Jungle Community Music Club continues to provide entertainment and community engagement despite the challenges it has faced. — Photos courtesy of Jungle Community Music Club

By Jeffrey Shwom

It’s a Wednesday night in Union Square. Choose your own adventure … you can get there earlier for the Open Mic night or stay late for Karaoke. Either way, down a short court, tucked behind Union Square’s long time comfort pub, The Independent, lies the Jungle Community Music Club (The Jungle). Sam Epstein, owner and manager, regaled a night that two magicians performed. “It was incredible! They were really interesting.” Though an outlier for the normal artists and bands that perform on Wednesdays, that moment speaks to the specialness of the space. “Everyone supports artists going up. Meeting people and hanging out. People come in groups, or by themselves. It is a community in the club.”

The Jungle, originally an old police car garage, is “a community music club in the concrete jungle, featuring live performances … by and for local artists, fans, and musicians,” per its website. Capacity is over 75 people. Comic book happy hours, live hip-hop, R&B and rock showcases, and four band performances abound. Live performance is a gift that keeps on giving. “There are apps for everything but there is no app or website that you have a community right around, doing something together,” Sam passionately states.

“We never charge anyone to perform,” Sam tells The Times. “Other places, they are not independent. They are in some way owned by Live Nation or use Live Nation booking. Live Nation is a powerful promoter” that knows how to create a draw for artists. What happens is familiar to many long-time artists in the Boston music scene … the other bookers charge artists and if enough people show up, the artist can make something. The Jungle is the opposite. “We make sure to book enough different artists. We take the risk and do the work to help promote folks.”
*

The Jungle has been creative over the years to attract different crowds at different times. Early on, in May 2019, The Jungle hosted spinning to live music … yes regular spin bikes close to the stage. Sam snarked in recollection, “Maybe five people showed up.” Going through experiments like spinning and hundreds of performances, they have taken their experiences into who they book and how they do it.

First, they will not typically allow, say, one record label with four different bands to host or rent out the space. “If a friend has four bands on the label, they could probably pay a room fee at a different venue to put on one show with ok turnout. Or they could work with our bookers who will help build four great shows, each with one band from the label and three unrelated bands that we book. The benefit is each unrelated band gets to build their audience playing … to new fans they never met.”

The Jungle has faced normal and extraordinary challenges the past five years. Sam tells me it is “still very difficult. I had debt and not a lot of money when I started (The Jungle). I got small business loans from banks and people. The pandemic happened and I got a $300,000 SBA (Small Business Association) disaster loan, which actually ballooned my debt. That is a problem we hit. It was a big risk and I knew I’d have to work hard. It was not bailouts or grants in 2020 … it was mostly debt that I am now paying interest and insurance on.”

Recently, they saw a 30% increase in insurance premiums, even with no claims. Why? The insurance market for small music venues with alcohol is challenging. Sam details, “We cannot get regular insurance. Music venues are risky. Only a couple businesses … sell to small music venues. A lot of those small venues went out of business and I think it skyrocketed the base, since there were many fewer people paying the premiums.”

Long term, The Jungle plans to be here. Sam says that they are currently operating every day. “We may be closing on Mondays but we are here and will continue to be here.”

Visit https://www.thejunglemusicclub.com/ for show times and booking.