I’m very particular about my choice of venue when it comes to music; more often than not, the only thing available on nights around here are country and cover singers at dives or breweries, which is totally fine if that’s what you’re into. But that certainly isn’t my scene. If you’re looking for one of the best places for local and live music in downtown Spokane, though, The Big Dipper down on the corner of 2nd and Washington is probably the first place I’d stop.
Originally opening back in the 80s, The Dipper is the oldest underground and alternative music venue in Spokane. With a consistent rotation of local and occasionally out-of-state talent coming through, they play to a wide audience with cover nights, DJs, folk singers, but most consistently, HxC, metal, and punk are their mainstays. They’ve even got some larger names, I know The All-American Rejects had an impromptu show there like last week, and the old-school punk band Agent Orange is playing there too.
There aren’t a lot of options, especially downtown where the nightlife is as prevalent as it is in Spokane, where someone can find an all-ages venue and one where the music is as consistently good as it is at The Dipper. But that’s a product of the community as much as it is of the venue itself.
The venue was owned by the guitarist for Sunny Day Real Estate (my favorite band from the 2nd wave of emo) and recently changed hands to Ryan Levey, who had been going to shows here since he was a kid. The point being, the people who run this place know music, and it’s clear they care. The sound is great, the floor is safely managed for pits, and there’s a level of respect and sense of community because the artists and crowd are allowed to both express themselves vocally and musically, which all culminates in a quality show. Plus, they’ve got a nice bar too.
If you’re downtown, I say check them out. I’ve never had a bad show at The Dipper, which is honestly more than I can say for some other places that place a little less emphasis on local artists like The Knit. Places like this are foundational to keeping the music scene alive, especially in an area like this where there’s not much mainstream attention, and they rely entirely on our support as a community.