A history of collectivism but community is a place to begin /
And did I mention there’s guitars? Bring ’em in bring ’em in bring ’em in!
The Rebel Spell, “Bring ’Em In”
Cumberland has long been a place revered for arts and music, with a history of churning out country and bluegrass, and home to electronic-centric festivals like The Big Time Out and Cumberland Wild. The people of this village—and the broader Comox Valley—are no strangers to live music. But, in the last few years, Cumberland’s heartbeat has begun pounding louder and louder with the blossoming of a punk rock scene.
In 2020, I packed my bags and left Vancouver in search of a calmer space to exist. Life as we knew it had been put on pause. No music, no bars, and a dwindling sense of community created the perfect excuse to get out. Upon arriving here and setting roots, I started reaching out to some folks in town to start up a punk band.
Fast forward to 2022 and the punk band I began singing in, Mean Bikini, played our first show amid the COVID lockdowns in our guitarist Josh Marcellin’s garage. We were thrilled when things slowly started opening back up. We began connecting with other punk bands on Vancouver Island, and, in time, we started to bring friends old and new up to our village to play shows.
In 2022, and after several member changes, we added bassist Laurie Storrie, who had been booking shows and tours across Canada for over a decade with their production company, Outhouse Productions. Using their wide network and Mean Bikini’s ceaseless touring around the country, we started spreading the word about the packed shows Cumberland boasts, and the community’s inclusive energy and spirit.
“Messages flood into our inboxes: bands from far and wide want to make our quaint little village a stop on their tours”
Valley dwellers had long heard whispers of Cumberland’s history as a spot for tour punk bands to play. Canadian punk legends DOA have made many a stop here, as well as other notable acts like The Real McKenzies, but by all accounts, it wasn’t until recently that there was a dedicated “scene” in town.
Cumberland: A Punk Tour Stop
Not long ago, it was just a few West Coast bands venturing up to Cumberland. These days, messages flood into our inboxes: bands from far and wide want to make our quaint little village a stop on their tours. We have been fortunate to bring bands out from Calgary, Edmonton, Ontario, Quebec, and even as far as Brighton, UK. To see such a small, out-of-the-way spot mentioned across our sprawling national punk circuit—and beyond—far exceeds what we ever thought could happen. And now, other amazing promoters like CVGB’s and Unstable Sounds are also working to bring punk rock performers here.
“You see kids coming out to their first shows and getting uplifted in huge ways, figuratively as well as literally”
Something that really strikes us, and everyone who comes here, is the people who make up our scene. At any given show, you’re likely to see over 100 enthusiastic kids with colourful hair and band tees jumping in unison on the floor of the Cumberland Masonic Hall on Dunsmuir Avenue.
Cumberland’s Inclusive Punk Community
Small towns aren’t necessarily known for their ability to give queer, trans, and neurodiverse youth a space to thrive and be themselves, but that’s not the case in the Valley’s punk and heavy music milieu. You see kids coming out to their first shows and getting uplifted in huge ways, figuratively as well as literally (crowd surfing is alive and well here).
This space isn’t only for young people, though. Folks who grew up on punk shine just as brightly when they come to a show—they get to relive the culture that was important to them in their youth. The people who make up the punk community share certain enduring values: inclusion, self-acceptance, and active opposition to hateful rhetoric.
This past year, Mean Bikini, with the addition of our now full-time drumming powerhouse Ashley Gelaude, had the privilege of completing a month-long cross-Canada tour, all the way to the Maritimes and back, in which we played 24 shows. We took every opportunity to sing the praises of our little village. It feels like a great honour to tell everyone about this community that shines so brightly and welcomes newcomers with open arms.
Members of our scene come together to raise money for those less fortunate with events like the annual Punk Beats for the Streets fundraiser at the Masonic Hall, which supports the efforts of local harm reduction services like AVI Health and Community Services and SOLID Outreach. The folks inside the venue and the ones outside collaborate to make sure the space and people who utilize it are cared for in a way that will allow us to come together like this for years to come.
If you’re still skeptical about what the punk community is like, let me encourage you to come see the softness that exists amid the chaos, the resilience that persists in the community, and the brilliantly colourful cast of people who make it all happen.
