Local and visiting musicians get new opportunities with The Sound Cellar

Musicians of all skill levels just got a new space to work on their craft and connect with other musicians right here in Revelstoke. The Sound Cellar is now open for a range of lessons and will soon offer rehearsal spaces and a recording studio to help the musical talent in Revelstoke.

“It’s such a music loving town, it’s shocking to me that nothing like this has happened sooner,” Paddy Brown, The Sound Cellar’s music director and guitar and bass instructor told Revelstoke Mountaineer. 

Along with local musicians playing at Revy.Live Outside, Brown pointed to other musical events and venues that are highlighting the growing local talent. With a town so supportive of live music, Brown said the team behind The Sound Cellar were surprised that a centralized musical school and recording space wasn’t available.

“We’re very happy and grateful to be the ones to make it happen.”

The Sound Cellar is the brainchild of the team at Fable Book Parlour, an independent bookstore and music supply store. Residents and guests can find guitars, ukuleles, strings, guitar pics, kalimbas and more. Founders Stacy Batchelor and Kristin Olsen have been champions of music in Revelstoke, and The Sound Cellar is a chance to expand on events such as the Parlour Sessions and lessons offered through Fable Book Parlour.

Currently, The Sound Cellar offers individual lessons in guitar, bass, cello, voice, french horn, piano and ukulele. Two instructors are also hosting the Music for Young Children preschool music program through The Sound Cellar. While instruments are currently limited and students are encouraged to have their own, Brown said the team is seeking partnerships with Yamaha to help expand access to instruments and even provide rental opportunities.

“We definitely want to be able to accommodate all types of people, whether they have instruments or not.”

Rehearsal spaces are in the works and plans are in motion for a recording studio on site, a feature Brown hopes will help local musicians make the next leap in their careers.

“All the years that I’ve lived here, I’ve seen so many talented musicians cycle through the town,” Brown said. “They’ve created basically full albums, but they just don’t have anywhere to record.”

Access to the space might be a challenge for some, Brown admitted, with the cellar part of the name a nod to the basement location of The Sound Cellar in the heritage building on MacKenzie Avenue. There is elevator access for students and guests who need it, but it will be through the Selkirk Medical Group’s office space, located along First Street.

That basement feel is a mood Brown hopes the design of the space will capitalize on, leaning into the Speakeasy styles. He hopes with some added soundproofing, lounge furniture and some future sound engineering, the space can become a highlight of Revelstoke’s performance venues.