Vancouver Concerts, Canucks & Live Events

Downtown Vancouver between Granville Street and the BC Place / Rogers Arena complex on Pacific Boulevard is the dense centre of the city’s major event nights. Rogers Arena, the Vogue Theatre on Granville, the Commodore Ballroom one block north and the Orpheum on Smithe all sit within a ten-minute walk of each other. The Stadium-Chinatown and Granville SkyTrain stations both empty into the corridor, and almost every downtown hotel is in range. On a Canucks home night or a Commodore sold-out show, the surrounding restaurants from Cardero’s and Joe Fortes through the Keg Steakhouse on Hamilton stay full from 5 p.m. through to last call. This is also the safest part of downtown to walk after midnight, with steady foot traffic on Granville until 3 a.m.

The Granville Entertainment District between Smithe and Davie Streets is Vancouver’s designated late-night club zone. The street is closed to vehicles on Friday and Saturday nights from late spring through early fall, and the half-dozen big clubs — the Roxy, Twelve West, Caprice Nightclub, Cabana Lounge, the Granville Room and Library Square — all run until 3 a.m. with door queues that build hard after 11 p.m. The corridor leans loud and young, with bottle service, DJ residencies and a steady mix of touring and resident acts. Yuk Yuk’s and the Vogue Theatre sit at the southern edge, and several late-night pizza joints and shawarma counters handle the post-club traffic.

Yaletown south of Smithe along Mainland and Hamilton Streets converted from warehouse district to upscale loft neighbourhood in the years after Expo 86, and the bar and lounge scene now leans premium. Rooftops at the Permanent on Cambie, Reflections on the seventh floor of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia and the patio at Cactus Club on English Bay all draw a polished after-work crowd. The Yaletown Brewing Company on Mainland is the longest-running neighbourhood anchor, and the Glowbal Group restaurants on Mainland fill nightly. Yaletown-Roundhouse SkyTrain station and the Aquabus dock at Davie make this the easiest neighbourhood to reach without a car for visitors staying in Kitsilano or the West End.

Mount Pleasant along Main Street and Kingsway has been the city’s indie music and brewery centre for over a decade. The Biltmore Cabaret on Kingsway hosts touring indie, garage and electronic acts five or six nights a week, and the Fox Cabaret on Main runs DJs, comedy and small live bands. The Wise Hall a short bus ride east is a 350-capacity community hall that hosts everything from indie folk to punk to fundraising shows. Brassneck, 33 Acres, R&B Brewing and a dozen other Mount Pleasant breweries cluster within a few blocks, and most run live music in their taprooms several nights a week with no cover. The neighbourhood is twenty minutes from downtown on the 3 or 19 bus, or a short ride to Main Street-Science World SkyTrain.

Granville Island under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge is a converted industrial peninsula that now holds the Granville Island Public Market, several theatres and a year-round arts and crafts scene. The Improv Centre runs short-form improv comedy most nights, the Granville Island Stage and Performance Works host Arts Club productions and touring small theatre, and the Vancouver International Children’s Festival takes over the island in late May. The Public Market hosts free busker stages along the boardwalk through summer. The easiest way in is the False Creek Ferries from the West End or the Aquabus from Yaletown’s Hornby Street dock, both of which run continuously and turn a show night into a small adventure across the inlet.

East Vancouver and Strathcona east of Main Street hold the city’s rougher, looser, more DIY end of the live music scene. The Rickshaw Theatre on East Hastings is a 1970s former cinema turned 700-capacity rock room, and a routing fixture for heavier touring acts from Sub Pop and Polyvinyl bands through hardcore and metal. Strange Fellows Brewing on Clark Drive, Powell Brewery on Powell Street, Parallel 49 and Off the Rail run live music in their taprooms with no cover most weeks. China Cloud and the Astoria Hotel on East Hastings handle warehouse-style shows and underground programming. The neighbourhood is a fifteen-minute bus ride from downtown on the 14 or 16, or the Main Street-Science World SkyTrain plus a short walk.

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival runs from mid-January through early February with experimental theatre, dance and performance at venues across the city. Dine Out Vancouver takes over restaurant menus citywide for several weeks. The post-holiday concert calendar is quiet but the Canucks home schedule is in full swing at Rogers Arena, and the Commodore Ballroom restarts indie touring after the holiday lull.

PuSh Festival wraps in early February and the Vancouver International Wine Festival fills the Vancouver Convention Centre West for a week. The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival runs all month across dozens of cafes and chocolatiers. Lunar New Year celebrations spread across Chinatown and Richmond. The Canucks run a heavy February home stretch.

Vancouver International Dance Festival lands in the second half of the month. The Vancouver International Wine Festival finishes if it carries into early March. St. Patrick’s Day fills the Irish pubs from the Blarney Stone in Gastown through Mahony and Sons. Spring touring season begins ramping at the Commodore and Vogue.

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival takes over the city through most of April with the Big Picnic at David Lam Park as the centrepiece. The Vancouver Sun Run, the largest 10K road race in Canada, runs in mid-April. The Canucks regular season wraps and the NHL playoffs may carry into the back half of the month at Rogers Arena.

The Vancouver Craft Beer Week runs late May into early June at the PNE Forum. Bard on the Beach opens its summer season under the tents at Vanier Park. The Vancouver International Children’s Festival takes over Granville Island in the last week of May. Whitecaps and Canadians schedules are both in full swing.

TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival fills downtown venues and outdoor stages at David Lam Park and Robson Square at the end of June. Italian Day on the Drive closes Commercial Drive for a Sunday street party. Bard on the Beach is in full swing. The BC Lions open their CFL home season at BC Place.

Canada Day on July 1 fills Canada Place and Granville Island. The Khatsahlano Street Party closes ten blocks of West 4th in Kitsilano. The Vancouver Folk Music Festival runs three days at Jericho Beach Park. The Honda Celebration of Light fireworks begin in late July over English Bay. Vancouver Pride builds toward the end-of-month parade through the West End.

The Honda Celebration of Light wraps in early August. The Pacific National Exhibition opens the Fair at the PNE for the last two weeks of the month, with twilight concerts at the Chevrolet Stage included in admission. The Powell Street Festival celebrates Japantown and the Vancouver Mural Festival paints up Mount Pleasant. Outdoor concert season at Malkin Bowl and the PNE Amphitheatre is at peak.

The PNE Fair runs through Labour Day. The Vancouver International Film Festival opens in late September and runs into early October at the Cinematheque, the Vancouver Playhouse and several downtown screens. The Whitecaps push toward MLS playoffs, the Canucks open the NHL preseason and the BC Lions head into the CFL playoff race.

The Vancouver International Film Festival wraps in the first half of October. Diwali Fest celebrations spread across the city with events at the Vancouver Playhouse, Yaletown Roundhouse and Surrey Civic Plaza. Halloween fills the Granville Strip clubs with major themed nights. The Canucks NHL regular season opens at Rogers Arena.

Eastside Culture Crawl opens artist studios across East Vancouver in mid-November. The Vancouver Christmas Market opens at Jack Poole Plaza next to the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Cornucopia food and wine festival in nearby Whistler pulls some Vancouver weekend traffic. Indoor concert programming at the Commodore and Vogue runs heavy through the holiday lead-up.

The Vancouver Christmas Market runs through December 24 at Jack Poole Plaza. Bright Nights at Stanley Park lights up the miniature railway through the Christmas season. The Canucks run a heavy holiday home stand. New Year’s Eve fills the Granville Strip clubs, BC Place hosts the Concord New Year’s Eve fireworks and lounges across Yaletown and Gastown run ticketed midnight parties.