TORONTO — Toronto's storied music history may finally have a museum of its own as part of a five-year plan guided by a team of local entertainment leaders.
Organizers at the Toronto Music Experience say they've recently been granted charitable status, which allows them to move forward with fundraisers, sponsorships and ultimately open a permanent cultural home by 2029.
The news was first announced during an industry event last Thursday at the Lounge, a small venue operated by Live Nation in the city's west end, and attended by Rush's Alex Lifeson, Sylvia Tyson, Jully Black, Lorraine Segato and Kairo McLean, the youngest winner of the reggae Juno award.
TME says it aims to launch a "first-of-its-kind destination" that will celebrate Toronto's contributions to music in Canada and internationally through interactive displays and an array of historical artifacts.
“You take any piece of geography in Toronto and scratch the surface, you're going to find layers of cultural history – and every layer of cultural history has its music,” chairperson Lorna Day told The Canadian Press.
“We're looking at the 11,000-year timeline of Toronto, from Indigenous days, to the Underground Railroad, to the waves of Italian immigrants. There are so many stories … some of them tied to locations, like the El Mocambo or Yorkville … and others tied to genres of music.”
The plans will also include performance and production spaces for artists at all stages of their careers, reserved areas for retailers and a café.
Toronto has long been missing a sizable, dedicated space for its music history, Day said. And while some ideas on how to celebrate the scene have been put forward in the past, leadership at TME formed several years ago to grow them into a tangible concept.
They'll get some help from an advisory board that includes former record label executives Denise Donlon and Randy Lennox, music producer Bob Ezrin and manager Bernie Finkelstein.
“We've worked through a feasibility study and we've got some pretty strong recommendations that this is a realistic idea," she said.
“The long-term objective is to have a space (where) Torontonians can visit, that's a hub for live music, community gatherings, travelling exhibits and so on.”
TME has already been involved in small exhibits dedicated to Toronto’s music scene.
Several have gone on display at a small music museum tucked into an upstairs corner of Shoppers Drug Mart at Yonge and Dundas, a space once occupied by the legendary Friar's Tavern nightclub. The museum is presently hosting an exhibit called "Shaking the Foundations: Women Trailblazers in Toronto Music."
As plans for a permanent location take shape, Day said TME will inch toward its ultimate goal by hosting pop-up exhibits across the city, in places that could include local malls or transit hubs such as Union Station.
“These things don't have to be grounded to begin with,” she added.
“What we would like to see is programming accompanying each of these shows. So, a series of performances, YouTube videos or other ways of engaging people, but ultimately, we do need a home.”
Day cautioned that it may take more than the five-year plan to open the doors of a museum, but that within the projected timeline, there will be a clear finish line.
“Five years from now, you will know what TME is, you’ll have been to pop-ups, you’ll have gone to a show," she said.
"We will have a digital presence … and we will have assigned ourselves a permanent location.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
