Beloved Outaouais music venue the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Que., is reopening following a more than five-year hiatus.
The 150-seat venue has hosted memorable shows from the likes of Montreal rock band Arcade Fire and singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, but on Saturday it was local acts DJ Trevor and Disco Dave who helped blow the cobwebs from the sound system for a soft reopening, the new operating manager Christina Stobert told CBC’s All In A Day.
“We needed to get the dust out of the place and the door open, even though we were missing a lot of elements,” Stobert said Monday, explaining that the official relaunch is yet to come.
The Black Sheep Inn will host an official reopening night on Oct. 10. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC)
On March 13, 2020, Wakefield musicians John McAlpine and folk trio Pickachune played what would be the last gig at the Black Sheep before the pandemic forced a global shutdown.
Even after the rest of the world reopened the Black Sheep remained closed, leading live music fans to fear the iconic venue could be going the way of Barrymore’s Music Hall and Cafe Dekcuf.
The venue had been slated to reopen earlier this year but “complex” legal issues caused delays, Stobert said, as co-owner Paul Symes transferred his share to co-owner Jennifer Nesbitt.
Work was needed to bring the old building up to code, including renovating the bathrooms “which were quite iconic in their own way,” Stobert said.
Locals have been “begging” Stobert to hasten the reopening, she said, prompting her to host a “pop-up” after-party on Saturday, following a fundraising event at the local covered bridge.
Work has been done to bring the Black Sheep Inn up to code, according to new operating manager Christina Stobert. (Campbell MacDiarmid/CBC)
“There was so much love in the room. Everyone was just happy to be there,” Stobert said of the 100-odd people who showed up at short notice.
The venue is now planning a few more informal events to iron out any issues ahead of a grand reopening on Oct. 10. John McAlpine has been booked to play alongside another local band Table Talk, Stobert said.
“It’s just flowing in so quickly,” Stobert said of the acts she has already booked to play in the coming months. “I’m a little overwhelmed, but people are really, really excited just to play in that room.”
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