Guest Post by Terrence M.
Local music venue The Garage has received an order from Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS) to cease and desist all operations, leaving one of Montgomery County’s largest local music organizers with an uncertain future.
The dispute primarily revolves around Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve, and whether or not concerts hosted by The Garage on the Agricultural Reserve are in compliance with the county’s intended use for the land. One-third of all land in Montgomery County is designated as the Agricultural Reserve, and land within these boundaries is sanctioned for specific commercial use in alignment with the county’s efforts to preserve and promote local agriculture.
The Garage operates on privately owned farmland rented from Honey Acre Farm, one of many farms on the Agricultural Reserve subject to this commercial regulation. In March of 2025, The Garage applied for a permit to host Farm Fest, which was set to be the venue’s most expansive music festival since its conception in 2023. Farm Fest boasted 20 local bands from across the county and greater DMV, playing all day across three stages spread out around the farm. The bands would perform alongside 40 art vendors, 10 local business representatives, and a plethora of local food sellers from around the county. The farm was set to serve as an enriching outdoor backdrop, as well as a petting zoo for the patrons, sporting donkeys, pigs, goats, and even an alpaca for listeners to engage with between sets. Montgomery County DPS approved the permit for Farm Fest, and their outline for the event was set in motion.
All of that changed, however, just three weeks before Farm Fest was set to take place. According to Grace and Levi, head organizers for The Garage, DPS rescinded their permit for the festival just two days later, and instead issued an order to cease and desist all operations, carrying a looming penalty of $500 for each violation.
For Grace and Levi, leading emotions were those of frustration and confusion. “We follow the same business model as private events and weddings, which are always permitted… I don’t know how we don’t fall under that category.”
But beyond the initial heartbreak, the organizers also found themselves sitting with a sense of injustice. In an Instagram post announcing the cancellation of Farm Fest, the organizers expressed their sense that this conflict is one of classism and discrimination, in which younger, alternative, and lower-income crowds are being inadvertently excluded from the luxuries of the County’s Agricultural Reserve.
Per county zoning regulations, live music alone does not fall within the intended use of the Agricultural Reserve, and must instead serve as a backdrop for something more directly related. The keyword here is agritourism, which constitutes an accessory use of the Agricultural Reserve that brings in visitors for the purpose of enjoyment, education, or active involvement in farm land or agricultural operation.
With such regulations in place, instead of live music events, wineries, meaderies, breweries, distilleries, equestrian facilities, and other high end recreational activities dominate much of the commercial uses that are allowed on the Agricultural Reserve, and while this genre of recreation does successfully attract many to the Agricultural Reserve and its operations, Grace and Levi argue that these activities are far too inaccessible to the younger, lower-income crowds that The Garage’s events serve.
“Breweries and wineries are all 21-plus, and all way out of our age bracket’s price range, so it’s just an inaccessible place for younger audiences and people of lower incomes,” Grace contends, “That sets a really high bar for the people that are allowed to come enjoy and recreate in this area.”
But organizers and attendees alike have pointed to larger implications regarding The Garage’s uncertain future. The Garage falls under what many would consider to be a DIY (Do It Yourself) music and art venue. This means that just about every aspect of The Garage’s formal and informal operation is achieved through the independent work of the organizers themselves, or through collaboration with the ecosystem of artists, musicians, and organizers that exist in the local DIY community.
DIY music and art have long held a deeply intimate relationship with those most vulnerable in a community, and The Garage is no exception. In 2024, The Garage reportedly hosted 8 different fundraising shows to raise money and awareness for various causes, including the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, mental health awareness, GirlsRockDC, and toys for children, as well as a variety of shows celebrating Pride, International Women’s Day, and various other social justice movements.
But perhaps the larger role that The Garage plays in sponsoring social change is that it serves as a platform and a safe space for those who otherwise may have been denied one. Historically, DIY art, music, and culture have played integral roles in queer and feminist movements, as the DIY philosophy and spirit gave platform to ideas, experiences, and people who otherwise may have been overtly and covertly excluded from public forum.
Today, DIY culture’s place in the world, as well as in the county, hasn’t changed much. Taking even one step into The Garage’s towering doors and amplified sound will yield the understanding that it serves an incomparably disproportionate population of queer and alternative youths, congregating, recreating, and demonstrating in masses almost never seen in Montgomery County’s light of day.
Now, Grace and Levi talk of the hundreds of letters that came pouring in from Garage attendees in the days following the announcement of the cease and desist, describing the role it played as an anchor in their lives and in their community.
“It was just so special to see how many people described it as a home, and saying that they don’t have another place to go,” Levi relayed, “it’s not like we’re specifically advertising to queer people, but yeah, other people have more options than they do.”
Currently, The Garage’s future still lingers in uncertainty. Levi and Grace describe the overwhelming support that they’ve received from their community, from aforementioned letters of support to pro bono legal representation and contact with county officials.
Montgomery County councilmember Evan Glass reportedly reached out to The Garage in the days following the announcement, voicing his desire for a resolution that satisfies all parties involved. Councilmember Glass’ office left a statement for this article, confirming his reception of concerns, expressing his hope for a solution that accommodates all parties, and affirming that “Councilmember Glass is optimistic that a positive outcome will be achieved.”
A formal petition has also been created by the organizers of The Garage, urging members of the Montgomery County Council to expand the official definition of agritourism to accommodate the inclusion of live music, citing these gatherings as an opportunity to bring new economic growth and awareness to the Agricultural Reserve, in addition to highlighting its potential to further accessibility and inclusivity within the reserve by circumventing social and economic barriers that may currently still exist.
For right now, however, that uncertainty still remains, as does an air of frustration with the systems that have created it.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m doing their job,” Levi jokes, albeit somewhat sincerely, “like, they’re the ones that should be out here creating spaces for the youth.”
At the moment, perhaps the only certainty that does exist is that the outcome of this turmoil will be nothing if not consequential, both tangibly, as hundreds if not thousands of marginalized and at-risk youth lose a sanctum sense of home and community, and intangibly, as those same youth lose faith in a system that evidently was not built to serve them.
“If we get shut down, the one thing that they’re gonna remember about the Ag Reserve is how it took away their favorite place when they were 16 years old,” Levi affirms.
Still, Grace and Levi seem to have lost little hope.
“I don’t think people have given up on the space yet, and neither have I… Everyone is still willing to fight for it.”
As our interview came to a close, I asked Levi and Grace what, if anything, they would want the Department of Permitting Services and county officials to know most, about them, The Garage, and about the greater DIY culture of Montgomery County.
“I want the county to take the time to read all these letters… every single one,” Levi said, echoing the urgency and gravity of the decisions in the county’s hands.
Grace concluded, “I want them to know that we’re making up for everything they’re lacking.”
