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On March 12, 2020, The Blue Stones toured through Winnipeg and played at the Park Theatre. That night the owner of the Park, Erick Casselman, heard rumours of a virus that was forcing cities to shut down. Amidst the chaos, he reassured guests there will be one more show by the Death Cassettes’ for their album release show of Grim.
The next day, Casselman picked up his constantly buzzing phone and called the West End Cultural Centre, The Good Will Social Club, and other friends in the industry. Every phone call ended with the same answer: “It’s the right thing to do,” said Casselman.
At midnight on March 13, 2020, Winnipeg venues pulled the plug on live music.
Reality settled in as local venues locked their doors and held their breath. Overnight, the industry changed. Music lovers went from going out to logging in, connecting to the music they loved through digital screens and digital sounds. Live shows turned to live streams. Artists got used to recording themselves at home instead of their fans recording them with their iPhones at concerts.
In November 2021, after being closed for more than a year and a half, indoor venues were once again allowed to plug the speakers back in and host full-capacity concerts. This was a much-needed gasp of air for The Good Will, the West End Cultural Centre, the Burton Cummings Theatre, and the Park Theatre who had all been drowning from restrictions.
The Good Will Social Club
On a November evening in 2021, the Love Letters Writers (LLW for short) are doing a soundcheck at The Good Will Social Club. Something the owners might not have heard again if it wasn’t for their GoFundMe campaign that raised over $59,000 right after the pandemic closed them down.
It’s the band’s first gig at 625 Portage Avenue for Manitoba Music’s New Music Night — the first live event Manitoba Music has put on since the pandemic shut things down in March 2020. It’s also the first time back to live music for many who are stepping into the dimly lit venue-restaurant-coffee shop-hybrid that is The Good Will.
“It feels kinda unreal. It feels like it’s been a long time,” said Claire Boning, membership and events coordinator for Manitoba Music. From 2015 until the shutdown, Manitoba Music and The Good Will had been inviting emerging local artists to perform live every first Wednesday of the month. “It’s neat to organize a show and to have it happen; like there were a few times where we were organized and had to shut down again and kind of just go with the flow and get used to it.”
Two years of back-and-forth restrictions left only small pockets of opportunity to execute a proper event, but — thanks to vaccinations — all you need to attend this November show is an immunization record that matches your I.D and a mask.
Around 30 guests fill the intimate 200-capacity venue in small groups scattered between tall, round, wooden tables, and long bench tables on each side of the stage.
Ethan Lyric, an 18-year-old Indigenous musician and songwriter from Winnipeg opens the concert with his gentle folk tune.
Directly across the stage behind the bar, Jeremy Haywood-Smith, a.k.a Jaywood, the event booker for The Good Will and an indie artist, pours a pint for a patron.
Jaywood said The Good Will’s weekends are booked all the way to the end of the year, and now he’s hoping to bring the weekdays back to their former glory.
When the tables are rolled out, a dance floor emerges for events like Everything ‘80s and Totally Tens that are run by The Good Will partners Tyler Sneesby (DJ Hunnicutt) and Tim Hoover (DJ CO-OP).
“The Good Will is for everybody. Someone has a Good Will memory if they’ve been in the central space — you see a space like this and you’re intrigued by it and you want to be a part of what it’s all about,” said Jaywood. “It’s never a dull moment. We always have something going on, something for everybody, and we try to keep that going as best as we can.”
The Good Will’s goal was to create an inclusive space and an iconic venue like those in Toronto and Vancouver — and when the opportunity came, the two DJs, with their marketing partners Donavan Robinson and Anthony Kowalczyk got to work.
“Started ripping the place apart, pretty much took it down to the walls, came up with a really cool brand, idea, and a really cool ethos,” said Kowalczyk. “We really stripped it down to the bare bones.”
As years went by, partners came and went. The Good Will’s dedication to its community stood strong, even as the pandemic’s relentless waves knocked their doors closed.
