Located in ByWard Market, the 2,000-capacity theatre-sized venue co-owned by Drake and Live Nation is kicking off its inaugural season with a headline show by The Wallflowers next week, on Aug. 20. The first-ever expansion of the Toronto venue will also include a dedicated event space and VIP lounge.
History Ottawa, the first expansion of the popular Toronto music venue co-owned by Drake and Live Nation, is confirmed to be opening its doors to the public next week on Aug. 20. Bringing the History experience to Canada's capital city, the new 2,000 person venue located on Rideau Street in ByWard Market is set to kick off its inaugural concert season with a headline show by The Wallflowers.
The theatre-sized venue opened its first location in Toronto in Nov. 2021, an intimate venue that has quickly become a key player in the city's concert scene, hosting many of music's biggest names and most exciting moments including Hilary Duff's sold-out comeback show and Angine de Poitrine's upcoming highly-anticipated return to Toronto following their Mod Club debut in June. Drake has also frequently popped out at the venue to support his collaborators and friends during their headline shows, joining the likes of Latto and Central Cee by performing from the balcony or joining them onstage, and he hosted his legendary All Canadian North Stars OVO show there in 2022..
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History could become an important touring stops for many artists and their Canadian touring routes, positioning the city alongside essential stops in Montreal and Toronto (a similar strategy for the music-first TD Coliseum in Hamilton).
In its inaugural season, the venue will welcome Two Door Cinema Club, Marianas Trench, TALK, 6LACK and Wolf Parade, who scored a major Canadian moment with their viralHeated Rivalry synch placement, plus many more for a series of anticipated headline shows that will run through December.
The new Ottawa location prides itself on a newfound focus on experience, even introducing a dedicated premium event space and VIP and corporate lounge that can host up to 200 people. That's an amenity that doesn't exist at the original Toronto venue, and it's part of the Ottawa venue's strategy for live events beyond music.
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“Where History Toronto was very much focused on the music side – yes, it would have galas and awards, but it wasn’t a major focus – in Ottawa, it was important to be able to focus on being able to support other major events that happen in the city," Live Nation Canada's regional vice president Ali Shafaee told the Ottawa Business Journal. "We’ve designed the space in a way that the ByWard Market will be able to handle things like that."
History Ottawa introduces a mid-sized venue to the country's capital to welcome dozens more international artists into the city and grow its footprint as a concert city.
“That's our ambition in a lot of these Canadian secondary markets. What’s missing? Or what's not good enough from an artist and fan experience? Let’s try to fill the holes,” said Erik Hoffman, president of music at Live Nation Canada and the leader of the Billboard Canada Power Players 2026 leaderboard, in his 2025 Billboard Canada Power Players cover story, alongside Melissa Bubb-Clarke and Riley O'Connor.
