Unruly Collective — Local services in New York

I’m seeing exclusively positive reviews here, but after having close friends play here I feel the need to offer something a little more constructive if other people reading this are considering booking. I want to disclaim by saying that I really want smaller scale, collective style places like this to be successful. I also think that requires a degree of care to the artists passing through that was missing for whatever reason in my friends experience.

For starters, if you don’t meet the minimum room fee when playing, you owe them the difference. Financial transparency around this was shady at a minimum. I was at the set and the room could not have comfortably fit any more people (capacity wise, also no air conditioning in July) , but management still claimed that the ticket sales broke even on the room and did not want to pay the artists or show the receipts for ticket sales. When some pushback was given, it turned out that ticket sales were well over the minimum for the room, with no breakdown or explanation given.

Another thing that impacted the experience: The sound tech was not good at his job. He was also visibly under the influence and made multiple people (all women, including one playing) uncomfortable. Everyone who played got shocked multiple times by the microphone among other issues.

In general, it feels like a total shame because places like this can and should be successful and make a positive impact. This one didn’t for reasons that are totally preventable if they try to commit a little harder to running a venue like they claim to instead of hawking off up and coming artists through a garden apartment pyramid scheme. One star for the backyard space,...

Unruly Collective is the real deal, a collaborative creative space in the heart of Bushwick that provides artists and gallery goers way more than a typical “house show” experience, as visitors to the Collective are invited to explore three floors of locally made art, and engage with each other and the artists while vibing to some of the city’s freshest musical talent. Hillary is a matron of the arts who has transformed the space and continues to welcome new voices and faces into the doors. Check out one of the many shows that takes place there or drop by for a gallery crawl visit, you...

Unruly is the most magical place I’ve ever been. Hillary is an incredibly resourceful visionary who provides a warm and inviting atmosphere that encourages exponential collective artistic growth. The showing artists are perfectly curated — and their work is for sale! I often rehearse at the space and attend/throw performance-based shows there, and their events are always amazing — reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Factory. It’s truly an indispensable hub of social and creative energy, welcoming artists and admirers of all walks of life to engage and collaborate with...