By FYI Staff
Live Nation has teamed up with Drake to launch History, a new 2,500 capacity concert space with plans to host as many as 200 shows annually in the Toronto’s Beaches East district.
The venue includes a convertible general admission area and reserved seating configurations for concerts, galas and community events.
The City of Toronto approved an application to transform part of the building that housed the Beach Alliance Cinemas and Champions-Greenwood Off Track Betting teletheatre at 1661 Queen St. E., just west of Kingston Road, into a new live entertainment venue back in 1977. Renovations, building permits and then Covid contributed to the lengthy delay in readying History’s opening.
In a prepared statement, Drake states: “Some of my most memorable shows were playing smaller rooms like History (and) I wanted to take those memories and what I learned to create an incredible experience for both the artists and the fans.”
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and Live Nation Canada Chair Riley O’Connor also have made comments about the new facility.
“We saw an opportunity to bring Toronto a great new venue, and we have so much gratitude and respect for Drake teaming up with us to bring it to life in the best way possible,” Rapino states.
And O'Connor explains that “History will offer guests up-close experiences with their favourite artists that are unrivalled in Toronto,” adding that “we take pride in and expect History to become an important part of the community.”
History will be competing with Charles Khabouth's waterfront nightclub Rebel which has a similar capacity, and Massey Hall's newly named Allan Slaight Stage that has a maximum capacity of 2700 people.
Concerts and events, along with additional details and career opportunities, will be announced shortly; meantime, the first show features Maryland rock band All Time Low on Oct. 22. Other dates announced include Bleachers-Nov. 7, Surfaces-Nov. 9. CHVRCHES-Nov. 24, and July Talk on Dec. 9 & 10.
