![]() Sue and Cathy come to the Gladstone (a high tide bar) fairly regularly. Some of the bars east of here, well, only Maritimers on the skids and DPs go to them.” You know we’ve all had showers and are good honest people. “People who drink here are more respectable. “Out here in the west end, these bars are the high tide of Queen Street, the ones in the east are the low tide. One caustic East Coaster explained the difference to me. ![]() But the bars are not all equal in the eyes of patrons. They’re mostly the haunts of displaced Maritimers and Newfoundlanders, of working people and those looking for work. The Queen Street C&W bars have a life and a social scene all their own. And the ribbon of steel running through the country and western music carries the Queen streetcar instead of the orange Blossom Special. They were around when the Peter Pan served onion sandwiches instead of French onion soup.įrom the Orchard Park Tavern, which hugs the edge of the Beaches to the Parkdale, which sits at the fringe of this scene, people are doing as they and others have done before them – drinking and listening to country music being played by those who still seem close to the heartbreak and pain they so often sing about. These places are easy to miss, sitting on street corners with their bricks painted and their upper windows covered with plywood. It thrives today as it has for years in the old taverns and hotels that have been around since the turn of the century. There is a Queen Street that has remained constant through the years – untouched and unimpressed with the growing pockets of art nouveau and bare brick walls. The sounds of Your Cheatin’ Heart and Sweet Home Alabama blend together as the Queen Street country and western regulars gather at their favourite haunts As Toronto emerges from the pandemic, being able to rekindle spaces where people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds can comfortably co-exist should be a priority – on Queen West or anywhere else.īelow is Michael Hollett’s cover feature on the country and western music scene on Queen Street, republished from our Septemissue. While NOW later became known for artist-focused cover stories, this music feature is casual and observational, giving readers a portrait of a subculture and a scene where people of all ages mixed. In 1981, NOW co-founder and former editor/publisher Michael Hollett visited country and western bars that were mostly frequented by working-class Maritimers and Newfoundlanders – places “untouched and unimpressed with the growing pockets of art nouveau and bare brick walls.” That was back when Queen and Leslie was synonymous with violence and roughness – according to one musician interviewed – and the Gladstone Hotel wasn’t marketed as a wedding venue. Artists who have defined Canadian music, comedy and art have emerged from the strip, but for this edition of our 40 at 40 archival series, we’re looking at an often-overlooked scene: the country and western bars that dotted the street from the Beaches to Parkdale. Over the past 40 years, Queen West has been known for art galleries, indie retail and music venues. Already subject to multiple waves of gentrification that have gradually transformed large swaths of the street from working-class communities into cushy enclaves full of pricey real estate and destination retail and dining. 1 on the country charts.With many places boarded up along Queen Street during the pandemic, the character of the 14.2-kilometre street is once again in flux. The singer's on a winning streak at country radio: Both singles off the project, "Single Saturday Night" and a duet with Lainey Wilson called "Never Say Never," made it to No. "Down to the Bar" comes off of Swindell's new album, Stereotype. "They added a lot to the tour and it just felt right to have them in the video that the tour was named after.” ![]() This video would not have been the same without them and it’s awesome to have Hardy be such a big part of the song/video as well," he adds. “We just carried that good time over to this video, and I hope fans can see how much fun that tour was for all of us. “I had so much fun on my Down to the Bar Tour with Travis and Ashley out on the road with me this spring,” said Swindell of his decision to include his two openers in his new video. Anyone who's had the experience of being in traffic in downtown Nashville will have a little sympathy for Denning's ex-girlfriend: By the time Denning, Swindell and the gang stumble back out onto the street, she's still in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to make her way out of the Lower Broadway area.
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