History
The building, built in 1861, previously housed a blacksmith. Originally known as a Country Roots n' Rockabilly Music Tavern, it was an 87-seat saloon. The Horseshoe Tavern welcomed blues and folk in the 1960s, reggae, mod rock, and punk in the 1970s, new wave and alternative rock in the 1980s, and everything from ska, surf, swing, Celtic and alternative country in the 1990s. Influential acts that have played concerts include The Rolling Stones, The Police, Etta James, the Ramones, and Talking Heads. Actor Dan Aykroyd was once part-owner.
The Horseshoe has made an effort to support new Canadian artists through programs like Tuesday's Dave Bookman's Nu Music Nite. Bookman is a Toronto radio DJ for 102.1, The Edge, CFNY. As a result, it has been a springboard for such notable acts as Bryan Adams, Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip, The Watchmen, Big Sugar, Wide Mouth Mason, Great Big Sea, Stompin' Tom Connors, The Band, Helix, Prairie Oyster, and Our Lady Peace.
The Horseshoe Tavern celebrated its "60th anniversary" in 2007 with 6 shows in a row by Joel Plaskett. Plaskett played his entire catalogue during the six days (with each night devoted to one full album). Special guest appearances during the celebrations included: Peter Elkas, Sarah Harmer and Gord Downie.
Read more about this topic: Horseshoe Tavern
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“For a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“Free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated interests to consult in our intercourse with foreign powers, the present may be hailed as the epoch in our history the most favorable for the settlement of those principles in our domestic policy which shall be best calculated to give stability to our Republic and secure the blessings of freedom to our citizens.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“There has never been in history another such culture as the Western civilization M a culture which has practiced the belief that the physical and social environment of man is subject to rational manipulation and that history is subject to the will and action of man; whereas central to the traditional cultures of the rivals of Western civilization, those of Africa and Asia, is a belief that it is environment that dominates man.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)