Photo credit: Vancouver FanClub

There aren’t many places in Vancouver where you can here a really good live version of Marvin Gaye’s I Heard it through the Grapevine on a random afternoon – and even fewer where you can hear it for free.

Without much fanfare, what may be Vancouver’s best new venue for live music opened on Granville Street recently.  FanClub – operated by the owners of the city’s beloved (and currently closed) Yale blues bar – occupies a New Orleans-style music hall space on the corner of Granville and Nelson Streets.  French doors lead into a bar room with soaring, 30-foot ceilings, a second-floor wrought-iron balcony and – front and center – a huge stage for showcasing local and out-of-town talent.

Most nights of the week, FanClub features ticketed performances by blues, roots, rock and jazz musicians, as well as DJs spinning house music until the late hours.  But – for live music lovers on a budget – FanClub also offers free shows: often in the early evenings on weekdays and all day on Saturday.

I stopped by over the weekend for the Saturday jam session, a sort of open mic that attracts dozens of bands from throughout the Lower Mainland for their 15 minutes of fame.  By 3 p.m., the room was packed and buzzing with more energy than lots of late-night venues on Granville Street. Continue reading:
Free live music at New Orleans-style FanClub on Granville Street