MAKING HISTORY
Live Nation and Drake partner to bring a new state-of-the-art , mid-sized venue to Toronto
By Kevin Young
PHOTO : SCOTT NORSWORTH
Although Toronto has a wide range of live music venues , History , a partnership between Live Nation and homegrown superstar Drake , definitely fills a void in the scene , not only in terms of its capacity , but owing to the flexibility it offers as an event and live music space .
Completed in 2021 and located on Queen Street East in Toronto ’ s Beaches area , the 2,500- capacity venue is purpose-built to offer a relatively intimate but decidedly high-impact concert experience . As noted by Alex Hudson in an article published on Exclaim . ca in June 2021 , “ By Drake ’ s arena-sized standards ,” this may be a “ smaller room ” but it does offer the kind of options generally more likely to be found in larger spaces and / or festival venues .
As Drake himself said when the venue was announced in June 2021 , “ Some of my most memorable shows were playing smaller rooms like History . I wanted to take those memories and what I learned to create an incredible experience for both the artists and the fans .”
From conception to completion , creating History has been about establishing a uniquely flexible , state-of-the-art space for both audiences and artists . And everything that went into the
venue was chosen with that in mind .
Beyond being outfitted with systems that will allow History to provide high-value , high-production live experiences , that ethic informed the construction and design of the interior ; a two-tiered space featuring a general admission section on its main / lower level , a 365-capacity mezzanine area overlooking the stage . Combined , they provide an easily “ convertible ” space offering multiple possible layouts and seating options for events running the gamut from concerts to corporate events to private functions of virtually any description .
“ The live music industry in Toronto is pretty vibrant , with Massey Hall [ reopening ], the Danforth Music Hall turning 100 years old last year ,” says History ’ s general manager , Steven Biasutti . That said , the city was lacking in terms of mid-sized , 2,000 — 3,000-capacity rooms , he continues : “ Live Nation saw that and found this location in the east end . In terms of arts and culture , it ’ s a very vibrant neighbourhood . So , they chose this location and decided to partner up with Drake . I mean , what better ambassador for the city of Toronto ?”
The vision for the venue , which will host roughly 200 concerts / events annually , was to provide the type of setting that a wide range of artists would find compelling as a performance space , from acts whose draw hovers around that 2,500-cap spot , to larger acts who might be interested in multiple nights in a space with class-leading production systems .
“ Live Nation works with a lot of venues , like the Velvet Underground and the Danforth Music Hall ,” says David Gardner , History ’ s technical director , “ but there ’ s kind of a missing piece before you get up to , say , Echo Beach , Budweiser Stage , or Massey Hall . It makes sense to have this kind of stepping-stone venue . If Live Nation were going to put an artist in the Danforth for two nights , that ’ s your 2,500-cap . So , why not move them to History and free up the Danforth for another artist who ’ s capable of selling 1,200 to 1,400 tickets ? History helps fill that gap .”
“ The venue is very much a concert venue ,” Biasutti continues . “ The way it ’ s designed , there ’ s no bad seat in the house , and we have premium seating , as well . The concept was to have a large venue , arena experience for a club-sized band … to have all the high-end touches you ’ d see in a large arena but have it in a smaller club .”
That includes the main event space , as well as the back-of-house areas , and is reflected by the audio and lighting / video systems inhabiting the space and the connectivity between them . The audio , lighting , and video systems were
24 | Spring 2022