History Ottawa, the
long-awaited
Live Nation concert venue in downtown Ottawa, has unveiled its first round of bookings, starting with a summer show by the American roots-rockers the Wallflowers and including a December homecoming gig with the pride of Stittsville,
pop star Talk
.
Also announced in the inaugural string of eight concerts are dates with New York rockers the Pretty Reckless, soulful Canadian folk-rocker Bahamas, anthemic Icelanders Kaleo and the Swedish metal band Sabaton.
Ticket prices were not immediately announced, and won’t be revealed until they go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. on March 27 at Ticketmaster.ca. Ticket presales may also be available for the individual artists.
The
new club
’s first staffers have been identified, too. Vancouver’s Bronwyn Campbell, a former general manager at the Commodore Ballroom, said in a statement she’s thrilled to be named general manager of History Ottawa.
“Bringing this venue to life is an exciting opportunity, and I look forward to building a team that cares deeply about creating a space that both fans and artists love coming back to,” she said, adding that Ottawa is known to have some of the most passionate music fans in the country.
Senior operations manager will be Rob Feller, another Commodore alumnus, while Ottawa’s Ali Shafaee, vice-president of regional operations for Live Nation Canada, will continue to oversee the operations, assisted by Alex Primeau.
A multimillion-dollar project for Live Nation, the new venture takes over the former Chapters bookstore at 47 Rideau Street, at the corner of Sussex Drive. The building is owned by the National Capital Commission, and was leased by Live Nation in 2024. Renovations have been underway for months.
The new space will be a 2,000-capacity, two-tier performance hall, a little smaller than its sister venue in Toronto, but the biggest indoor, non-arena venue in Ottawa. Both the Toronto and Ottawa clubs represent a partnership between Live Nation and rap superstar Drake.
In Ottawa, there are high hopes for the new space. It’s not only expected to fill a gap in the city’s venue ladder — enable touring acts to add a stop between Toronto and Montreal — but is also predicted to help revitalize Rideau Street and the ByWard Market.
Live Nation is aiming to program at least 200 shows a year at History Ottawa, a level of activity that will bring fans downtown, and create jobs for bar staff, technicians, security and more. Job fairs to hire local employees will be held in the coming months.
Meanwhile, here’s the first round of acts coming to History Ottawa in 2026.
Aug. 20
: The Wallflowers
Sept. 9
: Kaleo
Sept. 13:
The Pretty Reckless
Sept. 26
: Sabaton
Oct. 2
: Two Door Cinema Club
Oct. 7
: Bahamas
Oct. 24
: Marianas Trench
Dec. 4
: TALK
Dec. 11
: Wolf Parade
