Welcome To
Hugh's Room Live
Where Community and Music Meet
We are Buying a Church... And we need your help!
After three years of extensive searching, The Board of Directors is thrilled to say our offer to purchase 296 Broadview Ave has been conditionally accepted! We’ve already secured through loans and contributions over $2M and we need to raise another $2.2 M over the next three and a half months. During its 20 years as a music venue, Hugh’s Room became renowned internationally as a musician’s house – an intimate performance space with great acoustics and an attentive audience. In our new home and as a registered charity, we want to build on that tradition with some bold new ideas. Of course, we are going to bring back our wonderful listening room with its great musicians – both legendary and emerging talent. That’s not about to change. But in addition to concerts, we are going to really engage with our community, offering a whole range of music-focussed cultural activity.
For Artists.
We are planning to offer education, support for artists, artist residencies, master classes, a stage for school concerts and community choirs. We have a dream of an instrument library to help give disadvantaged youth an opportunity to learn an instrument and build out a whole program of support for them. We want to work with our neighbours, helping to expand their services. We plan to be more accessible and inclusionary than ever before, breaking down barriers to those who face a range of challenges from the colour of their skin to physical and mental obstacles and financial constraints.
A New Hugh's Room.
While we complete the purchase of our new home at 296 Broadview Avenue, we look forward to continuing to host performances at the 3030 Dundas West and iconic El Mocambo venues.
Please join us on our journey to a place where music truly lives in our community – the exciting new Hugh’s Room Live!
Fresh Faces.
After Hugh’s Room closed its doors in January 2017, many individuals stepped up to ensure that the Hugh’s Room tradition lived on. Brian Iler’s call for volunteers that year saved the club and in 2019, Hugh’s Room Live became a registered charity. In March 2020, rising rents and a global pandemic forced the closure of Hugh’s Room Live but once again, a vibrant group of over 50 volunteers and staff have kept the dream of Toronto’s best listening room alive.
Brian Iler
Brian Iler
Brian is a cofounder of Iler Campbell LLP, a community organizations activist, cofounder of the Northwind Folk Festival, and music lover who has played an integral part in bringing back Hugh’s Room Live.
Jim Thomas
Alternate Board Chair
A Director of HRL since 2019, Jim is a jazz flautist who has decades of senior management experience in business and government, including Ontario Deputy Minister positions.
The Music
Hugh’s Room Live champions the music that grew from “roots” in North America – folk, blues, soul, rock, R&B, jazz, bluegrass, country as well as the Latin and World Music that reflects the rhythms of our multicultural society.
Folk
Jazz
Blues
Soul
Rock
Latin
Singer
Songwriter
Country
