Continuing Success at the Danforth Music Hall
By: Bradley Myles
Photo by Roland van Gend
What do Dragonette, Hollerado, Stars, Walk Off the Earth, and Wintersleep have in common with Chvrches, Hugh Laurie, KT Tunstall, Mayer Hawthorne, and M.I.A.?
They’ve all played the Danforth Music Hall recently.
Since December 2011, the current incarnation of the Danforth’s cultural hub has hosted some of Toronto’s hottest shows. In 2012, Rihanna chose the Hall for the Toronto stop of her widely publicized 777 Tour, and Lorde graced the stage shortly after her massive breakout last fall
The venue’s recent level of success has been a long time in the making. Although the current incarnation of the Hall has only been open for just over two years, the site has served as a combination of cinema, theatre, and music hall since it was built in 1919. As the venue changed hands over the years, each of the property’s owners have struggled to reinvent it as an engaging and respectable venue for the arts. The original Allen’s Theatre was replaced by the Century Theatre, which became the Titania, and then the Music Hall, which then closed in 2004 and sat abandoned and deteriorating for over a year. It briefly reopened in October 2005 under a new owner who renovated the venue and solved some of the building’s structural and plumbing problems. However, it closed once more due to nonpayment of rent.
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