Toronto Music Experience aims to celebrate local music history, open a museum
TORONTO — Toronto's storied music history may finally have a museum of its own as part of a five-year plan guided by a team of local entertainment leaders.
Organizers at the Toronto Music Experience say they've recently been granted charitable status, which allows them to move forward with plans to fundraise, secure sponsorships and ultimately open a permanent cultural home by 2029.
The news was first announced during an industry event last Thursday at the Lounge, a small venue operated by Live Nation on the city's west end, and attended by Rush's Alex Lifeson, Jully Black, Lorraine Segato and Kairo McLean, the youngest winner of the reggae Juno award.
TME says it aims to launch a "first-of-its-kind destination that will celebrate the city's unparalleled contributions to music in Canada and around the world."
They'll get some help from an advisory board that includes former record label executives Denise Donlon and Randy Lennox, music producer Bob Ezrin and manager Bernie Finkelstein.
TME has already been involved in small exhibits dedicated to Toronto's music scene. Several have been displayed at a small music museum tucked into an upstairs corner of Shoppers Drug Mart at Yonge and Dundas, a space once occupied by the legendary Friar's Tavern nightclub.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
6 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Law & Order Toronto' wins best drama series at Canadian Screen Awards
Citytv's 'Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent' won best drama series at Sunday's Canadian Screen Awards. The spinoff draws inspiration from real Toronto crime headlines, reimagining them as fictional investigations. The show led all nominees with 20 nods going into the Screen Awards, but came away with three trophies, including best writing in a drama series and best sound in fiction. The series wrapped its second season earlier this year and has a third season in the works. 'Law & Order Toronto' producer Erin Haskett told The Canadian Press in March that she believes the show is especially resonating with Canadians today because they are craving stories they can relate to. 'Canadians want to see our stories told and want to see characters that reflect ourselves back at us on television,' she says. 'I would say today even more, there's such a sense of wanting to see that reflected back as a country and as a people.' This year's Canadian Screen Awards bash was hosted by Edmonton-born comedian Lisa Gilroy in Toronto, capping off a multi-day celebration of Canadian film, television and digital storytelling. 'The Apprentice,' a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production about the early years of U.S. President Donald Trump, won best motion picture. It took home five Screen Awards in total, including best performance in a lead role for Sebastian Stan's turn as Trump, and best supporting actor for Jeremy Strong's portrayal of Cohn. Other major winners included Matthew Rankin's absurdist dramedy 'Universal Language,' and Crave's drag queen competition series 'Canada's Drag Race.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
7 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘The Apprentice' wins best film at Canadian Screen Awards
'The Apprentice,' a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production about the early years of U.S. President Donald Trump, won best motion picture at Sunday's Canadian Screen Awards. Toronto's Daniel Bekerman is the lead producer of the Ontario-shot film, which portrays how Trump honed his persona, power tactics and media savvy under the mentorship of controversial fixer Roy Cohn. The drama bested 'Universal Language,' 'Darkest Miriam,' 'Gamma Rays,' 'Village Keeper' and 'Who Do I Belong To.' The film has won five Screen Awards in total, including best performance in a lead role for Sebastian Stan's turn as Trump, and best supporting actor for Jeremy Strong's portrayal of Cohn. Back in May, Bekerman told The Canadian Press that Trump's threat to impose a 100 per cent tariff on foreign films, citing national security, felt like a veiled reference to 'The Apprentice.' Bekerman denied that his film is a national security threat but said it might instead be 'an ego security threat' for Trump. 'This is not some sort of political attack film,' Bekerman said. 'It's actually not at all what it is. It is a humanistic story about choices people make in their lives and the consequences of those choices.' Trump's team attempted to block the film's theatrical release last fall, calling it 'election interference by Hollywood elites' and threatening to file a lawsuit. This year's Canadian Screen Awards bash was hosted by Edmonton-born comedian Lisa Gilroy in Toronto, capping off a multi-day celebration of Canadian film, television and digital storytelling. The televised ceremony put a bow on three days of awards shows, where major winners included the documentary 'The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal' and Matthew Rankin's film 'Universal Language.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Tragically Hip docuseries, 'Canada's Drag Race' dominate early Canadian Screen Awards
TORONTO — A Prime Video docuseries on the Tragically Hip has nabbed a leading seven wins at the Canadian Screen Awards. 'The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal' from Amazon Prime Video Canada dominated a Friday evening bash for documentary, factual, lifestyle and reality categories – one of several weekend galas to celebrate the best in homegrown film, television and digital media. Trophies for the four-part docuseries included best biography or arts documentary series and best director for Michael Downie, brother of the band's late frontman Gord Downie. Crave's drag queen competition series 'Canada's Drag Race' ruled five categories, including best host for Brooke Lynn Hytes, Brad Goreski and Traci Melchor. A best sound prize for 'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. The World' handed the franchise an additional trophy. Earlier in the day, a gala for news, entertainment and sports programming gave CBC's long-running satirical comedy 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' four awards – best program, writing, direction and performance. The afternoon bash also named singer Nelly Furtado best host of a live entertainment special for steering the 2024 Juno Awards, in which the 'I'm Like a Bird' songstress performed a medley of her hits. The show also won best live entertainment special. The title for best national newscast went to CTV News' 'National News with Omar Sachedina,' best news or information series went to CBC's 'The Fifth Estate,' and best talk or entertainment news series went to CTV's "The Good Stuff with Mary Berg.' Berg picked up two more wins Friday night when she nabbed best host for her CTV Life Channel show "Mary Makes It Easy," which also collected best lifestyle series. Best news anchor went to Adrienne Arsenault for her work on CBC's 'The National,' best national reporter went to Jeff Semple of 'Global National,' and best local reporter went to CBC Indigenous's Jackie McKay. Two galas on Saturday will cover the bulk of awards in the film and television categories. Marquee categories for top winners, including best film and best TV drama and comedy, will be announced Sunday and broadcast by CBC. At the afternoon gala on Friday, TSN's coverage of the 2024 Copa America earned three wins — for best sports program, opening and host, for James Duthie. CBC's extensive coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics nabbed two awards. The public broadcaster picked up best sports play-by-play for Mark Lee, and later in the night won best original music among factual, lifestyle, reality and entertainment categories. Best local news cast and local news anchor went to 'Global BC News Hour' and its deskers Chris Gailus and Sophie Lui. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
