Canadian artists share the first venue they played live!
In this Firsts, Favourites & Facts segment, I asked six Canadian artists what the first venue they played live was. Find out their answers below.
Jane’s Party
It wasn’t our first show together – but certainly, the first that felt like this band was part of the Canadian music scene. It was the winter of 2008. At the time, we went by the band name “The After Party.” It was Dave Bookman’s New Music Night at the Horseshoe Tavern, and it was one of our first shows downtown. As a college band at York University, we were able to fill the venues and house parties in that neighbourhood but were longing to make ourselves known as a Toronto indie-band. Fortunately for us, there was another band in the city named “After Party” that had a large following. Much to their surprise (and ours as well), a large audience gathered for a completely different band than they were expecting. I recall a few puzzled faces and some strange glances, but all in all, I think we did our best to win over the audience and provide them with a good night of entertainment, even if it was not what they had ventured out in the cold to see. I recall a lot of our school friends coming out as well and bringing tons of energy and pride in their favourite 4 am university band making strides in the industry. For us, we’ll never get tired of playing the Horseshoe Tavern. It’s our home stage and has been the site for album release parties, NXNE & CMW Gigs, and where we’ve seen some of our favourite shows. We felt like we had “made it,” and still have that feeling when we’re on that stage.
Listen to their new album, Live Again, here.
Connect with Jane’s Party:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
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Apacalda
The first venue I ever played in was called the Wiggle Room. It’s a burlesque bar that is ornately decorated with vintage furniture and wall hangings. It hosts a competitive variety show once a week that includes two musical acts, two comedy acts, and two burlesque acts. A friend of mine convinced me to sing at this variety show with her, and honestly, I was terrified as I used to have debilitating stage fright. I did the classic go-to defensive mechanism of wearing sunglasses on stage. It went well, although I knew I didn’t fully allow myself to fully and freely be myself due to the stage fright. We ended up winning the variety show, which means we got invited to come back the following week, and our streak went on for five weeks straight. This was definitely validating and allowed me to use the opportunity to get comfortable on stage. It has taken me many years to feel comfortable and to really channel that part of me that was born to be on stage. I still get extremely nervous but more excited than anxious. I love performing, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to continuously refine my performance.
Listen to her latest EP, Apacalda, here.
Connect with Apacalda:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
Jeremy Fisher of Jeremy and Jazzy
My first ever public performance was at The Lazy Flamingo, a pub built in a turn-of-the-century house in Hamilton, Ontario’s Hess Village. The stage was so small it barely fit our drummer’s kit, so the bass player and I stood on the floor in front of the stage. I was 19 years old, and playing in a band was all I had ever wanted to do. I thought it would be a dream come true, but I remember waking up the next day feeling like I never wanted to play a gig again! About five paying customers showed up, one speaker was broken, and we ran out of songs, so when we got to the 3rd set, we had to repeat some tunes that we’d played earlier in the night. Despite all that, this ended up becoming a residency for us. We played there every Thursday and Saturday for the next couple of years. I put in many of my first 10,000 hours at that place, and it still holds a special place in my heart.
Listen to Say Hello, here.
Connect with Jeremy and Jazzy:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Evil Creek
Our first show ever was at the John Street Pub in Arnprior, Ontario. It was a dream come true.
The EP “Dirt Road” had just been recorded, but the band had not yet played a live show together. In fact, our frontman, Mark Garrod, had never actually sung in front of an audience at that point! As an accomplished guitar player, he had always stood to the side of center stage.
Feeling he was ready to give it a shot, Mark approached a few venues and left Dirt Road CDs with them. Wouldn’t you know it? The John Street Pub called back with an offer to open for Jeff Martin of The Tea Party! Talk about being thrown into the deep end!
When we showed up there, the place was already jammed. Mark had never been that nervous in his life, but he refused to let it stop him. Putting one foot in front of the other, he walked up there to centre stage and bared his soul to deliver Evil Creek’s message to a packed house for the first time. The energy in the room was incredible that night – at a level that Mark had never experienced before. We rocked that place, and the crowd loved it.
To top it off, when Evil Creek walked offstage, Jeff Martin himself was waiting there to greet the band and let us know he was blown away by what he heard. That meant the world to us, and it established confidence that what we were doing was something unique and meaningful – a feeling we all still carry with us to every venue we visit.
Listen to “Away From The Sun” here.
Connect with Evil Creek:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Moonfruits
The first venue we played was a coffee shop where we both worked, TAN Coffee in the Sandy Hill area of Ottawa, now a Happy Goat Coffee Co. location. Kaitlin worked there first, and, coming back from a four-month busking trip to four teaching and performing contracts all canceled, Alex started ‘volunteering’ at the café until the manager finally sat him down and gave him a job.
Just a few weeks into being a band, we put together a small weekly concert series there featuring Moonfruits as the opening act and a whack of other local artists as the main attraction. We remember keenly that “Hi everyone! We’re Moonfruits “ winded up being more of a question than a statement when Alex first introduced us on stage. The sound was rough and ready, and the arrangements fresh, but the spark and energy were all there, and that little series allowed us to start connecting with other local bands and getting our feet underneath us musically.
Listen to SALT here.
Connect with Moonfruits:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tommy Charles
One of the first actual formal performances I did was at the end of a singing contest in Montreal called ”Gala Revelations” when I was 14 years old. Being among the finalists, I had the chance to perform at the St-Denis Theater, which was absolutely HUGE for me at the time. I sang ”Home” by Michael Buble/Blake Shelton because my mother thought my voice sounded nice on that one. I was absolutely terrified to perform, and boy, could you tell by looking at that video! Sang a couple of false notes, but the last one was…horrendous. When I got off the stage and met my parents and friends, their support and smiles were so true that it felt like the best day of my life. It’s the repetition of those little and big moments combined with steady support from those you love that really makes you go a long way. Looking back, I was a really lucky kid.
Listen to “Last Country Bar” here.
Connect with Tommy Charles:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram