Reno’s goth scene is growing thanks to a large community of younger people—and events that support these fans of all things dark and different.
The Belfry, a “seasonal-ish” event dedicated to Reno’s goth community, is an all-ages night of dancing and community. DJs spin through spooky genres like darkwave, goth rock, post punk and more, while the exuberant local goth scene celebrates. Each event comes with a gothic theme, and the next event, set to take place at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 27, at the Holland Project, is Nosferatu-themed.
During a recent interview with Izzy Brewer, one of the members of the Belfry’s “Goth Committee” of organizers, she explained how the idea for an all-ages goth night filled a need.
“We have a Facebook group (Reno Goth Scene), and we had some of our younger goth community who were under the age of 21 popping on there and asking if there were any events that they were able to attend,” Brewer said. “Reno’s goth scene is still kind of being developed, so we really were only focusing on 21-and-up events … so we didn’t really have anything for the community. That sparked something throughout a lot of the elder goths in our community, and as it happened, we apparently all emailed the Holland Project in the span of two weeks, saying, ‘We would love to talk to you and figure out if we can potentially partner with you on how we can get a goth dance night and all-ages goth night going for our baby bats.’”
Alana Berglund, the associate director at the Holland Project, helped organize a meeting.
“We had quite a few people there,” Brewer said. “I think it ended up being between nine to 12 people from our goth community who showed up, and it was a mixture of DJs, elder goths passionate about the scene and about our youth, and then other event coordinators. Basically, we all just came together to say, ‘Let’s just band together, start hosting a few shows, and put a few out there to see what the need was.’ This happened probably a week before the Holland Project hosted their Goth Skate Night at the Roller Kingdom. (Alana) invited us out, and she was like, ‘If you guys want to come and see the community, we’ll see what the reach is and what the turnout is there, so we know what to expect moving forward.’ When we got there, the place was sold out. I think she had said 500 people showed up for the event, and less than 200 of those were adults.”
The committee members wanted to create an event inspired by their memories and experiences as younger goths.
“The first thing everybody said in that meeting was, ‘Look, we really need to be there and bring this for our youth, because we all got into crazy things, just being so desperate for a community that looked like us and has the same passions as us,’” Brewer said. “We need to create that for them. … Another thing that we were hearing from a lot of our younger generation is as soon as they would turn 21 and start attending our events, they had such a hard time acclimating or getting into the community and getting to know people.”
The first Belfry event, hosted in January, was an instant success.
“Before the day of the show, we were already over 50% sold out, just from pre-sale tickets,” Brewer said. “… Walking into that, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh; it’s amazing.’ We had our doors open at 7, and I think it was 6:30 when I showed up to help with the setup of the show, and there was already a line of 30 kids waiting to get into this dance that we were hosting.”
Brewer was amazed at the huge turnout, and even more amazed at the attendees’ dedication to expressing themselves.
“These kids went so hard,” Brewer said. “I felt under-dressed at my own event. It was so awesome, but that’s exactly how I wanted it to be. Working with youth, I’m very aware of the development of kids of this age group, so I became quickly aware that they were all looking at me to learn how to dance to the music, because they hadn’t really been exposed to it in a public setting like this. I was starting dance circles and bringing people in. … The DJs were really good about bringing in a lot of the popular songs that the kids were requesting. There were even some sing-alongs, and the kids knew all the words to songs from the ’80s. It created this amazing environment that we got really committed to.”
Subsequent Belfry events weren’t quite as successful as the first, causing the elder goths to rethink their approach.
“It kind of slowed down until we could all come together again in the summer and be like, ‘OK, so we have a few shows under our belt; we need to figure out our direction, and we need to figure out our marketing, and what’s our actual goal here,’” Brewer said. “… From there, we got an even tighter group of people who were really well-rounded, and had the time commitment, because it is a big commitment to put on these themed shows. Now we have built a whole name, and we’ve built a whole direction that we’re taking things, and everybody’s on the same page about this passion.”
Brewer said attendees have told her how much the Belfry means to them.
“I actually bump into so many of them, which is great, and they always say hi, and we’ll catch up, or they’ll ask when the next event is,” Brewer said. “A lot of the kids were just really excited that it gave them a community to come and be part of. … Kids are coming in full makeup to the event—not just some black lipstick and black eyeliner, like full trad goth makeup, and kids of all genders were doing this. … I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so proud of you for feeling so safe in this space where you could come and express yourself and be confident in this.’”
