really important for us to create that feeling of people coming together and experiencing music in real life again,” says Drillot. 

After an immensely difficult and emotionally charged year, Drillot expects that the return of in-person dance floors will release a flood of emotion. While some will feel elated to reconnect through music and movement, others may be processing grief together with their community for the first time. 

“It’s going to be a real period of rebuilding and rebirth,” he says. 

And Drillot is no stranger to the challenges of rebuilding. 

Dolly Disco was created as a reaction to the ‘renoviction’ of INDEX, an underground cultural venue run by Drillot at Powell Street and Clark Drive. Vancouver billionaire Chip Wilson’s Low Tide Properties bought the building in 2019, displacing INDEX after six years in operation. 

“It’s hard to find a space that is workable for DIY cultural venues in Vancouver because of the real estate market and speculation in industrial areas,” Drillot explains. 

“The city has reached a crisis point where the barrier to entry is so ridiculously high. We see that as having long-term negative impacts on the culture here. Dolly is a small force against that.” 

Affordability challenges, the commodification of space, zoning restrictions as well as rigid alcohol and live performance bylaws have made it almost impossible for venues like Dolly to operate in Vancouver, even without the pandemic-related challenges they experienced last year. 

Many DIY venues exist in the fringes as a result, not always running a “100% legitimate space,” according to Drillot.

But Dolly is ready to come out of the shadows, creating a more public online and community presence – a shift from its former “DM for address” approach. 

“We feel that it’s important not to hide because what we’re trying to do—creating an accessible cultural community and performance space—is valid,” he says. 

Move your body to Dolly Disco’s live streams on Twitch and find out more about their programming on Instagram. Dolly is also accepting financial support via e-transfer to dollyvancouver@gmail.com.