“Running a venue in a bar like ours isn’t like a printing money experience, it’s not like we’re racking in cash, so pre-pandemic was always a struggle — having a pandemic into the mix is gonna make it even worse,” said Kowalczyk. “So, I think at that point, it was kind of like, holy fuck, what do we do.”
The answer came from the community asking The Good Will owners to set up a GoFundMe. In a week’s time, the campaign surpassed their $45,000 goal by over $10,000.
“It was super humbling. I mean, not to sound like conceited or anything, we knew we had an impact in the Winnipeg cultural scene — just not as great of an impact as it proved to be through the GoFundMe.”
The costs helped cover 50 percent of rent all the way until September 2020. The other half was covered by federal and provincial pandemic support, which gave them enough time to avoid being locked out of the building.
While waiting out the pandemic, The Good Will kept busy with a variety show called “The Good Will Stay Home Club” on YouTube. They had artists as guests for interviews, recorded live performances, and created all kinds of segments to engage with The Good Will community. Even though their GoFundMe bought The Good Will enough time, Kowalczyk said that without the grants and the subsidies that were put in place, he isn’t sure they would’ve remained open.
But tonight everyone seems happy to be back in person. The last acoustic opener is Winnipeg-based, Filipino-artist Hera Nalam, who is back in front of a live audience for the first time since playing a few shows in New York before the pandemic.
“The acoustics here are the nicest we’ve heard in a long time,” said Nathaniel Muir, vocalist for LLW. Muir said getting heard and standing out is tough in a saturated market.
“That’s why we’re always playing live because we’ve been told our onstage presence is a lot of fun,” said Muir, noting this is their seventh live show in the last three months, after a year of basement rehearsals. “We’re just trying to party it up on stage and bring people together into the fun that we’re having.”
Applause escorts Hera out, and LLW takes the stage, delivering on their promise to have a good time. The band’s energy shines through their own songs and a cover of “Medicine” by Harry Styles. Muir’s eccentric dance moves and witty anecdotes make the room roar with laughter. As LLW take their bow, they announce an upcoming show at the Park Theatre.
The West End Cultural Centre
Just west of The Good Will, the blue beacon at 586 Ellice Avenue welcomes people walking through its wooden doors to enjoy live music. The West End Cultural Centre (WECC), opened by Ava Kobrinsky and Winnipeg Folk Festival’s founder Mitch Podoluck, is one of Winnipeg’s most iconic not-for-profit venues.
As you walk inside, you’ll see the building’s history showcased through vintage signs and photographs of stars who have graced the West End’s stage since the venue’s opening night on October 23, 1987. Volunteers, like Jennifer Fridfinnson, greet guests with smiling eyes above their masks, ready to scan tickets and vaccination cards.
The venue, with its 380 person capacity, feels intimate. Strings of light contour the silhouettes of seated guests. As the lights dim, the West End Cultural Centre logo glows, and purple stage lights shine on an elegant jazz quartet.
After postponing her 2020 show, Winnipeg guitarist Jocelyn Gould is finally on stage with Rodney Whitaker on bass, Quincy Davis on drums, and Will Bonness playing the keys. As the Juno Award winner harmonized her guitar with the quartet, the synergy and passion enchanted the crowd.
“It’s a beautiful show,” said Artistic Director Jorge Requena Ramos, standing opposite of the stage next to the control booth. “I’m not a religious person, but this is the closest to a spiritual experience as it gets to me with music.“
Ramos said the jazz market is quite complicated as it’s a set crowd from an older demographic. Over the years, the West End has made strides to bring that community together.
“I’m very happy that Winnipeg came and showed the support to one of its best performers — now, we feel like there is a home for this type of an artist,” said Ramos.
One of West End’s core values is inclusion. They strive to showcase artists who haven’t been properly supported by the industry,
“We need to diversify the music industry, it’s not a friendly place for people in a marginalized group,” said Ramos, noting for example that it’s harder to find lead female guitar players.
“As someone who played music from a marginalized group for 12 years, I’ve encountered a lot of barriers that I don’t think someone who was white would have encountered — we want to make sure we’re working for those people not to see and feel those feelings of being excluded.”
