By: Annabelle Williamson
In Visalia, a city with a population of 133,010 people, there has been an increase in the need for concert venues. With people traveling to Fresno to attend such shows, more bookings in the 2 all-ages venues in Visalia is growing.
A seemingly underground venue located in downtown Visalia, Odd Fellows Hall, located at 116 S Court Street, has hosted a variety of bands and genres. In the daytime, the room hosts a variety of dance classes by the organization, Dance With Eileen; but occasionally, the ballroom hosted local n and bands on tour for a very cheap price.
The long ballroom with wooden tapping floors is lined with red movie theatre seats. Bands who played there would be right next to their audience because there was no ‘stage’ or barrier between the crowd and the players.
Virtually unknown, Odd Fellows Hall hosted Surf Curse, a now popular surf rock band from Reno, Nevada, during the summer of 2017. These events are put together by the Sound N Vision (SNV) foundation which also manages the Cellar Door shows.
Local bands that have also graced Odd Fellows Hall’s floor include Brother M, who also frequently performs around Visalia and at Component Coffee. Hate Drugs and Wee Beasties also preformed in 2017 and Gushers has been a frequent returner.
But recently, this space has stopped being a chance for bands to come to Visalia. Aaron Gomes, head of the SNV foundation said, “We really aren’t doing shows at Odd Fellows these days since Cellar Door is now equipped for all-ages shows and is a much better space for live music.”
Even with the large space Odd Fellows Hall, the 2 1/2 story climb with equipment made it unbearable for bands. Many also believe that the space was uninviting because of how large it was and it would always seem like the venue was close to empty for bands.
Although Odd Fellows Hall is no longer hosting bands like it used to, Cellar Door, in Visalia is. Look out for the story on Cellar Door next month!
Annabelle Williamson
Tags: music, odd fellows hall, strummers, visalia ca
