When Don Maher opened the Black Sheep in downtown St. John's in 2014, he wanted to do things differently.

"Right away, the first week, we had early shows," said the bar owner-manager. The Water Street venue has live music Thursday through Saturday that starts at 7 p.m., much earlier than other places booking rock and jazz acts downtown.

While earlier shows were already common in bars that feature traditional music, said Maher, he wanted to go after fans of other genres.

"We've got jazz and blues and rock and country, a little bit of everything," he said. "So we have lots of different genres starting early. I think that's part of the difference in it."

Heading into its fifth year of operation, the Black Sheep is seeing the audience steadily growing, said Maher, who noted that while there's a range, the audience tends to be a little older — 40-somethings rather than 20-somethings. He's not surprised by the response to — or the demographics of — the crowd, he said, given the province's aging population; people just don't want to stay up as late.

Don Maher, left, the owner of the Black Sheep in downtown St. John's, says earlier show times are working for him, although it's mostly an older crowd. Daunt Lee, right, is a musician who sometimes performs at the bar. (Heather Barrett/CBC)

For Brenda O'Reilly, co-owner of YellowBelly Brewery and O'Reilly's Pub, which has had live music seven days a week for more than two decades, she said — the biggest factor is not demographics, but the provincial economy.

"The economy is soft. It has been soft now for a few years, and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better any time soon," she said. For her, that means rolling back from full bands to duos or even solo acts some nights of the week.

The population's obviously getting older. We have less access to young people. - Brenda O'Reilly

But the aging population does play a part.

"We've got an older demographic right now. The population's obviously getting older. We have less access to young people," she said.

The millennial crowd that does show up tends to be looking for something a little different than previous generations, she said.

"I'm finding that they are wanting experiences as opposed to just showing up and walking in assuming there's live music," she said.

O'Reilly said she's had more success recently with — as well as earlier shows for the older crowd, like the Black Sheep — ticketed events centred around themes or holidays.

Blessed with musical options

"People want more than just the 'same old same old,' which is not to take away from the quality of music we have here in Newfoundland, because it's so absolutely blessed with that," said O'Reilly.

"It's almost like a kid in a candy shop. We have so much access to it, it's so accessible all the time, that it's become normalized."

If you're playing first, you're playing to an empty bar. - Daniel Greene

Caitlin Whelan, lead singer of St. John's band Weird Girlfriend, agrees the economy is a factor, but among her crowd of 20-somethings — she's 26 — it's more about personal economics than the provincial economy.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that, you know, going downtown for two drinks is almost like a half-case of beer," she said. "And I think that that definitely is a factor when people are thinking about how they're going to spend their weekend."

A wider range of entertainment options — from streaming music and movie services to sophisticated video games — may be keeping more people at home, said Whelan, and O'Reilly agreed that there's a generational change.

The George Street Festival always attracts a big crowd, but downtown St. John's bar owners say it's increasingly harder to attract a young crowd to shows — especially since there are fewer young people around to attract. (CBC)

"They've got so much more at their disposal. There's so many more things, and their social environment is different," said O'Reilly.

"When I grew up, when I was younger, we went downtown every Friday, Saturday night, and that is not the case. That is not what the young people are doing right now. They're not going downtown every Friday night and socializing. They've got more things. I sound like my dad now!"

Whelan also concurred that people are increasingly more interested in a specific experience than simply paying a cover charge to see the same act they saw last month or last week.

Performing, not just playing

"There's been bands on the go in the last few years that every time you go, the stage would be decked out. They'd be performing, not just playing, you know?" said Whelan. "There's this aspect of seeing something that you were never going to see twice."

Downtown prices may also be one reason why earlier start times might not work for everyone, though, said Whelan; people planning to head downtown often want to have a few drinks more cheaply at home — "pre-drinking" — before paying higher bar prices.

She's not a fan of late start times for shows — "If they say it's going to start at 10, it's probably going to start quarter to 11" — whether she's performing or part of the audience.

Brenda O'Reilly is the co-owner of YellowBelly Brewery and O'Reilly's Pub, and is the owner of the restaurant, Mussels on the Corner. (Mark Cumby/CBC)

"When people can leave a show at midnight or even one o'clock, that's a lot more reasonable than 3, when a lot of shows have been ending in the last few years," Whelan said.

Whelan's partner — and guitarist in Weird Girlfriend — Daniel Greene, 27, has been playing with bands in St. John's for nearly a decade, and says the problem for bands targeted at a younger audience is that the audience just isn't there for the 7 p.m. shows at places like the Black Sheep.

"The prime slot is usually midnight, so essentially if you're playing first at 10:30 or 11, oftentimes there's not even people in the bar then," said Greene.

"So if you're playing first, you're playing to an empty bar and then towards the end of your set, a few people will start to roll in. And I think it's kind of always been that way, at least since I've been playing."

If you stay out all night, you're going to find it really difficult to wake up and go to the farmers market. - Caitlin Whelan

Cheaper drink prices earlier in the evening might be one way to bring the younger crowd in before midnight, he said, but there's a downside to that too.

"If you could drink for, like, three dollars a beer and go down to a show at 8 o'clock, I think the bar would be packed," he said.

"It's kinda unfortunate that it's that way, because then it becomes less about going to actually check out live music and see bands … it gets centred around drinking more."

Whelan also says she thinks there's a social and cultural shift happening with the younger crowd that may be keeping them away altogether.

Compassion for the self

"If you stay out all night, you're going to find it really difficult to wake up and go to the farmers market," Whelan said.

"Those kinds of experiences really do enrich our lives. Shows do too, but I think that there's been a variety of different kinds of movements around healthy living and people being more visible with mental health discussions."

She said "compassion for the self" is playing a factor.

"People are actually really considering where they're going to spend their time and money."

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