Mercer Hall recently came out as a live music venue. With its marvelous dark wood décor and trim and an impressive selection of Ontario VQA wines, craft breweries and food made with local ingredients, Mercer Hall is a great place to enjoy live music. Converted from the long-standing newspaper headquarters of The Beacon Herald into Tango and Mercer Hall Inn, two renovations later the building is now simply Mercer Hall – arguably the best re-design of the space.

 

Tonight's event is a 20s and 30s theme flapper party where Brendan J. Stephens, aka The Vaudevillian, is the featured artist. He specializes in playing four instruments at the same time and is accompanied by his girlfriend Chelsea on washboard. They are on a bike tour of Southern Ontario, starting in Stratford and going to Bayfield, Goderich, and Grand Bend, continuing for three months. Brendan took note from the old vaudeville scene where they would tour going “the green way" by horse and carriage from town to town and do what they would call medicine shows. Tonight's show was the climax of a stellar week of performances in Stratford.

 

Mentions in the daily paper, radio, and word on the street enticed music lovers come in and fill the front room at Mercer Hall. Patrons stared in wonderment as Brendan stomped away and shouted out original songs and classic cover songs of the 1920s and 1930s. With the doors open, some people wondered off the street lured by the sounds early century tunes and to their delight experienced a show in full force. What makes his indoor shows different from his busking shows are the stories behind the songs and the historical tidbits he shares along the way – and his sounds don't have to compete with the noise of oncoming traffic. Brendan quickly sold out of CDs had to print some more on a near by lap top to keep up with demand. Overjoyed, others tossed their tips in his old wood suitcase.

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Brendan reflected on the week, “Stratford is a wonderful city for busking. You can roll on in and share your art. Stratford folks support and love live music. I had a blast. What a busy time! Getting booked completely.”

 

His grassroots, ground-level methods of promotion and willingness to play anywhere anytime has developed many new friendships and partnerships in the city and landed him an additional six gigs in the county over the summer and fall, including Stratford Blues and Ribfest, Savour Stratford, Garlic Fest and various private parties and family reunions. He was even auctioned off at Swing Into The Spring by Mayor Dan Mathieson and Eddie Mathews for a private Backyard BBQ party.

 

Chelsea admires, “Our week in Stratford has been amazing! People are super friendly, a great vibe and so much fun. It was the best place for us to stop first. Plus the food is awesome everywhere we went.”

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Following Brendan's show, I spoke with Jessie, owner and manager of Mercer Hall, about this venue's foray into the music scene. So far Mercer Hall has also played host to [Laura Bates' of Trent Severn Stompin' Tom meets Leonard Cohen project], Poynter and Payne, [some DJs], and jazz trio for brunch. Jessie discussed her vision for Mercer Hall with regards to entertainment. “So far it is been very natural, very organic ...  it's been groups of people or one individual that approach me that are interested in a small intimate gig. That is probably key. Something small acoustic. Acoustic is key, something interesting is key, not your average run-of-the-mill rock band.”

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What is Mercer Hall all about in terms of food and service and atmosphere? “I would say it is a real combination of things the food for sure is locally sourced and locally focused and we extend that into the bar. Draft beers are all craft. There is no Coors Light in the building. Liquor is infused with local produce. We try to use a many local distilleries a possible, or as close to local as they get.”

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Referring to Brendan's vaudeville show, Jessie says, “I have always envisioned  [Mercer Hall] as almost like I speakeasy. Not in a way that [we] serve illegal liquor, but in the way that has that kind of a sound and that kind of feel, kind of a comfortable but upscale ... it's an interesting kind of exclusivity – it's not exclusive because it's elite, it's exclusive because it's warm and comfortable.”