Victoria’s music scene is lively and it’s not difficult to find shows that feature local artists. Cody Rueger, a local musician, noticed the wealth of talent and has created a Spotify playlist called Victoria Music Scene to highlight the music coming out of the city.
Rueger created the playlist on June 16 and it immediately gained popularity. He had put a call out on Facebook for the Spotify links of musicians in Victoria so that he could add their music to the new playlist and received more than he’d expected. Rueger has continued to seek out more artists to add, but people have also been contacting him themselves.
“All they need to do to be added is follow and share the playlist,” he said.
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Rueger grew up in Kelowna, but has found his groove here in Victoria. “There are so many talented musicians [here],” he said.
It’s easy to go unnoticed because of the sheer number of musicians in the city, said Rueger. He’s hopeful that the playlist will help raise awareness for local musicians by bringing their music together in one place.
The variety within the playlist lends itself to many settings, said Rueger. The music is from all genres, meaning there’s something for everyone. There are some artists with about five monthly listens and others who average about 10,000, he said.
The playlist is doing well, said Rueger. It has become one of his most popular playlists. The ratio of followers to musicians was one to one for awhile, he said, but it has grown to about four to one. As of June 18, there were 430 followers.
Rueger has also created a separate playlist for B.C. artists, but it’s not performing as well as the Victoria playlist, he said.
The future of the playlist is unclear as Rueger is hoping to just “go with the flow.”
“I’d like to see the musicians in it get more streams and listens,” he said. “I just want to support local musicians and bring awareness to them.”
Browse the Victoria Music Scene playlist here.
Local musicians can be added to the playlist by contacting Rueger via email at codyruegermusic@gmail.com.
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