It’s been a challenging four years for local music venues. In fall of 2020, amid the worst of the pandemic, U Street Music Hall closed its doors. Less than a year later, both  Velvet Lounge and Dodge City followed suit. And just last month, the Runaway almost shut down. Years after the pandemic first upended live music, the places that keep our local scene alive are still struggling to regain their balance.

But one small but mighty staple of the scene shows no signs of stopping. In fact, DC9 has a reason to celebrate this month. The bar and music venue located on 9th Street NW turns 20 on Feb. 13 (a year away from being old enough to drink). To mark the occasion, owner and manager Bill Spieler has organized four shows between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13 that will showcase artists from the venue’s “past, present, and future.” Such acts include local punk rock band Loud Boyz, New York singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy, and Baltimore’s own indie-rock artist Snail Mail.

“We’ve been planning this since June and now it’s finally here,” Spieler tells City Paper. “We hope these shows will be ones people will never forget.”

DC9 got its start back in 2004 when Spieler, after working at a now-shuttered venue called 15 Minutes, decided he wanted to open a new music stage of his own. To make his vision possible, he found a vacant space to set up shop and got financial assistance from friends and his former boss. It was also the same year he married Amber Bursik, DC9’s cook since 2011.

DC9 started off simple—originally with just one bar on the first floor and a stage on the second. It’s grown over the years including the addition of the venue’s kitchen and roof deck. 

According to Bursik, she and Spieler thought of DC9 more as a bar than a music venue for the first few years of its life. They still have many regular patrons who’ve never set foot on the second floor. “I’ve described us as the neighborhood bar that happens to have a music venue on the second floor,” Bursik says. 

Today, the place is known by locals for its stage and its burgers.

But from the beginning, Spieler intended for DC9 to become a place that hosted live shows with both local and international musicians. It has certainly attained that status. The venue’s alumni include Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Mac DeMarco. DC9 served as an early career venue for each of these now-acclaimed artists to build up their devoted fan bases. Another notable example Spieler recalls is the English pop rock band the 1975, who performed at DC9 in 2013—it was one of their first shows ever in the States. “It’s been a big honor to have played a role in these musicians’ careers,” Spieler says.

Spieler and Bursik have witnessed all types of shows: ones where the second floor visibly curved from the jumping crowd, others when the band performed on the sidewalk. Spieler has made it a priority to ensure the musicians and audience have a great time every night.

Bursik, on the other hand, appreciates the more intimate moments. Her favorite part of any show is the soundcheck. She’s fascinated by watching the performers get ready and fine-tune their sound for the night to come. “It’s like having my own little concert before the actual show starts,” Bursik says.

But running a music venue in D.C. is no easy task. Not to mention the stress that comes with trying to ensure, for two decades, that every night is the best night. And it’s only gotten harder in the post-pandemic era. Spieler and Bursik are honestly surprised they haven’t beed forced to close, and they claim to have no secret to their survival. They’re just happy to have devoted patrons and a dedicated staff. “We’re so glad to have them because they keep this place running,” Bursik says. “But things still haven’t returned to how it was before the pandemic.”

“I was worried we wouldn’t make it through,” Spieler adds. “After we closed our doors in 2020, I was uncertain about if they would ever open again.”

Small venues like theirs offer a place where music careers start and aspiring musicians can gain an audience. They’re necessary stepping stones on the way to larger venues such as the 9:30 Club. And for people who want to go to concerts, tickets to a small venue are often more affordable. “I’ve always believed that, if you’re an artist, you do what you do because that’s the only way you can live,” Spieler says. “DC9 is a place where you can be alive.”

Local bubblegrunge band Pickaxe, one of the performers for the Feb. 12 anniversary show, recently formed, but they’re made up of musicians who’ve been performing in the local scene for years. As people who have played at DC9 and attended shows as audience members, they have seen the venue change over the years. Drummer Dan Newhauser says the venue has improved its sound quality to the point where he thinks it’s one of the best sounding rooms in D.C. “A lot of venues have come and gone, especially in that area,” he says. “But DC9 has stood the test of time and it’s only gotten better.”

Pickaxe particularly love how intimate the space is, saying it makes the experience of seeing a performance different from that of some other local venues. “It’s such an intimate stage that you can stand right in front of your favorite artists,” says Emily Rainey, the band’s lead singer and, coincidentally, DC9’s marketing director. “You don’t get that experience at places like 9:30 Club where there’s still a barrier.”

Even greener acts new to the scene share the same sentiment. Birthday Girl, formed less than a year ago by local teens and (descendants of D.C. punk royalty) Isabella MacKaye, Mabel Canty, drummer Tess Kontarinis, will have their inaugural performance at DC9 when they open for Snail Mail on Feb. 13. MacKaye and Canty have been going to the venue for years with their parents and agree that it’s the intimacy that makes DC9 special. “It’s not too big, but it’s not too small,” bassist MacKaye says. “I love DC9 and I’m amazed that we’ll be playing there with Snail Mail.”

“Being up at the front of the crowd during a DC9 show is an almost euphoric experience,” singer-songwriter Canty adds.

The anniversary show series is meant to highlight the venue’s present but also its history and future—honoring bands who have performed there in the past and those who will perform there in the years to come. Snail Mail, who played DC9 in 2019, represent the past, while Pickaxe represent a regular act at the venue today. Bands like Birthday Girl are seen as up-and-comers who Spieler and Bursik believe will be the future of D.C. and DC9’s music scene.

Over the past two decades, the venue has gone through trial and error, yet it continues to serve many in the city’s music scene. “There were times when we were ready to give up,” Bursik says. “But here we are now and it’s already been 20 years.”

“We want to keep hosting greats for our bands and our supporters,” Spieler adds. “Thank you to everyone who has been supporting us for the past 20 years. It’s tough running place like DC9 but it all feels worth it whenever someone tells me they had a life-changing experience here.”

PLVTINUM perform at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 at DC9. eventbrite.com. $15-$75.

Margaret Glaspy performs at 8 p.m. on Feb. 10 at DC9. eventbrite.com. $30.

Loud Boyz perform with Pickaxe at 8 p.m. on Feb. 12 at DC9. eventbrite.com. Sold out.

Snail Mail perform with Birthday Girl and Flowers for the Dead at 8 p.m. on Feb. 13 at DC9. eventbrite.com. Sold out.