Why investing in our stages is an investment in our soul
Trevor Hutchinson is a writer, musician and not-for-profit executive. He lives in Lindsay with his wife and three of their children.
My formative years involved being crammed into the dodgiest of rooms with like-minded people, where I was either playing music or enjoying music with hundreds of others. Bars were everywhere and live music abounded.
Today, there are way fewer bars and a lot less live music. During the lockdowns, we accepted the loss of bars and live events as the necessary price of public health. I, for one, naively assumed the vibrant scene I grew up with would just organically bounce back. Instead, on the whole, we retreated to our couches, forgetting how much we desperately need in-person, collective events to maintain any real sense of social cohesion. And we abandon such events at our peril. A community that stops singing together stops listening to each other.
The decline isn’t just a feeling; the math is brutal. Recent national data analyzing millions of transactions showed that in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver, only 17 to 21 per cent of spending at bars and restaurants now happens after dark — a significant drop as 43 per cent of Canadians report going out less often due to inflation. According to the Canadian Live Music Association, independent venues across the country are currently operating at only a 64 per cent average fill rate. Meanwhile, a Wavelength Music report highlighted a bleak 13 per cent closure rate for small, independent music venues.
That is why it is so incredibly refreshing to see the emergence of the North of Nowhere Music Festival.
In July 2024, the festival took a massive risk and launched right here in Kawartha Lakes. It didn’t just survive; it’s thriving. The event returned to the Lindsay Exhibition (LEX) this July 16 to 18, the festival is drawing massive acts like Dallas Smith, The Glorious Sons, and Juno-winning indie rockers and local favourites, the Strumbellas.
But the success of events like North of Nowhere isn’t just about a good time; it is about hard economics. If you look at the data driving Kawartha Lakes’ new 2026-2036 cultural master plan, the local arts and culture sector in our city alone supports nearly 1,000 jobs and generates a staggering $67 million in GDP.
This is exactly why the city is actively exploring a new, dedicated cultural centre and why government support — like the Experience Ontario grant program — is so critical. Investing in the arts is not charity; it is economic fuel.
North of Nowhere proves our appetite for human connection hasn’t vanished entirely. But rebuilding our civic fabric takes work. Municipal and provincial leaders must view arts funding as essential infrastructure.
The rest is entirely on us. We must retrain our social muscles. The pandemic may have taken our stages temporarily, but only apathy will keep them empty. Let’s get out there, buy a ticket, and make some noise. Together.
