Four years ago, Richard Groulx was touring as a musician through small prairie towns in Saskatchewan when he noticed a lack of dedicated live music venues in rural communities - and decided he would do something about it. A year later, he found an affordable property situated on Main Street in Lemberg, a very small town (population 306) located nearly halfway between Yorkton and Regina. The old building needed a lot of renovations to make it into a suitable live music venue, but Groulx has since managed to incrementally improve the facility through careful hard work.
Now dubbed The Jam Space, the venue is a cozy fifty-seat room optimized for live events. The venue serves a small but loyal base of music lovers. The first concert was held in April of 2012. Most days, the Jam Space is where Richard offers music instruction to local youth, but the central focus of the Jam Space is a monthly concert. Promotion extends to communities in all directions. Posters go up in Yorkton, Melville, Fort Qu’Appelle, Grenfell, and several other villages and towns. Admission is set between $15-20 - which was initially a hard sell to a rural crowd accustomed to music simply as a background element of a night out.
Word-of-mouth praise for the consistent entertainment is spreading. Fans from the surrounding communities drive long distances for an intimate night of music at The Jam Space. Many Regina and Saskatoon bands have already enjoyed a warm welcome there, including The Lonesome Weekends, Smokekiller, Megan Nash, and JJ Voss.
Groulx has also been working to contribute to the community of Lemberg by supporting local fundraisers and events. The Jam Space hosted a Rally for the Rink fundraiser. Soon Groulx will be producing an outdoor local talent show stage to complement the town’s annual car show on August 11. The summer season will also feature a concert series in collaboration with the 13th Avenue Recording label including 13th Ave Strings, Belle Plaine, and The Lazy MKs. The Jam Space is committed to welcoming new artists and bands; don’t overlook Lemberg when planning your next tour!
More information: https://www.facebook.com/thejamspace/
