When Grace Cotting and Levi Hebeisen opened The Garage, their small Boyds music venue in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve, they wanted to create a welcoming, inclusive space for music fans of all ages to experience unique performances and friendly camaraderie.
“We get people out to the Ag Reserve, let them hang out with horses, let them listen to live music, and also just enjoy having a safe space to come hang out,” Cotting told Bethesda Today in a recent interview.
The pair have become passionate about their business venture, which they opened in 2023, as a way to help young people engage safely in community activities while enjoying the music they love. The music venue is located on Honey Acres Farm, a 77-acre horse farm and event space.
“It’s a safe space for teenagers and young adults to express themselves however they want, and whether it’s at our larger festivals or just our open mics for everyone, it’s a chance to hop on the mic and be part of something really special with a lot of people,” Hebeisen said.
But now, they’re facing roadblocks from the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, which Cotting and Hebeisen say has recently revoked their permits to hold live concerts.
They say the revocation has nothing to do with the loud music or crowds that are often part of a live performance. Rather, the county will not allow The Garage to be permitted because the events held at the music venue at Honey Acres Farm are not considered “agritourism.” The term generally refers to business ventures located in agricultural settings that promote agriculture-related tourism.
According to a 2019 study by Montgomery Planning, agritourism is not strictly defined in the county code and business ventures are often assessed on a case-by-case basis, but generally, breweries, wineries and pick-your-own farms are considered acceptable.
In a Wednesday email to Bethesda Today, Sonya Burke, community outreach manager for the Department of Permitting Services (DPS), said the venue doesn’t meet the county’s guidelines to be considered an agritourism site.
In an email, Burke said a recreation and entertainment facility that’s indoor or outdoor and with a capacity up to 1,000 people is “not allowed in the Ag Reserve zone without an approved accessory agricultural business operations plan. A business plan was submitted to DPS for review and it was not approved.”
Cotting and Hebeisen say they want to work within the law, and they have tried to make changes to their business operations to fall within the county’s definition of agritourism.
“We started displaying and selling farm-grown flowers and honey and other things along those lines,” Hebeisen said. “We certainly thought that fell within the goal of promoting agriculture.”
However, those changes weren’t approved by the permitting department as enough to qualify as agritourism.
That meant the DPS denied the venue’s request for a permit for a Farm Fest music festival, originally scheduled to be held on April 27. However, Cotting and Hebeisen claim the permit had been issued and was later rescinded, while permitting officials say it was never issued.
“A special event permit was not issued for the music festival,” Burke wrote in her email. She said county zoning officials denied the application because the proposed music festival was not approved as an accessory use to farming as defined in the county zoning code.
Cotting and Hebeisen said they don’t believe the county’s criteria for agritourism venues are clear and said their efforts to work with the county have so far been fruitless.
“We want to prioritize music and keep this community that we’ve built, but we also we want to do things the right way and want to work with them, but it’s been very hard to do that when they won’t totally tell us what we can and can’t do, until we break the rules and then we find out that we can’t,” Hebeisen said.
On April 21, Cotting and Hebesen shared the news about the cancelled music festival on The Garage Instagram page.
“We know you guys love our space because of how uniquely beautiful it is and all the animals you guys get to see, but this does not matter to [the permitting department]. This news is heartbreaking to us and we will continue to do our jobs as best we can,” the post said.
The post was flooded with comments from fans who were disappointed at the news, and said they enjoyed going to concerts at The Garage.
“It’s a nice breather, being able to lay out in the grass and enjoy the music,” one commenter said. “I’ve had nothing but good times there and hope for them to continue.”
Several commenters noted that there was a lack of similar venues in the area.
“MoCo only appreciates culture if it’s looked upon in a glass box with a high-price wine tasting,” one commenter wrote. “The Garage finally brought some amazing culture and music closer to home.”
Dan Reed, a policy director at advocacy group Greater Greater Washington, wrote about their disappointment at the closure in a post on the organization’s website last month. A Montgomery County native, Reed said it is important for kids to have welcoming places like The Garage to express themselves.
“As a queer kid who didn’t fit in most places, I thrived in these forgotten corners of the suburbs that gave weird kids like me a place to call their own and a chance to assert themselves in a world that was at best indifferent to their existence,” Reed wrote.
Hebeisen, who grew up in Boyds, said that’s exactly why he wanted to start the venue – which he initially started out of his parents’ home garage before opening The Garage with Cotting.
“The idea of starting The Garage was because there’s always nothing to do out here,” Hebeisen said of the upper county. “I’ve always been super passionate about music and shows, but I’ve had to drive an hour to D.C. or Baltimore, where a lot of those venues aren’t safe for young people to [travel to and attend] by themselves.”
The Garage primarily focuses on “DIY music.” Cotting and Hebeisen said that designation generally refers to smaller musical artists and bands who are producing their music without the help of a record company. This music can span a variety of genres. The Garage has hosted more than 200 shows featuring more than 500 bands from more than 20 states and seven countries.
While these artists may not be as popular as Top 40 stars, Cotting and Hebeisen said they have niche, dedicated cult followings. This means that people from across the region have ventured to Boyds to see a rare performance by their favorite DIY artist at The Garage.
“Our business has really brought in a very diverse community of people that is not currently present in the Ag Reserve. There’s a lot of stuff here for families with really young kids, like all of the pick-your-own berries or pick-your-own apple orchards that are around here, but people [in their twenties and thirties] can’t really afford to do that,” Cotting said. “The Ag Reserve also caters to a much older audience, going to wineries, breweries, cideries, which you have to be over 21 to get to. And you’re spending way more money.”
The 2019 Montgomery Planning study was conducted in part, according to the report, because there was an inconsistent definition of agritourism in the county.
“Existing agricultural education and tourism activities, including farm-to-table activities, small-scale wineries and breweries, events and festivals have been largely considered by implementing agencies on an inconsistent and individual basis to date,” the study said. “The lack of a comprehensive, consistent and transparent approach to agritourism has resulted in uncertainty for farmers, business owners, entrepreneurs, residents and county staff.”
Cotting and Hebeisen say the unique nature of the DIY music culture lends itself to agritourism, particularly when paired with the existing animal petting zoo-style opportunities. That’s why they’ve urged supporters to attend the county’s agricultural board meetings, which oversee the agricultural reserve, to advocate for The Garage, and they’ve contacted members of the County Council to work toward a solution. They want county lawmakers to consider a different angle – “agritainment.” Regionally, some jurisdictions like Loudoun County allow entertainment venues and events in agricultural areas under this type of tourism zoning.
The council has made changes in recent years to allow more activities in the Agricultural Reserve, including a zoning text amendment passed last year to allow campgrounds for tents and recreational vehicles in that part of the county. That legislation gives Cotting and Heibeisen hope that change can happen.
In the meantime, Cotting and Hebeisen have ceased operations that could be deemed illegal by the county. They’ve worked with other local venues to take on bands that were previously booked by The Garage, and have moved their focus to hosting free social gatherings so that the venue’s fans don’t lose the community they have come to enjoy.
“I think [legislation] will be a longer fight,” Hebeisen said. “If we’re able to find something short-term to help us keep being able to have these shows in the meantime, that’s always great, but we’re not going anywhere.”
