Hugh's Room

Hugh's Room is a restaurant and live music venue in Toronto, Ontario.[1] It is located on Dundas Street West in the city's Roncesvalles neighbourhood.

Hugh's Room
Hugh's Room in September 2008.
Address2261 Dundas Street West
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43.654832°N 79.452202°W / 43.654832; -79.452202
TypeNightclub
Genre(s)Folk
Capacity200
Construction
Built?
OpenedApril 2001
Website
Hugh's Room

The club was opened in 2001 by Richard Carson and named in memory of his brother Hugh, a former folk musician who had dreamed of opening his own performance venue before his death of cancer in 1999.[2]

Primarily a folk music club,[1] Hugh's Room also sometimes booked jazz, blues, classical and comedy artists as well.[3] Noted artists who have performed at the club include Pete Seeger,[4] Serena Ryder,[4] Sylvia Tyson, Odetta, Jane Siberry, Ron Sexsmith, Maria Muldaur and Richie Havens. Odetta's performance at the venue, on October 25, 2008, was her last live performance before her death on December 2 that year.[5]

On January 8, 2017, Hugh's Room closed its doors for financial reasons.[3] Several days later, a community committee announced plans to restructure the venue's accumulated debt and reopen.[6] The club reopened in April 2017, following a successful fundraising initiative and the formation of a non-profit committee to manage the venue.[4] The new corporation is called Hugh's Room Live.

In 2020, the Hugh's Room management announced that it was looking for a new building as it could not secure an affordable lease at its current site.[7]

References
  1. "Hugh's Room anchored Toronto’s grassroots folk scene". Toronto Star, January 10, 2017.
  2. "Requiem for Hugh’s Room: Much-loved folkie venue a victim of cash-flow problems". The Globe and Mail, January 16, 2017.
  3. "Music community reeling from closure of west-end venue Hugh's Room". CBC News, January 8, 2017.
  4. "Hugh's Room to reopen April 19". Toronto Star, March 9, 2017.
  5. Weiner, Tim (December 3, 2008). "Odetta, Voice of Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 77". The New York Times (December 3). Retrieved December 3, 2008.
  6. "Hugh's Room Reveals Plans to Restructure and Reopen". Exclaim!, January 12, 2017.
  7. Staff, N. O. W. (March 5, 2020). "Hugh's Room Live forced to move due to rising rent". NOW Magazine.


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