The Music Scene in YYC

The objective of our experiment is to explore how live music contributes to community and sense of belonging in Calgary. We plan to help people find communities, or cross over to different communities, in the local music scene in the city. To achieve this we want to facilitate the sharing of experiences using an interactive visual display showcasing the local music scene through the eyes of the people who are experiencing it. 

We went into this project with a few noteworthy considerations that informed our decision making. Awareness of music was a major point; we know that music happens in Calgary, so why aren’t we a world-class music city? How can we share the wealth of available live music options in the city with Calgarians? We also recognized that there is a diversity of music genres with venues and “scenes” associated with them. Venue and genre accessibility is also important to include in the discussion. Finally, non-traditional music in the city happens outside formal concert venues and we wanted to capture this reality with our experiment.

The objective of our experiment is to help people find communities, or cross over to different communities, in the local music scene in Calgary. To achieve this, we want to facilitate the sharing of experiences with a visual display showcasing the local music scene through the eyes of the people who are experiencing it. 

The initial ideas that our team came up with after consultation with industry experts, collaborators, and instructors was the following: a cross-matrix would allow passerby to approach the display and “rate their musical experience” in the city. Sticky notes would be provided for individuals to write venues and musical experiences on, and they would place it on the board. This would allow individuals to express their experiences and compare them to other Calgarians.