New music venues: This booker is back

Brodie Schwendiman, operator of the late and beloved Casbah, is back booking music in a new downtown venue called Ridiculous, and other live-music locations in the region.

2025 was a rollercoaster ride of a year for Brodie Schwendiman. The music club operator and booker has played a crucial role in Hamilton’s live-music scene for a full quarter-century, most prominently as operator of The Casbah, one of the city’s most important club venues during its run from 2001 to 2025.

In January 2025, Schwendiman was forced to close the doors of The Casbah, following the sale of the building at King Street West and Queen Street North to a condo developer. HAMILTON CITY Magazine covered that story in November 2024, and Schwendiman informed us then that an exit from the music business was a distinct possibility.

Over a year later, he shares with HCM that “this has been the most unique year of my professional career for sure. There were moments in 2025 where I was thinking of quitting the music industry and moving onto something completely unrelated. For multiple months I focused on that, but I still had people always connecting with me: ‘My band wants to work with you,’ ‘I really love what you did in music,’ and so on.”

Thankfully, for the state of the Hamilton live-music community, a Schwendiman exit has not come to pass. Instead, he buckled down, making use of his connections and reputation to build a varied and impressive portfolio of Hamilton venues where he is handling the music component. 

2025 concluded on a high note for Schwendiman when he secured a deal to book music and comedy into the two club venues situated in a new downtown underground space called Ridiculous, located inside the historic Right House department store building at King William and Hughson.

A venue press release explains the unconventional choice of name this way: “Founded by Matteo Merla and his wife Amy, Ridiculous was born from a moment of pure discovery. While exploring the historic building — once home to one of Hamilton’s longest-running dance clubs, Fever — the couple reached the basement. When Amy looked at Matteo and said, ‘You cannot do this. This is ridiculous,’ the name and the spirit of the venue was instantly sealed.”

That release stresses that: “Ridiculous is far more than a traditional music venue. With a total capacity of up to 350 guests, the space is designed as a multi-functional entertainment hub, featuring two stages, comedy and live-music programming, hypnotist shows, corporate events, and immersive performances. The venue also offers beautifully designed cocktail lounges, premium drinks, and carefully selected snacks.”

Merla tells HAMILTON CITY Magazine that “the live-music industry certainly has its hurdles, but I am incredibly optimistic. Hamilton has an undeniable energy and a deep-seated love for live performance that defies industry trends. With the recent upgrades to TD Coliseum, it's clear that we're not alone in thinking this way.”

He says a venue of the size of Ridiculous is vital.

“There’s often a gap between small DIY spaces and massive theatres. Ridiculous fills that 'sweet spot' where emerging talent can grow and established acts can connect intimately with their audience. We hope to be the heart of the downtown Hamilton core, while bringing a new take and a new group to it each and every weekend.“

The first of these rooms, dubbed The Parlour, launched with an open house in mid-January, followed the next night by a well-attended album launch party for veteran local singer/songwriter/visual artist Martin Verrall.

Just 10 days prior to its opening, Schwendiman gave HCM a guided tour of The Parlour and the larger adjacent space called Room 1. That visit revealed a serious amount of work still to be done, but our return for the Verrall gig confirmed impressive progress.

In our interview, the entrepreneurial Schwendiman gave detailed background about Ridiculous and his role there, while also outlining his ongoing work booking the music in a fascinating assortment of Hamilton (and area) cafés, restaurants, theatres, clubs, and pubs. 

“Ridiculous is now the largest part of my roster, but I still have time to keep building my venue roster and the partnerships I have with other venues,” says Schwendiman, who uses the tag Friends of Casbah for this work. “The smaller places all have their own roles in the cultural and the musical ecosystem of our scene.”

A Schwendiman show booked into The Corktown fortuitously led to a connection with and eventual hiring by Ridiculous co-owner Merla. “I did not even know they were doing this, it was off my radar,” Schwendiman says. “One of Matteo’s team members was at my show at Corktown, and he asked the doorperson who booked the show. My name came up, and they contacted me. Once I saw the space, I could see its potential, via the good vibe from Fever and Matteo’s good energy.”

Schwendiman explains that Merla is a German entrepreneur who moved to Ontario in 2020, during the pandemic. “He was involved in nightclubs and rave culture in Germany, and when he moved here, he was involved in a bar and restaurant in the Niagara region, where his partner Amy is from. He has other businesses, including Matilda Sword Distillers.”

A craft distillery, Matilda Sword has its office atop Ridiculous, and there is a positive synergy between that business and the venue. Schwendiman notes that “Matteo also being a spirits producer translates to saving money that helps allow live music to be presented here.”

Schwendiman has roots in this space, dating back to Fever, the dance club that formerly occupied this space in the late 1990s into the 2000s. “As fate would have it, I actually worked at Fever, prior to becoming a music club booker. One of my first jobs in entertainment was as a busboy here, while I was still at university,” he recalls with a chuckle. “That job was memorable as Fever was the region’s first example of a nightclub outside of Toronto that was focused on alternative music, not pop or hip-hop. People have fond memories of Fever. It was then Remedy nightclub, but not for long. It has been dark here for many years.”

