Song or music sessions in Toronto

Subject: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 30 May 07 - 06:38 AM

This is similar to the Chicago thread - just a different city! I shall be in Toronto in Mid November and yes, it's for a conference. I'm intending to fly in on Tuesday 13 November and leave on Sunday 18 November. I could, though, arrive on Monday the 12th and leave on the following Monday. Are there any venues where a singer/guitarist who does mainly English traditional or traditional sounding songs could play?

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: RTim
Date: 30 May 07 - 09:01 AM

Terry - you should contact The Toronto Morris Men, as most of them are singers and I think at least one of them has something to do with running the folk club at The Transac Club in the city.
They can be contacted at: [e-mail].
You can use my name as an introduction as we are good friends - on second toughts, maybe best NOT to mention me!

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: Peter T.
Date: 30 May 07 - 11:43 AM

The Tranzac is indeed a meeting place for trad in our fair city.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 30 May 07 - 11:49 AM

Thanks Tim and Peter. Where is Tranzac, and what days does it meet?

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: RTim
Date: 30 May 07 - 12:03 PM

The Flying Cloud FC at the Transac (or Tranzac) can be found at:
http://www.flyingcloudfolk.ca/

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 30 May 07 - 12:07 PM

Thanks again, Tim. I know Toronto pretty well, especially the Downtown area. I'll try the website.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: open mike
Date: 30 May 07 - 08:36 PM

there is also an open mike just out side of town..'

is it Branford? oh my, i forget the town...

i shall seek it in the threads and insert it _____________________ here.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: Marion
Date: 30 May 07 - 09:10 PM

Hi Terry. Are you looking for places to play and sing socially, or for performance possibilities?

Marion

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: open mike
Date: 30 May 07 - 09:15 PM

brantford

see other threads
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=66854#1114090
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=55710#875011
the website, it's: http://www.Brantford.folk.on.ca/
http://www.jeremiah.ca/

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST
Date: 31 May 07 - 04:38 AM

Hi Marion - the former, really. Some place where I could do two or three songs during an evening, in what I would call a folk club/singaround format. I'll be staying at the Westin Harbourside and whilst I'm familiar with the Toronto area, I'd like it to be somewhere reasonably close to Downtown or accesible by the subway system. The Flying Cloud at Tranzac seems promising.

Thanks, Mike - I'll have a look at those.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 31 May 07 - 05:04 AM

Sorry - forgot to enter my name for that last post.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: Peter T.
Date: 31 May 07 - 01:42 PM

Hi, The Tranzac is at Bloor and Brunswick (in the Annex) -- two blocks west of Spadina and Bloor subway station -- a piece of cake.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: Marion
Date: 31 May 07 - 07:32 PM

OK. I'm afraid that we don't tend to have the UK-style folk club/singaround venues (are you from the UK?) that I've read about on Mudcat. The Flying Cloud, as well as the other two I'm about to list, is a folk/trad concert venue, not the kind of place where you can show up with a guitar and expect to sing. If you have a CD and press kit you could send them, tell them the dates you're in Canada, and maybe they'd book you to do a full show. Or, perhaps you'd be interested in taking in one of their concerts.

Flying Cloud (at Tranzac)

Hugh's Room (fairly central, on subway)

Acoustic Harvest/Fiddles and Frets (east end, take bus from subway)

In terms of unscheduled, volunteer performing, there are the open mikes at many bars and coffee houses, where participants get a slot to do 2-3 songs. However, the open mikes are usually oriented towards singer-songwriters; they won't prevent you from singing a trad song, but it's very unlikely that you'll hear anyone else singing one. I see that the Tranzac has an open mike on Mondays, which might be more folky than average, but I'm not sure - do you know, Peter?

Tranzac (very central, at subway)

Anyway, if you're interested in the open mike route, let us know and I can suggest more venues. I know there's one every Thursday here, for example:

Renaissance Cafe

But from what you've said here, I think these are the best options for you:

1. There's a song circle every Friday night. It's held in people's houses, so I can't tell yet what the location will be that week. It's oriented towards trad songs and "in the tradition" new songs; some people bring instruments, but there's a lot of unaccompanied singing and chorus songs. There's no website, but mudcatters Black Walnut and Tony Burns are the organizers, and mudcatters Balladeer and Eve Goldberg are regulars. I usually go on Fridays I'm not working.

2. Come sing in my living room! The audience is small but appreciative, and you can do as many songs as you like. I'm downtown, on a subway line. If you're not a mudcat member, you can email me at marion_parsons at yahoo dot ca.

Good luck, Marion

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,black walnut who needs to reset her cookie
Date: 01 Jun 07 - 08:20 AM

Yup. Marion mentioned the Toronto Friday Night Song Circle, to which I belong. It welcomes people who sing any kind of folkie song, preferably of the singalong ilk. We run from September to June, each Friday night. If you would like to know the location closer to the time, drop me a private line (by then I should have my 'membership privileges' back!).

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 01 Jun 07 - 08:26 AM

Thanks to both Marion and Black Walnut (and others who've helped) - really useful and I'll try and do something whilst I'm back in you fair city!

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: JennieG
Date: 01 Jun 07 - 11:46 PM

I'm also taking note of this thread as we will be arriving in Toronto on 23rd September (it's a Sunday), and to hear local music would be great.

Cheers
JennieG....only 16 weeks to go!

Subject: RE: Song or music sessions in Toronto
From: GUEST,eleven7
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 07:04 PM

does anyone know of any more open mike venues in toronto?
(other than the renaissance cafe)