Vancouver-based virtual Mainland Concert Series supports local artists, charities

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You may not be able to take in a big concert right now, but there are still ways to support some local artists, enjoy a show, and do some good.

The Mainland Concert Series is on until the end of August, offering people the chance to catch a Lower Mainland musician doing what they do best, all while supporting an organization in need.

“[The artists] get paid a flat fee for their performance and 100 per cent of the ticket sales for their shows is going directly to a charity of their choosing,” Vancouver-based artist Dan Mangan tells NEWS 1130.

“So, it’s kind of a win for everybody in that we get served with a bunch of great shows, the artists get a baseline sort of fee that they can use to pay rent, and beyond that, we’re raising money for a bunch of, largely local, organizations and charities that these artists either have a history or a dedication to.”

In partnership with Rogers, the series through Side Door is made up of 10 shows that run for five weeks through to the end of August. The shows are every Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Mangan says the shows air over a Zoom chat, which people can access after they’ve bought a ticket.

“There’s really no barrier to entry for audiences. We took submissions on the artist side and went through them and tried to find a really, sort of, broad, diverse style of music,” he explains. “There’s lots to choose from, lots of amazing acts coming up.”

Side Door

The two-time JUNO-award-winning artist co-founded Side Door, a platform that originally was created to help match artists with spaces where they could perform.

The COVID-19 pandemic complicated operations, with large gatherings no longer allowed and concerts put on hold for the time being.

“Of course, we had to start fresh in the online world,” Mangan notes. “Rather than focusing on broadcasting, we focused on trying to build this similar feeling of community at a typical Side Door show. So we, right out of the gate, started doing hard-ticketed events through Zoom. We built a completely secure portal of ticketing through Zoom so you can run a show where every ticket has one single instance in the show, you can’t share any links or anything like that.”

He says Side Door has helped put on more than 300 shows since the COVID-19 pandemic began, showcasing a variety of artists.

“It’s been a wild, wild ride.”

Helping a struggling industry long term

Many gig workers have been left searching for ways to earn a living amid the coronavirus outbreak, with a number of people not being able to qualify for federal aid for the majority of the past several months.

Mangan says it’s crucial to keep an eye on the long term, and how he and others can help people within the industry survive.

“To try and think, ‘What can we do in terms of stimulus to try and inject cash into the people who’ve been hit hardest by the pandemic?’ Artists, by and large, who make their living performing for people have been hit very hard,” he explains. “But also to try and build a model that is sustainable that is not solely based on donations. That’s based on fostering the types of engagements and experiences and shows where people will continue to come back.”

Tickets for the Mainland Concert Series can be bought on the Side Door website. Find more information here.

Rogers is the parent company of this station