The legendary Wheel Club – Montreal’s go-to venue for bands

Co – owners Clifford Schwartz and Cyndi Turner are keeping the club fresh and inventive

Situated on Cavendish blvd in NDG, the Wheel Club was previously known as a place where Country and Bluegrass music thrived. Hillbilly Night is still operating in its fifty – fourth year at the club (Monday evenings) yet co- owners Cyndi Turner and Clifford Schwartz have gained a solid reputation reinventing the venue as one of Montreal’s great places to perform.  Bands of all sizes and genres have made The Wheel Club; the place to play.

“I have been involved for forty years altogether booking musicians;” explains Cyndi.” I started by adding entertainment at the legions and other venues, and then twenty years ago I started  my own booking agency ‘Cyndi Turner Productions’. I met Cliff at the Wheel Club, introduced myself and I had three bands booked to play here but they never got to perform. Covid hit.”

Clifford Schwartz had no previous experience owning or running a club in day-to-day operations but possessed a wealth of experience as a musician (guitar) and as a technical guy who set up various clubs around the city to prosper with live music.

“I had a lot of experience getting bars moving via live music so I thought, if I am making all these places do well, I may as well do well for myself.“
– Co-Owner Clifford Schwartz

“I was deeply rooted in the R&B scene.” Explains Cliff. “I worked with a lot of musicians who came from the States. Leslie ‘Snooksta’ Alston, Michelle Sweeney  and Thomas Harris to name a few. When the band with Thomas on drums broke up, the trumpet player got a job as bandleader for the Cirque de Soleil show La Nuba in Orlando Florida. He asked me to join his band and suddenly I found myself able to make a living as a musician.” Cliff continues. “I helped a lot of bars grow from the ground up with my bands. The Next Door Pub,  the Brass Door and Rosewood. I had a lot of experience getting bars moving via live music so I thought, if I am making all these places do well, I may as well do well for myself. “

Musicians and patrons appreciate the club’s professional sound system

It was April 2019 when Clifford became the official owner of The Wheel Club. He was looking for a manager to run the place. Enter Cyndi.

“It was supposed to be a three month trial.” Explains Cyndi. “I think after two weeks, I decided to take the job and then the idea of being Cliff’s partner came up. The rest as they say is history.”

The Wheel Club does not have a food license but they do offer snacks. It is not open during daytime hours. At night, there is live entertainment. The club is event driven. People come to watch and enjoy a show. Although the club can stay open to 3 am, it is very rare that many people hang out that long. Sometimes a couple of people may be playing pool in the backroom.

“Cliff does all the booking.” Says Cyndi. “People will come and see me and I will tell them to send their music or YouTube videos by email. I will send Cliff the good ones and try not to bother him with something that is not professional enough. Sometimes I will book a band if it is someone who has played here in the past or they are very well known.”

The plan from the get – go was to put The Wheel Club on the map as a live venue and to make the reputation of the venue being a Country only venue fade from being the first thought in people’s minds.

“Women come up to me and say they don’t mind coming here alone because they feel safe.” – Co-Owner Cyndi Turner

“Cyndi and I opened the door for everyone to play here. Rock n Roll, Jazz, and Disco – you name it.” Says Cliff.” What we have seen is the retro bands or the tribute bands are the ones that do well. Every band or artist from any decade has a following so they draw people just on the name of the artists they are paying homage to. We also have a lot of young bands play who are just starting out. Bands or students from Vanier have played here. Just recently we had a sixteen piece Jazz orchestra. “

The resurgence of The Wheel Club with more new artists performing for the first time has also drawn first time customers who have become repeat customers. People will come for one band and come back for another band. They also return for the ‘basement ‘ambiance and the friendly atmosphere.

“Women come up to me and say they don’t mind coming here alone because they feel safe;” says Cyndi. “People come because they love music and the majority of people just want to dance, have fun and go home. It is a non-threatening night out.”

The Wheel Club is located at 3373 Cavendish H4B 2L7 – 514 490 3322 – wheelclubndg.com
[email protected]

A few words about The Wheel Club

By Craig Morrison

Professor Craig Morrison performs regularly at the Wheel Club with Vintage Wine and on Hillbilly Night

The Wheel Club is a community center, one of the few bastions of local live music in the city, and a cherished institution. My band, Vintage Wine played a dance there in June 2007, which led to us playing there almost every month ever since (with a break for the pandemic). It also alerted other bands, such as Peter Kerr’s band Cadillac Music, that the club was more than just Hillbilly Night on Mondays, and little else besides some regular darts players.

It looked like the Wheel Club was going to die when Dick Hearn retired, but we all were thrilled when Cliff Schwartz and associates took it over. They have slowly and steadily improved it, including upgrading the looks, furniture, adding a menu, and a good sound system and several knowledgeable sound men to run it. Even during the pandemic, it was one of the only places where music was being played and broadcast. I did about 20 online broadcasts there, solo, in duos, and full bands.

They have all kinds of live music there. Rock and roll bands, featuring lots of variety of styles and repertoire from the ’50s to the 21st century, and all kinds of tribute acts from Elvis and Johnny Cash, to the Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Eagles, Elton John, and so many others. They’ve hosted reggae bands, hip hoppers, a club of synth lovers, Celtic groups, jazz bands.  God bless the Wheel Club and the crew that run it and all who attend.

More from Craig Morrison about Hillbilly Night

Hillbilly Night at the Wheel Club is an experience! When I was teaching my Rock and Roll and Its Roots course at Concordia, I would assign a concert report. Hillbilly Night was one of the options and some of the students’ reactions were remarkable: “I never experienced live music before.” “I never saw young people and old people having fun in the same place before.” “I used to say I didn’t like country music but now I see that I didn’t know what it was.” “The place reminds me of family reunions back home.” “I do like country music.” “I was surprised that I recognized some of the songs.” “My friends and I plan to go back.”

I started going to Hillbilly Night in the mid-1980s when it was at the Blue Angel downtown on Drummond Street, shortly after I moved to Montreal from Victoria. I made a CD called Echoes from the Blue Angel. After it moved to the Wheel Club, I eventually made a CD called Echoes from the Wheel Club.