Exciting news in 'Shwa Rock City as Bond|St Event Centre announces its lineup for the month. It has been some years of starts and stops for Oshawa’s latest live music venue. Still, Bond |St Event Centre, located in the historic Canadian Automotive Workers Union Hall at 44 Bond St. E., is finally fully open, launching a weekly vinyl night on Wednesdays and Acoustic Fridays in the Local Lounge with Stephen Stanley, co-founder of Canadian indie pioneers Lowest of the Low, on the stage on Friday, April 5.
The basement club, Two Two Two, is also open with a couple of shows already announced. On Friday, April 5, Town Brewery presents Toronto punk rockers Pkew Pkew Pkew with indie rockers Sham Family, as well as a one-night reunion of Tijuana Jesus, melodic psych rock from Bowmanville. Thus, Music fans can see Stephen Stanley and Pkew x3 in the same building, which also houses the Bond St. Snack Bar restaurant on its second floor—a pretty rad option to take in a show in the city’s music district.
On Friday, April 12, the Endless Bummer Tour stops in to play the Two Two Two, featuring a comprehensive punk lineup from across the Greater Toronto Area, including Lee Reed, Danny Myles, Rules, Koster, and Nothing Serious.
21st Century alt-rock Kings, Queens of the Stone Age, land Monday, April 8 at the Tribute Communities Centre. Helmed by Josh Homme, the Queens are on the End is Nero Tour on the back of their latest album, ‘In Times New Roman. . .’, the final act in a trilogy which includes ‘. . . Like Clockwork’, and ‘Villains.’ British rock band The Struts will open.
The Regent Theatre has a month full of its popular tribute concerts, beginning with ‘Dreamer - The Supertramp Experience 2024’ on April 5; ‘It’s Too Late to Stop Now - The Music of Van Morrison’ on Saturday, April 6; ‘The Power of Huey - A Tribute to the Music of Huey Lewis & The News’ on Thursday, April 18; ‘The Liverpool 4 - Beatlemania’ on Friday, April 19, and on Saturday, April 27 ‘Pretzel Logic - A Steely Dan Revue’. Colin James Trio pays tribute to themselves when they play the Regent Theatre Monday, April 29. Colin James is one of Canada’s great guitarists, having twenty albums and multiple Junos under his guitar strap.
The Biltmore Theatre also begins the month with a lineup of tribute bands, including on Thursday, April 4, Dwayne Gretzky covering Big Shiny Tunes, the chart-topping compilation series from Much Music. On Saturday, April 6, Tommy Youngsteen covers ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ Bruce Springsteen’s career-defining album. To cap off The Biltmore's run of cover bands, on Friday, April 12, they've got the Ultimate Tribute to Celine Dion, and finally, on Saturday, April 13, the focus is on Whitesnake with WRT taking on the high vox and low pants of the lighter side of metal.
On Thursday, April 18, original rock returns with T.O. indie rockers Zeus returning with their new album, ‘Credo,’ their first since 2014. M’Grasker is opening. On Friday, April 26, Cobourg-based rockers Nitetime Drive will launch their new album ‘NTD2’ out into the world at large. Special guests include One In The Chamber, Gypsy Brydge, and Lowery Mills.
The month winds up with the Country Mixtape Tour featuring a couple of country singers from British Columbia, Tyler Joe Miller of Surrey and Shawn Austin of Vancouver, with one from Northern Ontario: Andrew Hyatt, the 2022 Canadian Country Music Rising Star Award winner, who hails from Sudbury.
So, it's quite the month ahead for fans with so many choices. From the intimate lounge to soft-seater sit-down to dance club and arena-size rock, Oshawa really is the centre of live music in the Durham Region.