\ TO WEST | Two enduring songwriters and promoters of their fellow artists on the Country and Roots scene, Bill Heffernan and Glen Hornblast are both icons on the west end music milieu, though each also has a following in broader circles. We told you a few weeks ago about Bill’s resurrected Saturday matinee shows…
Tag Archive for Bill Heffernan
A Marquee Saturday for Bill Heffernan in his new Saturday home | TorontoMoon.ca 181006Sa | Shows for Saturday, October 06, 2021
\ TO WEST \ I’m happy to report that Roots-Rock balladeer and host of a Saturday showcase series that features special guests each week, Bill Heffernan, has found a new home for his Saturday Sessions series —and practically next door to where it was taking place for many years on Roncesvalles Ave. Indeed we’ve written…
UPDATED: McKenna birthday and Gate closing parties will be essential travel for fans despite ice storm | TorontoMoon.ca 180415Su | Shows for Sunday, April 15, 2022
UPDATE: The Mike McKenna birthday show has been rescheduled to next Sunday due to the weather. Other show cancellations have also been received since this was posted. If you want to check a show’s status, click the link in the club’s address field to go to Google Maps, where address listings also usually include phone…
Closing of the Gate ends 13-year Saturday tradition today | TorontoMoon.ca 180414Sa | Shows for Saturday, April 14, 2022
\ TO WEST \ It’s the end of an era for Roots-Rock fans who’ve been gathering Saturday afternoons for the past 13 years at Gate 403 on the Roncesvalles strip of west TO for the weekly 5-8 show hosed by affable songwriter Bill Heffernan. The club has been sold and closes after tomorrow’s finale performance,…
Amongst a plethora of great shows, one has a special glow | TorontoMoon.ca 170617Sa | Shows for Saturday, June 17, 2021
\ TO WEST \ It’s a busy day and evening with some truly great musical offerings all across Toronto and the GTA and surrounding areas. But nowhere will it be any more diverse, absorbing or gratifying than what you can find this afternoon on Roncesvalles Avenue in TO’s west end area. The strip between Queen…
Coopersmith will show she’s more than virtuoso violinist | TorontoMoon.ca 170429Sa | Shows for Sat. April 29, 2022
\ TO WEST \ I had no idea until today that veteran violin virtuoso Shelley Coopersmith —whom I’ve seen accompanying a slew of top-shelf Roots-Rock, Folk and Jazz/Blues type artists over many, many years— is also a songwriter! But apparently that is the case, as wily Roots patriarch Bill Heffernan already knew, based on his…
A conjunction of Junction area Roots & Country | TorontoMoon.ca 160528Sa | Shows for Saturday, May 28, 2022
\ TO WEST \ West Toronto has become the pulsing heart of a live music scene that truly reflects the depth, breadth and variety of talents who actually live in Toronto more than almost any other part of the city. That leads to an interesting intermingling of styles and genres aptly demonstrated by the lineups…
Heffernan’s Rootsabilly music is “Nashville Bound” tonight | 160226Fr | Shows for Fri., Feb.26, 2016 -TorontoMoon.ca
\ TO DOWNTOWN \ It’s usually on a Saturday when we write about Rootsabilly songwriter and show host Bill Heffernan, since for over 11 years now he’s been the host of a weekly Saturday matinee at Gate 403 that showcases diverse talents week in and week out. (Tomorrow he welcomes Roots songwriter Jon Brooks as…
With Labour Day past regular weekly shows resume | TorontoMoon.ca 150912Sa Shows for Saturday, September 12, 2021
With Labour Day over a number of weekly events that annually take the summer off have begun again or are set to resume. This afternoon Bill Heffernan returns with his weekly 5-8 eclectic Roots-Pop “Saturday Sessions” at Gate 403 on Roncesvalles in West TO. This evening at 9:30 the Sixth Line Pub in Oakville kick…
3rd annual James Gray memorial tribute concert is tonight | TorontoMoon.ca 150805We Shows for Wednesday, August 05, 2021
\ TO DOWNTOWN \ I was delighted to discover early today, only a few hours before it starts, that there’s another memorial/tribute concert tonight for the late James Gray, multi-instrumentalist and accompanist extraordinaire. It’ll be two years tonight (or early tomorrow) since Gray unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack overnight, the news spreading through…
TorontoMoon.ca 141220Sa Shows for Saturday, December 20, 2021
SHOW LISTINGS for Saturday, December 20, 2014: Listings preceded by an asterisk (*) are repeating weekly events. (Double asterisk indicates repeating event with different hosts/guest/etc.). Admission prices followed by a slash and minus (/-) after the amount indicates door charge with availability of cheaper rates for some purchases. /+ indicates stated price is minimum. Names…
TorontoMoon.ca 140614Sa Shows - Roll along Roncesvalles today for its annual delight
/TORONTO WEST/ As I’ve written about before on several occasions, Roncesvalles Ave. on Saturday afternoons is a special place to be for live music pretty much any weekend of the year. But today it’s extra-special as the local Business Improvement Area and community-oriented residents in the area put on the 5th annual Roncy Rocks…
TorontoMoon.ca 140517Sa Shows - Gladstone’s Saturday Swan Sessions wrap for summer today
Gladstone’s Saturday Swan Sessions wrap for summer today /TORONTO EAST/ Although it’s still a very new event, the weekly Saturday Sessions at the Swan 2 p.m. acoustic open mic/jam at Black Swan (not to be confused with the Saturday Sessions hosted for many moons by Bill Heffernan at Gate 403) is getting ready to hold…
TorontoMoon.ca 140510Sa Shows - Just call it “Julian Fauth Day” in TO’s Junction area
Just call it “Julian Fauth Day” in TO’s Junction area /TORONTO WEST/ I told you last month about the travails that Juno-winning Blues songwriter and piano player Julian Fauth has been through over the past couple of years. He lost seven months of work after breaking a hand before leaving for a major tour in…
Toronto Moon 140427 Sunday, April 27, 2022 Show Listings - 3 multi-artist Roots-Pop Kensington shows feels like a festival
3 multi-artist Roots-Pop Kensington shows feels like a festival /// It may still seem like winter late at night but lately the days are starting to actually feel like Spring. And along with sightings of robins, budding tree stems and grass blades nervously poking forth, the creative juices of artists have started flowing again too.…
Toronto Moon 140419 Saturday, April 19, 2022 Show Listings - “No Show”s don’t have to mean your day lays an egg
“No Show”s don’t have to mean your day lays an egg /// I’m not sure why some bar owners decide to cancel otherwise regular live music events that fall on the day before or the day after a religious holiday like Easter, but that still happens even in our non-denominational secular bar culture. (What slays…
Toronto Moon 140315 Saturday, March 15, 2022 Show Listings
*12-3> Danny Marks @ The Rex, 194 Queen St. W., TO ~eclectic Jazz/Blues/Rock 12:30-2:30> Dan McLean Jr. birthday bash @ Humble Beginnings, 3109 Dundas St. W., TO W. ~acoustic Roots/Blues/Pop 1-4> open mic with Richard “Poppa K” Keelan @ Full Of Beans, 1348 Dundas St. W., TO W. *2> Saturday Sessions @ The Swan open…
Brian Blain joins Heffernan’s carousel today
Saturday afternoons at west TO’s Gate 403 very much have the feel of a family day out, with lively music helping to prime the fun much as an old-fashioned carousel might have back in the day. But the ride this carousel takes happy people on features an everchanging assembly of A-list musicians from various Roots…