Ramos adds since the start of the pandemic, the West End has been advancing a strategic plan and training to combat anti-oppression and anti-racism.
As the artistic director since 2019, Ramos had to get creative when the pandemic forced him to put a pause on live shows and hit play on live streams.
“Having worked in TV studios for a long time, I was able to think about the shows in a different way, so we went into live streaming right away — like a natural transition,” said Ramos.
“We felt like artists really needed that because they were playing in their living rooms in their pajamas. It wasn’t something that gave them a good look or a great sound when they were trying to perform online for their audience.”
As a non-profit organization, the West End receives government and donation funding to provide musicians with dignified work, which Ramos said is their first responsibility. Being a non-profit allows for the West End to provide up-and-coming artists a bigger stage while showcasing something new to their members and the community.
Back in the lobby, Fridfinnson keeps a lookout for any late guests and is still able to hear Will Bonness’ piano solo.
“It’s actually my first night coming back here since the pandemic,” said, Fridfinnson, a retired teacher who started volunteering a few years back. “I’ve been really missing it because I’ve seen so many great shows here […] This place really does draw you in if you love music.”
The Burton Cummings Theatre
The Burton Cummings Theatre in the Exchange District also started welcoming guests and performers back in November 2021, though they focus on more established artists with wide appeal.
“It’s the steppingstone for artists between here and the arena,” said Director of Live Entertainment at True North Sports and Entertainment, Ruben Ramalheiro.
Since 1907, the theatre at 364 Smith Street brought Winnipeg world-class entertainment from talents like Charlie Chaplin and Harry Houdini to The Weeknd, Wu-Tang Clan, and countless other iconic performers.
The Walker Theatre gave Winnipeg a world-class stage designed for Broadway shows and operas. With the declining popularity of live shows and the Great Depression, it was seized by the City of Winnipeg in 1933 and sold in 1944 to become the Odeon Theatre.
After 50 years of cinema, the Walker Theatre Group for the Performing Arts purchased the building in 1990. The year after, the City of Winnipeg gave the theatre the heritage designation, and the Government of Canada recognized it as a historic site.
In 2002, the non-profit board of directors reached a deal with the former Guess Who frontman, Burton Cummings, to hold five fundraising concerts — generating $120,000 and renaming the theatre to its present name: Burton Cummings Theatre. In 2018, True North Sports and Entertainment, owner of Canada Life Centre, added the Burton Cummings Theatre to their entertainment roster for a whopping $1.
It was a small price to pay after managing the venue since 2014 and investing over $1 million to upgrade plumbing and electrical systems. “It’s the reinvestment, it’s the belief that the dollars you make from it should go back into it to make the experience better to grow it as a venue,” said Ramalheiro.
Ramalheiro, who was previously working as a market development coordinator for Manitoba Music, joined the True North team in 2016.
“Most of my role is working on keeping the Burt busy, let it be for not-for-profit events, or for large touring acts,” said Ramalheiro.
Before True North took the reins, Ramalheiro estimated the venue did 20 to 40 events a year. They now aim to do 80 to 100. At the start of 2020, True North already had 30 to 40 events booked for the year. Ramalheiro remembers Disney On Ice being the first True North event canceled because of the pandemic. After that, they began pushing shows from weeks to months down the road.
“The whole world came to a stop, to a lockdown of some sort — it’s just crazy to think now, finally, you get to see these postponed events finally happen again,” said Ramalheiro in November 2021. “Just the realization of like, wow, it took 16 months.”
Excited to rekindle the feeling of nostalgia that the Burt has for Winnipeggers, Ramalheiro said, “you don’t know what you’re missing until it’s gone,” as he returns to help his event team ready for a sold-out show.
On Thursday, November 25, 2021, heaters buzz as security lets shivering guests in to see Milky Chance. Visitors line up at the merch and concession booths, some stopping by beer carts to keep the evening’s buzz going.
Fans of all ages fill up the Burt’s 1638 capacity from the ground floor where half the seats were removed to create a dance pit and up to the second balcony. All eyes are on the opener Giant Rooks.
