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The Budweiser Stage, originally known as the Molson Amphitheatre, is a concert venue in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. It is located on the grounds of
Ontario Place
Ontario Place is an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toronto. ...
and hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, country, and jazz. The first musician to perform here was
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
on May 18, 1995.
History
Forum
Ontario Place opened in May 1971 with the original Forum as one of the first attractions. The original structure consisted of a
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
canopy, which was replaced by a
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
canopy roof in 1978. Its unique configuration consisted of a round stage, which was upgraded in 1976 to include a revolving stage which slowly rotated before the audience, which completely surrounded it. The venue had a capacity of approximately 16,000 -20,000 concertgoers who crowded the four grassy hills and the lucky few who sat on the 2,500 bench seats under a covered roof.
Amphitheatre
Over the winter of 1994–1995, came the controversial
demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
of the popular Forum and the construction of a larger venue on the site.
The new venue cost .
In May 1995, the new amphitheatre (under the name of Molson Amphitheatre) opened with two
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
concerts before sold-out audiences.
The new Molson Amphitheatre garnered positive reviews in 1995, winning ''
RPM Magazine
''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...
s "Best New Concert Venue" award.
In 1997,
Rush performed two nights in a row at the venue on the Test For Echo Tour. The first night was filmed for would have been the band's first concert video released on the then-new DVD format, but it was scrapped. In a 2006 interview, lead singer and bassist
Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...
revealed that the DVD had to be scrapped due to issues syncing up the audio with the video, saying it would have cost the band over $150,000 and many man-hours to sync up a new recording with the footage. Although the full concert has never been officially released, much of the footage was eventually included in the ''
Rush R40
Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in 1968 in Toronto, that was comprised primarily of Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart (drums, percussion, lyricist). The band formed in Toronto in 1968 by Lifeson, drummer John ...
'' box set released in 2014.
As of 2004, three million patrons have visited the venue. The amphitheatre hosted Canadian rapper Drake's annual OVO Festival from its inception in 2010-2015, 2017 and 2019, and 2022, when it was presented as October World Weekend. The Festival has featured performances by
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
,
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
,
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...
,
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...
, and
A$AP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...
among others.
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
performed two nights in a row at the Molson in August 1995; the shows were recorded for an unreleased live album.
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
performed at the amphitheatre three times: the first one was on June 16, 2001, during their
Exciter Tour
Exciter may refer to:
Music
* Exciter (band), a Canadian speed metal band
** ''Exciter'' (Exciter album), also known as ''O.T.T.'', a 1988 album by Exciter
* ''Exciter'' (Depeche Mode album), a 2001 album by Depeche Mode
* "Exciter" (song) a 19 ...
. The second one was on July 24, 2009, during their
Tour of the Universe
Tour of the Universe was a Space Shuttle simulation ride located in the basement level of the CN Tower. Operating between 1985 and 1992, it was the world's first flight simulator ride.
The ride was the idea of Moses Znaimer and designed by SimEx. ...
, in front of a sell-out crowd of 16,128 people. The third one was on September 1, 2013, during their
Delta Machine Tour
The Delta Machine Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English electronic music band Depeche Mode in support of the group's 13th studio album, ''Delta Machine'', released 22 March 2013. Following a warm-up show in Nice, France on 4 May 2013, th ...
, in front of a sell-out crowd of 16,110 people. The 2009 show was recorded for the group's live albums project ''
Recording the Universe
''Recording the Universe'' is the name of a project by the band Depeche Mode to record some of the concerts on their 2009-10 concert tour, Tour of the Universe. The recordings were made by London-based company Live Here Now and are available v ...
''.
On January 6, 2017, it was announced that the Molson Amphitheatre was renamed "Budweiser Stage", as part of a partnership between
Labatt Breweries of Canada
Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada.
In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Int ...
and
Live Nation
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...
.
Specifications
The music venue is open yearly from May to October, due to its outdoor configuration. The amphitheatre has a capacity of approximately 16,000. There are 5,500 reserved seats under the 60-foot-high covered roof, 3,500 seats under the open sky, and 7,000 seats on the grass bowl. The floor area (100 level) has an unreserved capacity of 1,000. There are also Club and VIP seats for season ticket-holders. Two large video screens flank the stage; the video support system gives everyone in the audience a closeup of the performers on stage.
Echo Beach
In 2011, a new open-air concert venue named Echo Beach was opened just east of the amphitheatre. This
general admission
In live entertainment, there are several possible schemes for the seating assignment of spectators—including completely unassigned seating. There are several schemes which are most commonly used, though there are no hard and fast rules and alter ...
venue has a capacity of approximately 5,000, which includes raised VIP viewing platforms.
Ontario Place revitalization plans
In 2012, the park at Ontario place remained closed with the intention of revitalization. A committee headed by
John Tory
John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014.
After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...
has recommended the return of the Ontario Place Forum as a centerpiece of the revitalization plans. The Amphitheatre's future, as a result, has been called into question.
''Budweiser Stage at Home''
In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...
, the television series ''
Budweiser Stage at Home
''Budweiser Stage at Home'' is a Canadian music performance series which aired on Citytv in 2020. Created in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the series broadcast live concert performances ...
'' was created by
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
and
Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...
to provide television broadcasts of concert performances by artists who had been scheduled to play the Budweiser Stage in 2020 before the shutdowns.
"Black Crowes, the Trews among artists in Budweiser Stage at Home TV concerts"
''CityNews
''CityNews'' (corporately styled City''News'') is the title of news and current affairs programming on Rogers Sports & Media's Citytv network in Canada. The newscast division was founded on September 28, 1975 as ''CityPulse'' as a standalone loc ...
'', May 25, 2020.
See also
*Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
*List of contemporary amphitheatres
This is a list of Amphitheatre#Modern amphitheatres, amphitheatres in use today.
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, Providence, Rhode Island, Providence
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Other performing arts venues in the city include:
* Four Seasons Centre
The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift f ...
* Massey Hall
Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...
* Meridian Arts Centre
The Meridian Arts Centre is a performing arts venue in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened on October 16, 1993, as the North York Performing Arts Centre and was designed by Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler for music ...
* Meridian Hall
* Roy Thomson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Defiant. Opened in 1982, its circ ...
References
External links
Budweiser Stage – upcoming shows
Echo Beach – upcoming shows
{{Authority control
Music venues in Toronto
Amphitheatres in Canada
1995 establishments in Ontario
Music venues completed in 1995
Festival venues in Canada