The final chords were struck at the Mercury Lounge, the Ottawa bar and music venue that has been a ByWard Market staple for more than 20 years.
The indie venue was small and standing room only, but had an incredible reputation as a cornerstone in the careers of several prominent bands.
But it never fully recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, said John Creswick, who runs it as a nonprofit and announced its closure late last week.
“It’s a super complicated business to run,” Creswick said Sunday, adding that it’s not just a bar, but a “social enterprise” that gives the community a place to gather.
“Somebody has to take the reins, not necessarily there. But the city definitely needs it [something like it].”
“There was always an atmosphere”
Over the past two decades, the ByWard Market Square venue has hosted live bands, poetry events, plays, multiplayer Halo nights and even a wedding.
In his Facebook post, Criswick said the Mercury Lounge has “fundamentally” closed since the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, with the news now official.
Poet and singer-songwriter Mehdi Kayen said his imprisonment had left him “speechless”.
Kayen, who has performed many concerts there, said that’s where the Capital Slam poetry series — one of Canada’s longest-running speaking competitions and one that has produced several national slam poet champions — took shape.
“It was a very unique place in a unique place that looked unique,” Cayenne said. “There was always a mood.”
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Dominique Labelle, co-chair of the ByWard Market BIA, says the loss of the Mercury Lounge is a “hard blow.”
The space holds many positive memories for many Ottawa residents, Labelle said.
“There’s a place for a business like this in Ottawa and I hope someone out there has dreams of reviving it or reviving this kind of music venue,” she said.
The venue’s closure also underscores how badly the music industry needs help from all levels of government as it recovers from COVID-19, said Erin Benjamin, president and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association.
“We can’t resist losing more live music venues,” Benjamin said. “They are critical cornerstones of culture in every town and village in Canada.”
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