Brewer and the rest of the Goth Committee are working to include more youth in the organization of the events, and add other adult collaborators as well. She urges anyone interested to reach out via instagram.com/belfryreno or mailto:[email protected].
“I didn’t want it to be an event that was just hosted by adults for kids; I wanted to bring the kids in and start teaching them, helping them develop skills if they were interested, and giving them a space to actually grow in the subculture,” she said. “Already, two of our DJs have brought on young adults who they are coaching, and they’re actually going to play in our April show, which I’m super, super excited about. … Holland already has their youth mentorship program, where they allow kids to come in and learn about event production. We are also going to put out our own thing, inviting any young adults who are interested in getting into concert photography, who want to come and build their portfolio, or anyone who’s interested in event planning or coordination. I’m super-open to any ideas. I just really want to start building that platform where these kids can come in and either start learning from us adults, or have a space where they can grow and perform and share their art. We also are wanting to build up a roster, and just connect with older people in our community who already have established metaphysical stores that want to be involved, or clothing stores, DJs, artists, bands—anyone in the community who’s passionate about this.”
Teree Yount, aka DJ TigerBunny, is a frequent performer at the Holland Project, and a pillar in Reno’s goth scene. She’ll be one of the DJs performing at the Dec. 27 event.
“I’m going to play with Jon Potter, who was a friend of mine in the ’80s; we used to go dancing at all-ages clubs when we were teenagers,” Yount said. “It really changed our lives and shaped who we are now. We’re both DJs, and we’re never going to stop buying records, and we have great taste and play really well together. … We’re going to have young people and old people. We’re just so excited because we all got to go dancing when we were young, and nobody gets to do that now.”
Yount talked about discovering the goth lifestyle.
“When I was young, like 14, I found this article in Rolling Stone, and it was about this generation in Los Angeles that was secret,” Yount said. “They would have underground nightclubs, and they interviewed all these people in Los Angeles, and I saw their pictures and read all the music they listened to, and I went out and bought (music by) every single band that they listed, and that really changed my life. I was into punk and mod, but as soon as I heard Christian Death and Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cramps and T. Rex and The Sisters of Mercy, I completely knew that was my home for the rest of my life.”
The Belfry event is in good hands with DJ TigerBunny, an OG goth, behind the decks.
“We would call ourselves ‘death wreckers’ before it was called goth, or ‘graveyard dwellers,’” explained Yount. “We really, really were addicted to ghosts, and we did Ouija board all the time and the tarot all the time. It was a lifestyle, and now it’s called goth.”
While the goths of today are very different from ‘death wreckers,’ Yount said she loves that they have a chance to thrive.
“Whether it’s spiritual, or they’re dwelling in graveyards, at least they will be dancing together, and they will be wearing what they want to wear and hearing what they want to hear,” Yount said. “The best thing is they get to meet kids from all high schools, like we did. Instead of only knowing your friends from your high school, when you go to a dance night, you get to meet teenagers from all the high schools, and I think that’s so special. That’s how I made so many friends when I was young.”
Yount feels a connection to the young goths for whom she spins.
“Everyone thinks teenagers are scary, but I feel like a teenager still, so I’m not afraid,” Yount said. “I work for the library system, and I’m on the teen engagement board, so we’re always trying to find more ways for teenagers to engage with our community organizations, and Holland is the perfect place, because teenagers are there all the time. If they want to dance, then we will absolutely provide that for them, and they’re just so enthusiastic about it. They express themselves so thoroughly, and we really love that, too.
Yount expressed her respect for the Holland Project.
“They make everyone feel so comfortable and cool,” she said. “It’s not a judgy place. Everyone just feels like they can express themselves in the way they want. You can do art or crafting, or maybe you can be in a show with your art, you can have your band be onstage. The Halloween cover show, I think, has really brought out so much more ambition from the young music community, because they really see that they can go onstage, and they can play instruments in front of that full room. That’s really rare, because when I was growing up, we only had bands playing in community centers and basements and secret warehouses and stuff—and now they get to actually do it legally and in a place where everyone supports them.”
While the Belfry events are catered to younger goths, Yount and other elder goths have benefited as well.
“One cool thing is that parents like myself, or younger than myself, who have teenagers, can bring their kids to those events, and it is all-ages,” she said. “We love it, and their kids also love it, so everyone gets to be together. There’s nowhere else you can bring in a 15-year-old to enjoy music that we also love.”
The Belfry All Ages Goth Night: “Winter Kills” will take place at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 27, at the Holland Project, 140 Vesta St., in Reno. Tickets are $5, and the event is all ages. For tickets and more information, visit hollandreno.org.