For decades Ottawa has been painted as a boring government town, a place where bureaucrats create useless bylaws and don’t leave their homes after dark. But thriving new music venues are trying to change that narrative.
At Red Bird Live, a music venue which opened on Bank Street in 2022, owner Geoff Cass said he wanted to create a space that would fill a void for performers in Ottawa.
“It’s not a bar with a stage in the corner. This is very much a music venue that happens to have a bar and a cafe,” he said. “We do a combination of bigger name touring items, lesser known touring items that need a place to perform, and lots of local performance opportunities.“
Cass first entered the music scene as a music program director at Dovercourt in Westboro. On his first day on the job, the Red Bird creator said he was tasked with leading the new Bluesfest School of Music and Art which “went on hiatus” during the pandemic.
When that position ended after a decade, Cass decided to make his own adventure. In addition to being a music venue, Red Bird is also a “recreational” music school.
“For some, they come to get better at an instrument, work on their voice or song writing skills. We don’t have a proper curriculum [that] we ask any student or teacher to follow,” said Cass. “Maybe you’re coming to learn your favourite Taylor Swift song or playing for friends and family at Christmas. Our students grow up next to and sometimes on the stage, which I think will really help Ottawa with the next generation of performers.”
The music venue, school and cafe was built by a team of 89 community volunteers who had a passion for entertainment. It’s situated in the Old Ottawa South neighbourhood, which is also home to the Mayfair Theatre, House of Targ, and Vertigo Records.
Each show begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends by 11:00 p.m. to accommodate the routines of a working-class city.
Not a far drive away, Live on Elgin opened in 2015 after surveying the local community to ask what Ottawa needed more of.
Co-owner Jon Evenchick, who started the business venture with his dad Lawrence, said the initial idea came from his final school project while attending Algonquin College’s entrepreneurship program.
“I wanted to open a mid-size venue — something around 1,000 to 1,500 capacity — standing room with a bar at the back and a smaller room for smaller shows. Finding a space that would fit that was proving to be very difficult. The infrastructure just wasn’t there. We also looked at the number of shows being presented and if we could rent the room enough nights of the year for it to be profitable,” he said. “It didn’t make sense at the time.”
While a larger venue didn’t make economic sense, their current venue in the downtown core seemed like a perfect fit when the former tenant defaulted on its lease. Live on Elgin hosts five shows a week that range from teenage artists performing their first show to bands on tour.
Evenchick said they treat everyone fairly regardless of their experience or the amount of tickets sold.
“Even if there are only 10 people in the audience, it’s a step in their career they need to take. For musicians we don’t charge rent for the room — we just say provide a door person and pay a very reasonable fee for the sound tech and all the rest is yours,” said Evenchick.
Ottawa: a city that lacks experimentation
The city’s music Industry is growing by the day. At a recent Folk Music Ontario event, Cass said he saw about 20 artists participating from the Nation’s Capital.
The Ottawa Music Coalition has also been looking for new ways to support artists, and for the first time ever, recently held a vendors meeting with the new Nightlife Commissioner — also known as the Night Mayor — Mathieu Grondin.
So if the demand is there, why is it so hard for artists to catch their start? Both Cass and Evenchick agree that Ottawa residents lack experimentation.
“One of the problems with downtown is people aren’t super stoked to try new things. But if you do go out and try, it’s guaranteed you will see someone you like because there is no shortage of good talent in Ottawa,” said Evenchick. “We will bring in a band from the States who are absolutely phenomenal and we will have 10 people here. People aren’t willing to spend $20 for someone they haven’t heard of. They don’t realize how badly that band needs those funds.”
But there is some promise that the culture is getting better. Bands are cross-promoting, groups like Ottawa Tourism are trying new ways to promote grassroots initiatives, and networking events have been on the upswing since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cass said demand for his shows has been so high, he’s selling out his 80-seat venue. Looking ahead to the future, the concert promoter said he’s looking to hold concerts at various outside venues.
“There is more opportunity. There are not a lot of venues in Ottawa but there are lots of spaces where music can happen,” he said. “Different locations can suit different genres of music perhaps. We need to work on building up the culture in Ottawa so people come to the shows regardless of who is playing.”