Rickshaw Theatre’s 15th Anniversary

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 — 12:50pm PDT

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The Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver’s beloved live music venue, is celebrating its 15th anniversary with four music-packed nights this summer.

Rickshaw Theatre’s 15th Anniversary

Dates: June 15, 20, 21, and 23
Location: Rickshaw Theatre
Tickets: Single day tickets or four-day passes available now

The venue first opened its doors in June 2009 when local entrepreneur, David Duprey repurposed an abandoned movie theatre. Two years in, Duprey sold the business to current owner, Mo Tarmohamed in 2011.

Local titans such as D.O.A., Bison, Japandroids, 3 Inches of Blood, Skinny Puppy, Bif Naked, Black Wizard, Pointed Sticks, The Pack AD, ACTORS and many others have graced the Rickshaw stage.

The Rickshaw has also hosted artists that have gone on to play much larger venues such as The War on Drugs, Future Islands, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Turnstile, IDLES, Thundercat, Knocked Loose and others.

The musicians selected for this mini-festival include performers who have played the Rickshaw multiple times over its life. One of the bands playing in this year’s festival, Bison, actually headlined Rickshaw’s 2nd year anniversary show in 2011 just prior to Tarmohamed taking over the venue.

From my 2015 interview with Mo:
“One of the things that this place has been known for, and has been home to, is punk and metal shows.” But while metal and punk has been The Rickshaw’s “bread and butter”, its great sight lines, professional staff, lighting options, and 500+ capacity have made it an ideal venue for many acts, both local and international.

“We didn’t want to be known strictly as a niche venue so we’ve really opened it up and had quite a diversity of musical genres. Even last week, Tuesday we had Napalm Death a metal band, then on Thursday we had R&B/soul, on Friday we had punk, on Saturday we had world beat music.” With the diverse range of artists playing sold out shows for audience with a demographic with ages of 19 to 65, Mo said he often sees people act surprised that The Rickshaw existed — and that they haven’t been there before.

“We’ve hosted bands that are on the upward trajectory, like last year we had two sold out shows for War on Drugs — Future Islands played her last year and this year they’re playing at Malkin Bowl. So we’re catching bands that are just in the process of blowing up but then we also get some of those legacy bands.” DOA, Mudhoney, Human League, Concrete Blonde, have all played The Rickshaw recently and coming up they are hosting the likes of Wishbone Ash and The Rezillos.

The Rickshaw has also become a coveted stage for local performers. “They play at places like Funky’s and The Astoria, but getting on stage at the Rickshaw is a special notch on their belt. It just makes them feel like they’ve arrived — or are arriving — and they get the full rockstar treatment.”