Main Stage: Building music dreams
Main Stage Rehearsal Studios offers a range of rental studios and performance spaces for musicians and podcasters, with the goal of supporting artists at all points in their career.
Main Stage Rehearsal Studios is a beacon of nightlife in an otherwise dark stretch of Hamilton’s King Street East.
The funky co-working space for musicians and audio artists says it is “one of the largest rehearsal spaces in Canada, with the widest selection of studios to hold your next practice, jam session, recording project, audition, listening party, music video, podcast, dance session and other private events.”
Yes, a garage or basement will work for a rehearsal space, but it’s not ideal, especially for serious solo artists and bands, says Main Stage co-owner Justin Dobbin.
“The acoustics aren’t great and there are lots of distractions at home. Here, you are coming to work.”
Adds his wife and business partner Kelly Ng: “And we have everything they need here, whether it’s technical help, an extra amp or a cable or replacements for broken strings or drum sticks.”
Main Stage is a sprawling complex just east of Sanford Avenue in the Gibson neighbourhood that offers plug-and-play capabilities for local and touring solo artists and bands. The space had once been home to Rehearsal Factory, a now-defunct chain of rental studios in the GTHA.
When Dobbin and Ng took over, they built hourly rentals into their business model. There are even rooms geared to certain types of music, including metal, country and pop.
“We keep listening to what people want and need. We are willing to give things a try,” says Ng.
The couple says affordable rental and performance space is critical to the musical ecosystem of Hamilton, to support both aspiring and veteran artists.
“Music should be accessible to everyone and that’s what we try to do here,” says Dobbin.
The Main Stage studios
Main Stage offers 12 hourly rental studios in two sizes that are equipped with a drum kit and professional-grade guitar and bass amps, PAs, and mics. The walls include double layers of insulation and drywall and heavy velour curtains to make for a sound-proof room. There are also ambient lights in every room and couches, stools and a mini fridge in the premium studios.
Rental costs begin at just $22 an hour for a 300-square-foot studio and $27 an hour for a premium space. There is a two-hour rental minimum and spaces can be booked via an online portal.
The ground-floor Live Room allows live-off-the-floor recording, live streaming, and video recording or an upgraded rehearsal experience. Musicians use the space for album tracking, demo and sample recording, or to shoot promo videos for promotors and venue operators.
At 820 square feet, it rents for $37 an hour.
Main Stage also offers an on-site music store and equipment rental along with technical support to help with issues and to teach audio production to those who are interested.
The newest space is a dedicated podcast studio, which features plug-and-play simplicity for casual or professional users, including podcasters, voice-over artists, audio book recordings and other media production. Main Stage staff, which includes five full-time and three part-time employees, who are all musicians themselves, will train new podcasters to do the technical work themselves.
Finally, there are 25 studios available for monthly rent that are booked by a range of local touring bands and professional musicians.
While rental hours are available from noon to midnight, 365 days a year, monthly tenants have access around the clock.
There are times every room is booked and the place really begins to rock after 6 p.m. The couple says about 120 bands come through the space in a week.
“There is a community of musicians here. Everyone appreciates and supports each other,” says Ng.
That’s critical to a booming music scene in the city, she says. There are many bands hustling to make it and they need the help of those who are succeeding.
“If everyone took the approach of the Arkells and helped other bands that are coming along, that’s really powerful.”
Main Stage Showcase
The crown jewel at Main Stage is the 2,000-square-foot Showcase space, which holds full-sized events and rehearsals. It comes with a full backline, digital mixer, hazer, and a sound-activated stage lighting system. It’s available beginning at $55 an hour for rehearsals and $100 for events.
Main Stage hosts regular open jams in the space, giving many aspiring singers and musicians their first taste of a professional stage, says Ng. New bands and other forms of musical collaborations have resulted, too.
An experienced host studies each musician’s profile and preferences and helps to arrange jams, which are backed by a Main Stage house band and audio team.
“Our goal is to help people elevate their music,” she says.
That even goes as far as helping young bands market themselves.
“It’s not enough to put up a poster on Instagram or Facebook. It takes more than that,” says Dobbin. For one thing, it requires professional videos and recordings.
“We are confident in the experience we can offer a band. They can put on a great show here,” says Dobbin. “The gear is top-quality. The speakers are the same they use at Scotiabank Arena.”
Having the full-sized venue is a big boost for Main Stage tenants, who have used it for shows and listening parties. It’s been rented for salsa dancing, church services, for local orchestra rehearsals and for music development workshops hosted by the Hamilton Arts Council.
Drumeo, a popular online learning platform for percussionists, hosted a live workshop in the space.
One goal at Main Stage is to be a place kids can get a start in music. For that reason, open jams are all ages and no alcohol.
“If they could just put down their video games and cellphones and pick up an instrument …,” says Dobbin.
Hamilton: ‘Best potential’
Ng and Dobbin bought the business in January 2022. He had been an employee at Rehearsal Factory for 17 years doing construction and maintenance. He had been working at the Hamilton location since 2016 but it closed in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic.
When the chance came up to buy the Hamilton assets, including all the music gear, the couple took the leap.
“We both felt Hamilton had the best potential and real estate prices gave us an opportunity,” says Ng, who is a chartered professional accountant. She gave up a job as a corporate controller for a Toronto private equity company and now handles all the finances and administration for Main Stage. Dobbin does all the construction and maintenance on the sprawling building and oversees the repair and upkeep of the equipment.