“If you stand on that stage, you really see how intimate the venue is, you can stand center stage, look all the way to the back of the second balcony, and you can read the letters on the pew — that means that you can see that face back there,” said Ramalheiro.
“There is that kind of intimacy that really makes it feel like ‘oh, there’s not that many people in the room’ — they almost feel like your friends and it’s like a little gathering,” said Ramalheiro.
The packed house might’ve not been as close as family, but once the headliner took the stage, everyone leaned in a little closer. Lead vocalist and guitarist Clemens Rehbein stole the show, singing in his trademarked accent while shredding his guitar.
Ramalheiro stands by the front-of-house booth, taking a moment to enjoy the feeling of being back in business — ready to take on another sold-out show.
“You’re hoping that it just helps against that stigma of going out and sort of alleviating concerns, where you’re trying to provide a fun, safe environment for everybody so that they can go back to remembering those concerts and making new memories,” said Ramalheiro.
The Park Theatre
When owner and operator of the Park Theatre, Erick Casselman saw the vacant 1914 movie theatre on 698 Osborne Street in 2005, he knew exactly what to do — open a Tim Horton’s franchise.
Fate had bigger plans for Casselman, as he and his ex-wife were turned down near the final interviews with Tim Horton’s and opened their own coffee shop instead, that also rented out Casselman’s large DVD collection.
“We only used the front half of the building as a coffee shop, and eventually started showing classic movies in the back,” said Casselman. “During one of those movies, JP Hoe, was here to watch Monty Python and he came up to me and he said, ‘you know, what would you think if I recorded a live album here,’ and I was like ‘yeah, of course,’ — does it bring people? Do they buy desserts and coffee? Let’s do it.”
Through the friendship with JP Hoe and other musicians, Casselman slowly transitioned the Park into a live music venue — eventually taking full ownership of the place and turning it into an award-winning entertainment space.
In a normal year the Park hosts around 300 events, but since locking its doors in March 2020 and locking down at home — it’s been collecting dust.
“I literally just did a $500,000 upgrade on the exterior of the building — you’re literally living with your own thoughts, going ‘what’s my future, what’s my future’,” said Casselman.
Sitting at home during the first lockdown, Casselman kept himself busy by tearing out a wall to make his bedroom bigger, which rekindled an old idea.
Coming back to the dormant theatre, Casselman looked at his non-weight bearing wall that was separating the Park in two and poked a hole in it. He was thinking about installing a “sliding thing” to make shows visible for more people. As he removed more and more of the wall, Casselman asked advice from an architect friend of his, who offered to draw up some designs, telling Casselman to “go for it, man.”
“I think he thought by him saying, ‘go for it,’ it would be weeks, and I literally came in the next morning and over the next 24 hours, I removed the entire wall and started ripping out the bar,” said Casselman. “He came back and he’s like, ‘okay, I guess this is a thing — this is what we’re doing’.”
Over the years, Casselman had met a few regulars that came to the venue in wheelchairs, and to him, it was important to “tear down the wall of inaccessibility” and re-build the Park from the inside out.
“There is this one gentleman who comes for every one of our metal shows and we actually carry him down the stairs, so he can get into the mosh pit,” said Casselman. “So, we start designing the ramp and everything else.”
Casselman needed to find money for the renovations after he spent all his cash trying to survive the first 12 months of the pandemic. Fortunately, he was able to secure loans from two banks.
“If we were playing poker, I was all in on this hand — literally took all my assets, my house, everything and put it on the line to build this, as it is.”
This is Casselman’s third time going into debt for the Park. He spent over a million dollars adding a ramp, redoing all rooftop units, bars, walls, bathrooms, and installing a fresh air unit that circulates air every 30 seconds.
“Now when you walk into this space, it’s comparable to places you’d find in Vancouver or Toronto, or New York, or what have you,” said Casselman. “Since I built this place, my passion has been to try to really build something cool, something that hopefully will stand the test of time.”
The renovations increased the Park’s capacity to 700 guests, allowing Casselman to bring in more guests, more shows, and bigger artists as the pandemic recedes.
