The Underground World of Basement Shows

By Jilly Matje

As we approach our 2023 festival, centered on the theme “New Directions in Folk,” we look to highlight the way traditional and modern artistry can spark conversations about social justice. To bring modern voices to the limelight, the Shore Stage will be featuring New Brunswick’s finest: basement bands.

It’s hard to live in New Brunswick without hearing the words “basement show.” For the past 30 years, unfinished basements of student tenants have been one of the most popular music venues for college music lovers and more. And this year, they will feature as a shining piece of the local folk culture. I sat down with a few basement show connoisseurs, including bandmates, New Brunswick natives, and basement venue owners to get to the core of what makes a basement show a basement show.

New Brunswick has always opened its arms to live music, with venues like the Tavern on George and State Theatre, but to students attending Rutgers University, there’s one major problem.

“There are so many students at Rutgers that simply can’t go to restaurants, bars, just because they’re not old enough,” said music producer and New Brunswick native Derrick Braxton. 

Many venues that book touring and local bands are 21+, leaving out over half the population of Rutgers. There was a need for all-age venues in New Brunswick, and thus the era of basement shows began.

If you’re imagining a hot, colorfully lit-up basement with crowds of people dancing and moshing to booming music from homemade PA-systems, you’d have the right image in your mind. But if you looked a little longer you’d see it as a hub for artistic expression, collaboration, and opportunity. A basement show is much more than a loud rock band thumping bass to screaming college kids–although that is half of the fun. It’s one of the most accessible and inclusive spaces for budding artists across all different media to reach an audience. 

The Laundromat, a local basement venue, has hosted everything from jazz bands and comedians to poets and drag performers. While bands are playing, there are art vendors set up among the dozen or so laundry machines lining the walls and photographers sweeping the area capturing the special moments. For each show, the organizers pay local artists to design flyers with the lineup of the night. 

“There’s a lot of people that go into a show. There’s a lot of resources that go into a show,” said Laundromat co-owner Arya Bali.

There’s no stage in a basement, so there’s no separation between crowd and artists. The musical experience is shared as a collective.

“The barrier between people in the scene and people performing is much smaller,” said Anthony Romanushko, co-owner of the Laundromat.

“The musical experience is shared as a collective,” said Braxton. “you have a raw uncut criticism physically of the music. People react and dance when they feel the music. It’s difficult to front when you’re that close in front of someone.”

Besides the artistry, one of the most alluring features of basement shows are the social spaces venues create for people. 

“Outcasts, minorities, queer folks, people of color, those are important people that I feel should feel welcome in our house,” said Bali. “Gender non-conforming people especially, ‘cause there’s not a whole lot of spaces that really are hyper-supportive of them.”

The community of basement-lovers collectively strive to make spaces safe and comfortable, frequently setting the standard for good behavior at shows in the 2,000+ member groupchat for New Brunswick basement fans and promoters. 

“Pretty much every show I’ve been to… they list the name of the person who’s running it and there’s often signs up like ‘if you feel uncomfortable or if something’s wrong or if you need anything, just text this number.’” Kyra Camille of Kyra Camille and the Chameleons said. “Looking out for each other and helping each other out definitely is a big thing that underpins the community.”

Venue owners don’t tolerate ‘creeps, phobes, or jerks,’ a sentiment that is written across most show posters. A basement show can have a great lineup, said Romanushko, but safety is the number one priority.

“If you’re not creating a safe environment, then none of it matters,” he said.

Basement shows are, at their core, a collection of good-intentioned people trying to create safe, all-age environments for artists to flourish. Kyra Camille noted that the care for other people extends past behavior and safety at shows.

“a lot of shows I’ve played, like Milky Mansion for example, often times they pick a charity that a certain percentage of the night’s proceeds will go to,” she said.

So how is all of this “folk?” Folk music as a genre is characterized by acoustic and traditional instruments like guitars and stand-up bass. However, folk as a culture refers to a common experience shared by members of a community. These kinds of practices and happenings that spread naturally, like finding yourself in a grungy basement on a Friday night listening to psychedelic rock from three 19 year-olds who met in physics class. 

Basement shows are a longstanding and integral part of the art scene in New Brunswick, offering the most accessible and affordable demonstrations of small-scale artistry in safe, inclusive environments. Jersey has never been a stranger to spreading its creative, diverse culture to the masses.

“If you wanna see it on the ground level, what better place?” said Braxton.

This article was written by our NJFF 2023 Stage Management Student Intern, Jilly Matje, who will also be performing on our Shore Stage this Saturday.