A Toronto location of Main Stage is operated by Dobbin’s best friend.
Ng and Dobbin moved to Hamilton with their now-three-year-old son in September 2023.
It ended Dobbin’s awful commute between Hamilton and Toronto and gives the family a new quality of life.
In 2024, the couple were named Young Entrepreneurs of the Year by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
And Main Stage is now nominated for the second time for a global award from the Music Cities Awards in the best use of music in real estate or city planning.
The team at Main Stage have worked to raise the profile of Hamilton as a music ecosystem on the global stage by attending the Music Tourism Convention in Hamilton in 2023, the Music Cities Convention in Alabama and the recent Music Tourism Convention in Cape Breton.
“Our mission is to showcase Hamilton as one of Canada’s largest music ecosystems, with a strong music infrastructure and capable of hosting world-class acts,” says Ng.
“We’re excited that our efforts are being recognized by a reputable global organization and jury, highlighting the critical role rehearsal studios play in fostering the next generation of musicians.”
The Music Cities Awards, hosted by Sound Diplomacy, is a global competition to reward the most outstanding applications of music for economic, social, environmental, and cultural development in cities all around the world.
Thirty-six projects from 19 countries are nominated. Hamilton joins Brampton and London as nominees from Canada. Main Stage is up against projects in Paraguay, Italy and Germany.
The awards ceremony will take place during the Riyadh Music Cities Convention, to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from Dec. 7-9.
The awards attracted more than 300 applications from 19 countries across six continents and the selection process for nominations was led by a high-level global jury of 10 experts who work at the forefront of music and city development.
747 King St. E.: The history
Main Stage is made up of three buildings together that total 35,000-square feet. It is located in what was once a thriving stretch of King Street East. Much of the space was once occupied by Robert's Restaurant and Swingin' Door Tavern, a popular place for weddings and banquets from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Then it became Festival Banquet Centre. The now-demolished Strand Theatre was just a few doors away.
Ng and Dobbin hear from lots of people who attended weddings or banquets or played shows in the space, including famed local guitarist Bill Dillon, who played his first show at Robert’s.
There are many reminders in the lobby of the building’s life as a former banquet hall, including large mirrored walls and big statues. The ground floor was in rough shape so Dobbin’s construction skills came in handy.
The walls around a winding staircase up to a mezzanine on the second floor along with the lobby space feature large-scale portraits of famous musicians painted by local artist Natasha Rose. Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Snopp Dogg, Freddie Mercury and Prince are among the immortalized icons.
There are other creative touches everywhere, including lights in the Live Room that Dobbin made out of snare drums.
‘A musical playground’
At a recent open jam, musicians and singers jump in and out of performances of “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” and “The Weight” by The Band.
One of the singers is Emma Bown, a Hamilton singer-songwriter who has rented studio space to rehearse, record and make videos.
“We are just teenagers and we get access to a great space at a really friendly price. We get set-up help, so the sound is great,” says Bown, who is studying music at Western University and performs under the name Emerald B.
Musicians are asked to sign up for the open jams ahead of time so a lineup can be assembled but some just show up and that’s OK, too. There is a varying level of talent and comfort on stage but everyone is treated the same.
Ng describes the jam as a “musical playground.”
Jack, a nine-year-old drummer in a leather jacket, climbs behind the kit. He lays down a drum beat, a bassist from the house band joins in, and soon there are two guys freestyling at the mic, along with a trumpeter and saxophonist. Jack holds it all together before breaking into a wicked solo.
Turns out Jack has travelled from King City. He’s only been playing drums a few months but he’s as cool as a cucumber on the stage.
Isaiah Ahmad is a member of the house band and helps to host the open jam. He’s frequently dancing, while playing bass, guitar or trumpet and helping to lead the assembled musicians.
He learned about Main Stage through rehearsing with his ska band The Checkerboards, a six-piece ensemble that just released their first song.
“There is nowhere else like this. I live in an apartment. I can’t jam there. It’s just fun to come here and do that.”
Hamilton is home to a lot of young people who are musically talented but lack confidence to get on a stage, says Ahmad.
“Here, it’s not just about how the music sounds but getting over that shyness.”
Andy Baker, who plays in a ’90s cover band called The Channels, jumped up to play a song or two at the open jam. His band frequently rehearses at Main Stage and hosted their first event there, a show in March to raise money for CityKidz.
“The people who run this place are amazing. It’s just a great place for local musicians to meet up. When I was growing up, I would have killed for something like this. It’s a sensational space.”
Baker is a Hamilton native, who left for Toronto but has now returned to his hometown.
“It’s so hard to get live experience playing in front of people because there aren’t a lot of venues around anymore. That first gig goes so much smoother when you have that experience.”
Mickey DeSadist, singer and founding member of punk pioneers The Forgotten Rebels, is a big fan of Main Stage. He has popped in to see the open jam after a long ride on his bike.
“I performed at one of the first open jams. I played “Brown Sugar” in open C, the way it was originally done.”
The Forgotten Rebels, which are performing on Sept. 27 in Victoria, B.C. and Sept. 28 in Vancouver, rehearses at Main Stage.
“I wish it had been around forever. I wish it was here in the ’70s,” says DeSadist. “Room 12 is our favourite place to rehearse.”