“It’s just because the pandemic gives you that six months that you need and you’re a little bit stir crazy from being home for however long — and you decided to poke a hole in a wall, call some friends to get ideas, and you just go for it,” said Casselman.
Casselman is thankful for all the 2 a.m. phone calls to his friends who reassured him that he wasn’t going “insane”, even though Casselman felt like he was.
“I mean live music honestly, it is nothing but community — Winnipeg is a large city, but it’s a small town at heart,” said Casselman.
Casselman insists the great thing about the Park is that it isn’t tied to one genre, style, or any group of people.
“It’s hard to go somewhere without running into somebody that’s been in the Park for a show, or for a craft sale, or for a comedy event, or a private event,” said Casselman.
Casselman said the Park is a building where you can watch the most intimate show and hear a pin drop or watch the rowdiest punk or metal event.
“You rarely see the same people night after night because we’re trying to ensure that we can cater and specialize to everybody that wants to come out.”
As an owner and operator, Casselman said having decisive control to greenlight events is an advantage that helps him stand out in the local venue scene. Yet, for Casselman, there isn’t any real competition between the local music venues, saying they’re all friends and noting that each has their own specialties and strengths
“The reality is the Park Theatre is not the Park Theatre without the West End — the Park Theatre is not the Park Theatre without Times Changed or The Good Will — Handsome Daughter, even the Pyramid, and the Albert — every venue,” said Casselman. “We can’t do what we do if we’re not a community that’s building together with the community.”
Casselman said even though these venues are in the same business trying to get the same shows and earn enough money to keep the lights on, they need each other to survive and thrive.
“If there was only one venue in the city that was catering to one genre of music that was shoving the same music down your throat every single night — we would not have the community that we have,” said Casselman. “It takes every venue just like it takes every different genre of music and every musician to build this special thing that we’re building here.”
Casselman remembers a special moment when The Strumbellas performed on his stage a few years back that exemplifies why he does what he does: “They all of the sudden stopped playing and just listened to the audience sing-along, just being blown away by the passion that the fans had for them and not expecting the show to sell out,” said Casselman. “Those are like magical moments that, you know, just for me, I’ll keep forever and hopefully, for everybody that’s here.”
The pandemic reminded Casselman how special live music is. He said sitting at home listening to music on the computer or doing a Zoom concert is nowhere near the same as being in a room of like-minded people that are just in the moment and love what they’re doing.
“That’s honestly what live music is and what makes live music venues what they are,” said Casselman. “You’re going back to the West End Cultural Centre and The Good Will and the Burt and ourselves, we all believe and love what we do, and you can feel that when you walk into the room, you can feel that when you’re at shows.”
Casselman continues, “We’re not in it for us — we’re in it for you, we’re in it for the artists, we’re in it for the patrons — we’re in it for everybody and those special moments.”
That is why Casselman keeps redeveloping and reinvesting in his theatre that has been around since the early 19th century and lived through global disasters.
“How can you not feel justification and the reward of building something that hopefully is so amazing and so iconic, that like, you see a show here and then in 20 years, that song comes on the radio, and you have that moment that takes you back there.”
On December 19, 2021, Casselman sat back at his usual spot near the main bar surrounded by friends as 300 guests ranging from college students and Park regulars trickle in. Young adults congregated on the dancefloor, double-fisting drinks with their masks on their chins. Some older folks got comfortable on the sides next to tall round tables. Everyone was waiting for the show to start. Casselman looked over the sea of patrons being illuminated by colourful neon lights reflected from the newly renovated stage.
The crowd cheered and rushed to the front of the stage as the Love Letter Writers played the opening notes to their cover of “Tiny Little Robots” by Cage The Elephant.
Epilogue
On February 11, 2022, the Manitoba Government announced the removal of capacity limits for bars and entertainment venues on February 15. Proof of vaccination was removed on March 1 and the mask mandate along with other restrictions ended on March 15. The Good Will Social Club, the West End Cultural Centre, the Burton Cummings Theatre, and the Park Theatre all have a full roster of shows planned for spring and summer.
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