My name is Kailea Sked. I am an eighteen-year-old high school graduate who has always been fascinated by music and playing guitar. I have resided in Ucluelet, B.C., since I was eight years old. Despite my passion for music being so radiant, I have always felt isolated in my interest. Living in this small fraction of the island has led me to be left completely astray from any sort of opportunity to express myself, which, over time, took a toll on my well-being. It was not until April 2025 that I sought out a musical experience and travelled to Victoria, B.C. There, I discovered that a local and thriving music scene existed. It was inexpensive, accessible, and completely community-based. From there, I was given every single opportunity that I desired and found a social life to provide me with a supreme sense of belonging. I explored the rest of Vancouver Island to learn more about this scene, and I met a surplus of people who encouraged me to keep creating despite the indifference that my own community presented me. From there, I formed my own band and wondered how we could bring the scene that inspired us to Ucluelet ourselves.
For my last high school project, I was tasked with making a self-guided presentation about anything that I would like. Immediately, I recognized it as my opportunity to give something special to my community. I formed a project called West Coast Music Revival (WCMR).
The WCMR focused on components such as accessibility, entertainment, and community. I imagined an event that was free, all ages, and at a suitable time for anyone to join without ambiguity. Additionally, I wanted to focus on honouring musicians who have truly shown me what it means to have a community in the Vancouver Island music scene.
The first thing that I did to begin the project was to brainstorm. In addition to my initial ideas, I also theorized a venue, a sound guy, set times, volunteers, and food for guests. I began by speaking to Bronwyn Kelleher, the music director of the Army and Navy & Airforce Veterans Club. The ANAF only hosts 19+ shows, causing youth to be hidden from musical events in Ucluelet and Tofino. I asked Bronwyn to suspend the liquor license for one night, and she happily agreed. From then on, she and I agreed on May 29th and recruited David Brown as a volunteer sound guy for the night.
Afterwards, I decided on three bands to play for the night. The first act was my own band, Unwind, with the aim of providing a local performance. Next was Exit 30 from Campbell River. This band showed me the fundamentals of how to work and find opportunities in the music scene while also providing us with practice spaces, performances, and fun experiences. The headlining act of the night was Danger Box, a Nanaimo punk band that inspired me to embrace my energetic tendencies on stage. After finding three bands who enthusiastically agreed, I looked for a way to fund their travelling and accommodation expenses. I applied for many grants and tried to find any source of income that would work. The ANAF provided me enough to cover Danger Box’s travel expenses and offered the venue after hours to the bands.
After finding the fundamentals needed to host a show, I made an Instagram account under the handle @westcoastmusicrevival. I focused greatly on promotions, interviews, and spreading voices on the importance of the music scene—especially on Vancouver Island. The Instagram gained traction that reached all different parts of the island, and interest was found from a wide range of audiences. With this publicity, I was able to find two volunteer photographers who agreed to film the event: local photographer Geoff Johnson and student photographer Oliver M. from Victoria. I decided that with this footage, I would document the entire event and post it for others to see in order to ensure that my goal was achieved as highly as possible.
For the next coming weeks, I took surveys, interviewed guests, collected footage, and was heavily advertised. The Ucluelet Secondary School gave me approximately $50 to spend on high-quality posters. The event began to gain traction online, reaching more than a hundred followers shortly after creating the account. In the background, the bands collaborated to gear share and stage plot as much as possible.
The day before the show, I was rewarded with the CBT Neighbourhood Small grant, the final staple of what I needed to make the event perfect. I reimbursed Ucluelet Secondary for the poster money, offered Exit 30 proper transportation costs of $200, created thank-you packages for the photographers, and bought dinner for backstage musicians. These expenses were the minor details that polished my event and made it as well-rounded as it was. Additionally, Sarah Hagar donated a variety of sodas and chips for guests as a warm welcome into the venue.
On May 29th, the night of the show, the photographers filmed the setup, the take-down, and the show itself. With the volunteers, donations, and most of all the CBT Neighbourhood Small grant, everything went perfectly. The show lasted from 7 until 11 P.M. At peak hours, attendance reached maximum capacity, to which most guests reported that they were ages 12-15 and were experiencing a show for the first time. There were guests from all parts of the island, such as Port Alberni, Campbell River, Nanaimo, and Victoria. All three bands provided a sense of passion that was otherwise unseen to countless youth on the West Coast. After the event, members of the ANAF became interested in hosting more all-ages shows on a regular basis, while other bands volunteered to contribute to this. The youth who attended have since expressed their passion for live music and have even been inspired to start their own bands.
In conclusion, the event was exactly what I had imagined. This would not be possible without every single contributor who saw my vision and believed in it themselves. I plan to continue WCMR beyond just one night, and now I have full trust that my community is behind me and is equally passionate about this incredible music scene that the island has to offer. I thank every single contributor of this event, and especially CBT Neighbourhood Small Grants, for recognizing my passion for creating welcoming spaces.
