Hamilton’s newest live music venue is built, now it’s time ‘to make some money,’ says Supercrawl founder
There's still some work to be done on the building, but Hamilton's newest live music venue is about to hold its first series of real live concerts - not just virtual, but with people on the floor, groovin' away in front of the newly built stage.
The venue is called Bridgeworks and it's operated by Sonic Unyon Records - the same people who brought us Supercrawl and the Mills Hardware venue on King Street East.
Bridgeworks is located at 200 Caroline St. N., just south of Barton Street in what used to be the City of Hamilton's carpentry shop. The site has a history going back more than a century when it was initially the home of Hamilton Bridge Works, which made steel and iron components for bridges across the country, including Hamilton's high-level bridge.
Sonic Unyon took out a 10-year lease on the building just before COVID struck and have spent much of the past 18 months turning the industrial building into a modern event space. They've held about 30 livestream events there, but this weekend marks the first shows with a live audience.
Sonic Unyon co-owner Tim Potocic, who is also director of Supercrawl, says his company has invested about $400,000 into fixing up the place, including a new $100,000 HVAC system.
It's now time for us to make some money," Potocic said as an art crew from the Hamilton-based Clear Eyes Collective worked on a giant music-themed mural covering the outside of the building.
When all the COVID restrictions are lifted, Bridgeworks will be able to accommodate a capacity of 500 people for each show, providing the city with a much-needed mid-size music venue.
But for its initial series of nine free concerts, which kicks off Friday, Aug. 20, with a show by rootsy singer-songwriter Jeremie Albino, Bridgeworks will be limited to 50 people for each show due to health restrictions.
The 50 free tickets will be distributed on a lottery basis, with winners being informed shortly before the event. Otherwise, people can view the concerts through a free livestream. If you're interested in the livestream or the ticket lottery, you must register online for each show through Eventbrite.ca.
We're offering this series free in lieu of not being able to have a Supercrawl this year on the street," says Potocic, noting TD Bank is the main funding sponsor for the series.
The Bridgeworks series offers a wide variety of musical talent, including a collaboration between Indigenous artists Iskw and Tom Wilson (Aug. 22), Toronto in-your-face punk rockers Bad Waitress (Sept. 4), Edmonton R&B singer Nuela Charles (Sept. 10), Toronto rapper Cadence Weapon (Sept. 11), Hamilton steel-pan drummer Luckystickz (Aug. 29), P.E.I. singer-songwriter Catherine MacLellan (Sept. 12), Toronto-based rapper Cadence Weapon and Hamilton roots-rock band Athanase (Sept. 26).
The lineup is made up of artists who would have played Supercrawl either this year or last year," Potocic says.
Hamilton hip-hop artist LTtheMonk is using his show in the series (Saturday, Aug. 21) to launch his new album On the Wall," which is being released Aug. 20 on the Sonic Unyon label.
It's just great to have a place to play again," says LTtheMonk when about the new venue.
The free series, however, isn't going to bring in the money Bridgeworks needs to continue to thrive as a year-round venue. So Potocic and the Supercrawl/Sonic Unyon team have also been booking ticketed shows for the venue at a fast pace.
Upcoming ticketed shows include Canadian country star Tim Hicks (Aug. 26), power rocker Danko Jones (Aug. 28), Hamilton country-roots singer Ginger St. James (Oct. 31), and alternative pop artists Basement Revolver (Sept. 3), U.S. Girls (Sept. 7) and Dizzy (Oct. 22).
We have about 80 shows booked through April, with about 30 on sale now," Potocic says. And I'm not even trying."
For a complete list of upcoming Bridgeworks' events, visit bridgeworks.ca.
Supercrawl Bridgeworks Livestream Series
Friday, Aug. 20: Jeremie Albino
Saturday, Aug. 21: LTtheMonk
Sunday, Aug. 22: iskw & Tom Wilson
Sunday, Aug. 29: Luckystickz & Angela Nethersole
Saturday, Sept. 4: Bad Waitress
Friday, Sept. 10: Nuela Charles
Saturday, Sept. 11: Cadence Weapon
Sunday, Sept. 12: Catherine MacLellan
Sunday, Sept. 26: Athanase
Register for livestream and live ticket lottery through Eventbrite.ca
All shows start at 7 p.m.