When COVID-19 hit Bellingham at the start of 2020, it wasn’t long before the community’s iconic music scene went silent. To the dismay of young local artists and DIY music-lovers alike, gone were the drunken walks to go sit or sway in a crowded living room covered in string lights and brimming with guitar riffs and drumbeats. But this fall, after vaccinated students started returning to Western Washington University, Bellingham saw not only the return of house shows and live music, but something else as well: music journalism.

Music journalism had all but disappeared from the community when What’s Up Magazine, Bellingham’s former live music magazine that ended its 22-year run in March 2020, went under during the start of the pandemic. Not long after the publication published its final edition in March, it would be one of the magazine’s former interns who would step up to fill the need for local music journalism.

Meet Natalie Vinh, third-year student at Western and creator of Breakout Magazine. Launched Oct. 22, the online publication covers Bellingham’s DIY music scene and publishes about eight pieces a month, alternating between reviews, features and artist interviews.

Vinh, an avid writer, got her start in music journalism when she interned for a couple music publications over the past year or so, including What’s Up and online Seattle underground music magazine Dan’s Tunes.

It was after interning with What’s Up and Dan’s Tunes that Vinh said she learned valuable music journalism skills and picked up a serious passion for the field, just in time for live music to go away with the start of the pandemic. It was at that time that Vinh did some freelance work, as well as editing for Klipsun and The Front.

In September 2021, Vinh got the inspiration to create Breakout after attending her first show since the start of the pandemic. Vinh said the fateful Hockey Teeth show that night reminded her of how much she enjoyed music journalism, and subsequently, she got to work looking for music publications to work for in Bellingham.

Her search for viable options came up empty, so she decided to start her own.

“If someone’s going to do it, I’m going to do it,” Vinh said.

Right away, Vinh started planning, recruiting and organizing for Breakout. She said she quickly realized the first thing she was going to need was concert photographers, so she got to work networking — something Vinh said she is all about — and searching for photographers to recruit.

Enter Thomas Hughes, photographer and recent VJ grad from Western. Vinh heard about Hughes’ photography through a friend, and after some encouragement to connect, Hughes reached out to Vinh and immediately got his first assignment.

“I hit her up and was like, ‘Yeah, I’m a photographer, here’s my portfolio,’” Hughes said. “And she was like, ‘Cool, do you want to do a shoot on Wednesday?”

So, the two joined forces — Vinh wrote and Hughes took the photos — and soon Breakout had its first piece, a feature article about popular DIY venue Bluebird House, which Vinh said is still her favorite piece to have done so far.

Since Breakout’s launch, the publication’s audience has grown, increasing from roughly 200 Instagram followers on the date of the launch to a little over 900 followers as of March 15.

Breakout’s number of contributors has grown as well, as Vinh said the publication is constantly recruiting and taking on new applicants, none of which she has turned down.

“It’s really important to me that anyone who wanted to get started in music journalism has the opportunity to do it with Breakout,” Vinh said.

Vinh said many Breakout contributors aside from Hughes have been journalism students, such as fifth-year Western transfer and PR major Joslin Keim.

Keim said she started in music journalism focusing on concert photography, then transitioned to editing and writing, eventually working on staff with Los Angeles music publication Culture Collide, where she interviewed several high-profile artists. Vinh heard about Keim’s work and reached out to her via Instagram to gauge her interest in joining Breakout.

Keim has since written a couple reviews so far for Breakout and is planning to do more artist interviews and feature content in the future. She says there is something special about being able to cover live music.

“You feed off the energy that the artists are giving you, and they are feeding off your energy,” Keim said. “So, being able to get back into that environment has been really, really nice.”

Keim said the opportunity to get back into live music journalism motivates her to produce content for Breakout, even if there is no pay involved. She plans to go into music journalism for her career.

“It’s definitely a passion project, but I would love it to be a paid passion in the future,” Keim said.

There is no print or profit involved with Breakout, and Vinh said there are no plans to do so for the time being. Even so, Vinh said there are still benefits for all involved to be received from the project.

“The photographers get experience and things to put in their portfolios, the writers get experience and things to put in their portfolios,” Vinh said. “There is no money involved, but I do feel like everyone is benefitting from it.”

Vinh is not the only one who feels that way, as Breakout contributors feel the same.

“I have a lot of fun doing it, and it’s what I want to do even if I don’t get paid,” Hughes said. “It’s good experience; it’s an opportunity to make connections.”