New Brunswick’s working-class roots power a thriving punk scene | Canada Voices

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Haven Music Hall is a one-year-old establishment that sits less than two kilometres from Canada’s largest oil refinery in Saint John, N.B. It’s nestled between the city’s only strip club and two infamous dive bars. There is no sign above the door, but Haven is always packed on a Saturday night.
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In other, larger metropolitan centres, this kind of place would be priced out of existence, but in New Brunswick, owners Abigail Smith and Sidney Foy have eked out a spot to celebrate local culture: “The socioeconomic situation in Saint John is the perfect formula for a thriving punk scene,” says Smith.
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The city’s economy relies heavily on forestry and oil production, a reality that translates into the sound that is showcased at Haven and reflected broadly by the music scene. The city’s economy even inspired the name of the studio that records many of the acts at Haven – Monopolized Records.
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Matt Elliot of punk band Crying Shames said that art in general in Saint John, and more broadly in New Brunswick, tends to reflect the political reality of the region. “People come to creative expression to say something. So if you’re in a place where you feel oppressed as a working-class person, the art is always going to reflect that.”
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Punk, garage and hardcore music are essentially “folk music to places like Saint John,” said Smith, “because they tell our stories and are deeply connected to class.” She notes that Saint John has one of the highest rates of child poverty in Canada and is also home to one of the richest families in the country.
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Smith and Foy called the bar Haven as an acknowledgement of how few places there are in the city to see live music. It’s an inclusive environment. As Smith puts it, “We’re not a gay bar, we’re gays with a bar.”
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“Haven was born from a long-time struggle to find unconventional spaces that has been fought since long before my time,” said Smith. She was part of a group that in 2017 organized a grassroots music festival called Quality Block Party, which was headquartered at Taco Pica, a Guatemalan restaurant that doubled as an all-ages venue at night. The restaurant closed during the pandemic lockdown.
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Elliot said that even when bands in Saint John are not playing punk music, there is a general “punk ethos” that permeates the scene.
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“The music scene here is basically do-it-yourself by necessity, so … simply by making music in this town, you are basically part of a punk ethos.”
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“It’s like the smell from the pulp mill,” said local music scene patron Neil Bonner when asked to describe Saint John’s sound. “But in a good way.”
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bio: Chris Donovan is a documentary photographer, arts administrator and educator based in Saint John, N.B. He is a PhD candidate at Toronto Metropolitan University and works on long-term photographic projects which address issues of class and environmental justice primarily in the Canadian Maritimes and the American Midwest. His new book, The Cloud Factory, examines issues of environmental classism and is a love-letter to the resilience and beauty of his hometown of Saint John.
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Photography and story by Chris Donovan

Editing by Lisan Jutras

Photo editing by Theresa Suzuki

Digital building by Evan Annett

Interactive design and development by Christopher Manza
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