Schwendiman’s role at Ridiculous will focus upon the booking of both rooms, but his experience as a club operator has been valuable for Merla. “He did consult with me a lot on how to do this. As a result of those conversations, many Casbah team members have come over. The sound people are mostly from The Casbah, and at least half of the service staff, so we’re bringing that Casbah energy,” says Schwendiman.

“What I’m mostly excited about here is that Matteo has ideas aligned with some that I had, but couldn’t pull the chute on for financial reasons. He can activate them, so I’m excited to see what happens when I book an act from The Casbah and can see how much better it can be done here, from an audience point of view. For instance, I’ve never run a music venue with a full kitchen, and there’ll be one here.”

Merla tells HCM that “having Brodie on board at Ridiculous isn't just an asset, it’s a game-changer for us. His reputation as a booker is well-known, but his 'under the hood' experience operating a venue is what makes him invaluable. He understands the pulse of the Hamilton music community and has the ability to engage any room. We are absolutely leaning into his expertise to ensure Ridiculous isn't just another stage, but a home for artists and fans alike.”

The Parlour’s capacity of 160 is similar to that of The Casbah’s main hall, though Schwendiman says it’s a different feel. He notes that a basement with concrete pillars presents acoustic challenges, but stresses “I would not be doing anything here if I didn’t think the acoustics would be good. I don’t want to be connected to things that are unprofessional.” 

Certainly, the sound quality at the Martin Verrall concert was impressive.

The adjacent Room 1 is a larger space, with a liquor license for 250. That, says Schwendiman, “means it is a bit bigger than The Corktown upstairs or Stonewalls, and about halfway between the former Casbah, Mills Hardware and Bridgeworks, in terms of capacity. That has been a gap in the ecosystem here.”

Merla wants to see that space booked for comedy artists, but Schwendiman doesn’t have much experience in that realm, so he may rely on outside promoters. He did, however, secure Kevin McDonald of Kids In The Hall fame for the February launch of Room 1.

As well, Hamilton favourites Freedom Train played a Valentine’s Day show there, and the space will also host a sure-to-sell-out JUNO Week party featuring Jim Cuddy & Friends on March 26.

Based on his early bookings at The Parlour and Room 1, Schwendiman will be presenting a musically diverse group of artists, with a strong focus on local and regional favourites. That list has so far included Celtic punk (The Mahones), blues (Brant Parker), roots (Folk Sinners), reggae (Riddim Riders), and indie rock.

“Gone are the days when you could be exclusively one genre and make it work, unless it was in a very small room,” Schwendiman says. He jokes that if he booked directly related to his own musical tastes, shows might sell 16 tickets. 

Nonetheless, he’s grateful to return to his real passion: the booking of music, including at The Bright Room at The Staircase Theatre on Dundurn, which concentrates on indie rock and left-of-centre artists, and Hess Village’s Selo Cafe, which occasionally operates as a listening room focusing on singer-songwriters. Recent notable bookings there have included The Pairs, Danny Greaves (The Watchmen), Natasha Alexandra (NLX), and Stephen Stanley (The Lowest Of The Low).

Schwendiman also sporadically brings in local singer/songwriters to entertain diners at Le Tambour, the upscale James Street North bistro in the former space of the beloved This Ain’t Hollywood. 

“They employed me to put in music for background vibes. They aren’t ticketed events. We’re holding off over the winter, waiting for Art Crawl season to start again there.”

A recent addition to the Friends of Casbah venue roster is Andthenyou, situated on Main Street East near Walnut. It’s a basement DJ club, run by two brothers, with a capacity of 132 and featuring dance music nights on the weekend. The venue has been dark Sunday to Wednesday. 

“I saw their social post where they were checking on interest in live music on those nights, so I reached out. We’re now partnering and I’ll go find them bands, starting with Soft Set from Toronto (in late January.) I’ll be targeting younger audiences with danceable music – groove funk bands, conscious hip-hop and the like.”

One more Schwendiman-linked venue is just outside Hamilton’s borders. The Block Co is a Burlington pub venue he has been actively booking, upping its live-music component and quality. “It is transitioning into a mini-Casbah, an exclusively cover charge, mini-concert venue that is now more of an event room than a pub where music is not primary. I’m excited by the owners there, too,” he says.

He stresses the easy proximity for Hamilton music lovers. 

“I push the fact that this location is so west in Burlington I can drive there in just 14 minutes from my home near the Hamilton Stadium. That’s faster than getting to The Bright Room.”

The volatile live-music scene in Hamilton definitely faces challenges, but Schwendiman is positive about its future. 

“The city is changing,” he observes. “The nucleus of a music infrastructure has been here from before I started in the biz, and that is an abundance of musicians. Hamilton has the talent that is ready for this changing city. Marry that to people with the energy to curate it and there is reason for optimism.”