The much-anticipated venue History Ottawa will open on Rideau Street this summer, Live Nation announced on Monday, along with a preliminary lineup of shows.
The 2,000-seat venue will open in August, with the first performance by American rock artist The Wallflowers on Aug. 20. The preliminary lineup runs from August to December and includes the following acts: Kaleo, The Pretty Reckless, Sabaton, Two Door Cinema Club, Bahamas, Marianas Trench, Talk and Wolf Parade.
Bronwyn Campbell has been named the venue’s general manager. She joins History Ottawa after serving 11 years as the general manager of Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom.
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“I’m thrilled to be leading the History Ottawa team,” Campbell said in a news release from Live Nation Monday. “Bringing this venue to life is an exciting opportunity and I look forward to building a team that cares deeply about creating a space that both fans and artists love coming back to. Ottawa is known to have some of the most passionate music fans in the country and we can’t wait to welcome them and make History feel like home – building on everything that’s made our Toronto venue so special.”
Joining Campbell is Rob Feller, who will take on the role of senior operations manager. Feller grew up in Ottawa and also comes from the Commodore Ballroom, where he managed the box office and led the venue’s premium services team. He brings more than 12 years of experience in the live music industry.
Ali Shafaee, vice-president of regional operations for Live Nation Canada, will continue to oversee the project alongside Alex Primeau, who will support programming efforts.
“The venue located at 47 Rideau St. will feature state-of-the-art sound and lighting, alongside History’s signature, high-end hospitality, hosting a dynamic range of events – from concerts, live entertainment and galas to community programs and special events. Drawing hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to the downtown core, the venue is poised to play a major role in revitalizing Ottawa’s entertainment district while driving meaningful economic impact,” Live Nation said in the release.
The company will host job fairs and plans to announce further details around opening week in the coming months.
History Ottawa is an expansion of the Toronto location, which opened in 2021 in collaboration with Canadian rap artist Drake.
At an event focusing on downtown revitalization last month, Shafaee said History Ottawa will be a catalyst for revitalization in the city’s core, helping to create jobs and bring more artists to the nation’s capital.
“We tend to see an artist in London or Windsor. They’ll go to Toronto, Buffalo and Syracuse and then they’ll hop back on the 401 and go to Montreal. They’ll always just drive through Ottawa and skip it,” he explained. “They want to play markets that they’re able to build themselves in … and when you lose that in Ottawa by not having this room, the artist doesn’t resonate with the city.
“We thought that the only way to be able to do that is to build a mid-size venue in Ottawa. We’re the only market in Canada that doesn’t have this kind of space,” Shafaee said, speaking on a panel on arts and culture in the downtown core last month.
He said the venue will bring a “reimagination” of the ByWard Market. With the venue expecting to put on 150 events annually, Shafaee said it will employ 300 full- and part-time employees.
“Those staff need to be able to live close to work, so it means bringing more people that are going to be staying in the downtown core or the ByWard Market. For that matter, 300,000 people are going to come downtown … to go for dinner before and drinks after. They’re maybe going to the Rideau Centre for shopping … The idea is not only is it going to draw local tourism, but also out-of-town tourism (and) they’re going to stay in hotel rooms,” he said.
