This week, Black Sheep Café, the independent all-ages punk music

venue that anchors a group of music-related businesses in Springfield’s Southtown neighborhood, was the subject of an extensive feature on noisey.vice.com, the “music channel” of prominent international media outlet Vice, which praised what it termed the Springfield scene’s “celebrated do-it-yourself climate.” Within a few days, however, a post from the Black Sheep’s Facebook page reported that “in terms of show attendance, finances and overall support…we are not sure at this point how much longer we are going to be able to keep our doors open.” The venue, which marks its 12-year anniversary this year, has announced several upcoming shows for the fall (see “Autumn sounds,” p. 46) if it can remain operational long enough to present them.