When we announced last week that the current climate and climbing debt were forcing us to close the club, there was an immediate outpouring of love and support from our community. Most importantly, they refused to give in and see our closure as a done deal. It was overwhelming. We knew we had a place in the music scene but it became clear that more people than we had ever realised actually see us as an integral part of that scene. We got countless messages from people telling us how the safe and inclusive environment they found at Neck of the Woods had dramatically changed their lives for the better. They told us if we closed they would be losing community and a reason to leave the house on the weekend. This response immediately reaffirmed how important and necessary it is to provide a space for people to come together.
The queer club night collective Nympho immediately jumped into action and organised a givealittle with the goal of raising $150k to actually save Neck of the Woods. Within hours we had $15,000. By Monday morning it was at $60k and still rising. The people have spoken. They’ve started a movement. The many music communities that call Neck of the Woods home refuse to just give up and lose yet another venue.
If we actually succeed in our goal of reopening Neck of the Woods, we will have the opportunity to reimagine how we do things and put in place more sustainable models of operation not so tied to bar sales. We’ll be in a position where we can actually work with the community to come up with radical new ways of running small music venues and keeping them alive. Nympho have created a google form to crowd source ideas and people have already started filling it up. If we reopen we’re going to be able to hit the ground running, thanks to the people who call Neck of the Woods home
