Angie Bays has experienced several life-changing moments when music spoke directly to her. Most of those moments happened in the past six or seven years at the Living Room. Bays started going to the Living Room when she was in college. She has been volunteering there for a few years and has seen it change others' lives as well. The music venue had its last show Sunday night after giving independent musicians around Muncie and East Central Indiana a place to play for nine years. "It's a special night," Bays said. "[There were] memories and storytelling about what this place has been."
The venue was funded by The Gathering, part of a family of churches called Church of God in Anderson. The church had been struggling financially and decided to cut funding to the Living Room from its budget.
Bays said 10 bands that have all played at the venue several times before, some of them all nine years, were on the line up for the final show. She said people were happy to be a part of the show, but sad the venue was closing.
Leah Ashton said she felt well about her last performance there. She hasn't played a solo show at the Living Room for a while, she said, so her last show was special. Ashton has played six or seven shows at the Living Room over the past two or three years, she said.
The venue was a good place for independent musicians, she said, because a lot of people went to shows there and it was a good way to expand their audience. Ashton said she was happy the Living Room could end with a big finale.
Bays said someone rented the property and would turn it into office space as of May 1. She said she hasn't heard any plans to start another similar venue. She has heard a lot of people express interest in starting another venue, but wasn't sure if it could happen. She said running and maintaining a music venue takes more money than one might think.
Bays said the Living Room provided a close knit community among the people who spent a lot of time there. She said Sunday's show was emotional.
Hannah Hines said she enjoyed the diversity at the Living Room, from the people to the music. She said the venue closing was a "bummer" because it was one of her favorite places to go for the past two or three years.
Bays said Muncie doesn't have another venue or hang out place like the Living Room.
Sophomore philosophy major Emily Hinman said the scene at the Living Room was relaxing and for any one who enjoyed music. She said she had never seen anybody perform that she didn't enjoy. Hinman was disappointed the venue had to close because the only ones left in Muncie were bars.
Sophomore finance major Kevin Rhodes said the Living Room was the last under 21 music venue in Muncie and he hated that it was being taken away from him and other people who spent a lot of time there. He said the bar music scene wasn't for everyone.
Jon Hainstock has been playing shows at the Living Room for about five years. He said Sunday went well, but playing his last show there was sad for him. Hainstock said the venue has meant a lot to him in the past few years.
"It's helped shape me as a musician," he said. "I wouldn't be playing music right now if it wasn't for the Living Room, or writing my own music ... I'll miss it."
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