Just this past week The London Brewing Company hosted a music event for young artists called ‘City of Music 2’, where students within the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College performed.
“8 years ago, there weren’t a lot of little venues that were around 100 capacity. London Brewing has a 100 capacity venue inside. We have a very intimate space and if you’re trying to break into a market like London, if you’re not from London or if you’re from London.” Says Co-owner of London Brewing, Jim Macdonald.
“It matters because a lot of people cut their teeth here, a lot of people learn how to perform in front of a decent crowd. It’s music centric and it’s important to support the arts. That’s what we’re doing.”
Crowd during performance (Credit: Mayan Correia)
London Brewing decided to go with new media company ‘Undefeated’ run by Kevin Quintero and Ezii to cover the event. They discussed the decision behind choosing this brewery as the location for the event.
“The first thing that we did when we wanted to do music shows again was we scanned the whole city for venues.”
“And out of all the venues in London, this one is one of the most perfect ones for people that are looking to have a small to medium size show, so not super large, very intimate, and honestly the scenery and the compatibility for music is next level at London Brewing.”
“One of the owners of this place {Macdonald}, he really set it up so that people can come here and just put on whatever type of talents that they want. He has a stage and he has all the lights and equipment and stuff like that and he just makes it easy for you to come here and do a show, a music show.”
Macdonald also spoke about how as a co-owner, It’s important to have events like this one for the community.
“We make it available for the arts community and we do a good job of calling to great newcomers, but also bring in some people to have something a little bit more laid back and accessible.”
“We’re trying to embrace it and figure out what that identifies for the audience and represents awesome local talent and it might not be someone that grew up in London or grew up in Ontario even, but they have an opportunity to express themselves creatively.”
“We want people to feel free to be who they are and we range from solo acoustic to rock to R&B. I’m a big R&B fan.”
‘Undefeated’ also spoke about what the experience has been like for their team to work with Macdonald and the brewery.
“When you’re worried about things like lights, sound, and the main important things that are going to distinguish your concert from being professional and unprofessional, Jim helps a lot.”
“So equipment and Manpower, whoever you need, he can help you with that if you don’t have it. He has everything in place for you. So you’re not going to be doing a show where you don’t have what you need.”
They even commented on why brewing companies are important for music events, and the future that his company with Quintero has moving forward with the local brewery.
“One of the cool things with London Brewing is that they have their own beer, right? And their own drinks. They’re original and they’re delicious. They’re amazing. People love them. So one thing we want to do to evolve is kind of incorporate more of their products into our shows.”
“The scenery here is so beautiful when it comes to having a show. And the crowd gets so intimate just because it’s downtown London, you know, a lot of people that you know are familiar faces.”
“We’re just trying to really grow something here like a culture in this place. So we feel like this is the right place to do it and it’s a friendly place.”
Artist Drumming (Credit: Mayan Correia)
Macdonald finished with a final message that he has for not only Londoners interested in music events and the entertainment industry.
“I believe in the future of entertainment. I believe that this camera in front of me actually matters. It does matter. Connectivity, collaboration, you’re important to them, they’re important to you.”
The event had an original ‘City of Music’ that happened months prior that also featured Fanshawe students within the M.I.A. program.
London Brewery had received popular demand to host a second show which was inspired by Fanshawe’s ‘Share The Land’ that occurred in February.
