Toronto’s live music scene is being rewritten with the recent launch of Rogers Stadium, a venue unlike any other in the city. Its massive scale is drawing premier acts, changing where people go and reshaping the way concertgoers experience live acts.
Evan Spizzirri who has worked in retail at shows at Budweiser Stage, Rogers Centre and Rogers Stadium, highlighted how you can feel the atmosphere of the venue compared to the others he’s worked.
“The venue is much bigger than any venue that I’ve really worked before… you can just feel the amount of people that are there,” said Spizzirri. The new venue holds 50,000 people, approximately 13,000 more than the next biggest venue.
Spizzirri added how the day unfolds as venue staff for a large-scale show at Rogers Stadium, in comparison to a day at Budweiser Stage.
“Most of the time when we’re selling [merchandise], we’re selling for possibly six, seven hours straight… our most recent show I did was System of a Down… by far the busiest show that I’ve had the chance to work,” Spizzirri said.
Paige Rutledge, a local country music artist who’s been in the music scene for over 10 years, believes that the smaller venues are still the venues where you can feel the most.
“I think in a sense then energy could be similar but just on a larger scale at stadium shows… I do think the personal connection can get lost in massive crowds a little bit, so I think seeing an artist at a smaller venue is a really special feeling,” Rutledge said.
Though Rutledge said with the demand of these large-scale stadium shows there’s also opportunity to push crowds to look for more.
“I also always try to find a positive side to things… it could be an opportunity for smaller venues to capitalize on larger stadium shows by turning a night into an after-concert party theme and have smaller artists play at the more intimate venues,” Rutledge added.
For everyday concertgoers, Rogers Stadium offers a new outlet for live music, potentially bringing bigger acts to a Toronto stage. This summer Coldplay, System of a Down and Oasis performed. Country music superstar Luke Combs confirmed he’ll play two shows at the open air forum next summer.
Meygan Cherry has attended shows at Horseshoe Tavern, History, Budweiser Stage and Rogers Stadium.
“I think I’ve been to over 30 concerts in the past, like three or four months… they’re bringing in a lot more artists… that maybe wouldn’t originally think of coming to Canada because there’s just no spot for them to play,” Cherry said.
For fans, Cherry said that the size of the venue compared to others really helps live music in Toronto.
“Yes, it can bring in more people to see one person live, which is really good. It really helps with the live music thing,” said Cherry.
The city of Toronto greenlit Rogers Stadium as a temporary structure that will be dismantled in five years.
