“The Horseshoe Tavern was once known as Nashville North”

The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern: A Complete History

Sept. 23 Before the Horseshoe Tavern became one of Toronto’s most beloved indie rock venues, it was a temple of country and western music known as Nashville North, home to guitar-slinging cowboys and honky-tonk heroes. In The Legendary Horsehoe Tavern: A Complete History, Waterloobased writer and historian David McPherson traces the venue’s 70-year evolution. Here, a few of our favourite snapshots from the book.

charley Pride, 1967

During his first visit to Canada, Nashville sensation Charley Pride played at the Horseshoe, where he eventually became a semi-regular alongside other American stars like Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn.

horseshoe Tavern PosTer, 1978

The Garys (a.k.a. promoter duo Gary Cormier and Gary Topp) booked an eclectic mix of music at the Horseshoe for eight months in 1978. This poster includes listings for punk rock bands, New York reggae groups and the jazz iconoclast Sun Ra.

The Police, 1978

Just a few dozen people paid the $4 cover to see a young Sting and co. play back-to-back gigs in November 1978. “There was more staff there to watch the Police than paying patrons,” McPherson writes.

sTomPin’ Tom connors, 1974

East Coast icon Stompin’ Tom, shown here in a concert still, played 25 consecutive nights at the Horseshoe in 1969—a record that’s never been broken.

donn reynolds, circa 1960s

RCAF member turned musician Donn Reynolds, often called the king of the yodellers, performed at the Horseshoe during its country heyday in the 1950s and ’60s.