Nine-time Grammy winner John Legend brought his act to Centre in the Square on Monday.
He’s the sort of big-name musician the Kitchener venue wouldn’t have even considered attracting not all that many years ago – but to hear Sandra Bender tell it, he’s exactly who they should be targeting.
“We’re one of those great halls in Canada. We’re up there with Ottawa; we’re up there with Toronto,” the Centre in the Square CEO tells CTV News.
“We have to position ourselves as that.”
Bringing in acts like Legend – or Michael Bolton or comedian Lewis Black, both of whom are booked over the next few months – requires some careful schedule-juggling, balancing touring schedules with other uses for the building.
In Legend’s case, Bender says, convincing him to come to Kitchener and finding a date that fit all the necessary schedules was a two-year process.
Complicating matters at Centre in the Square is that the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony has a number of Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays booked well in advance – meaning some prime weekend dates aren’t available for other acts.
But, Bender says, that’s not the only reason why certain acts don’t come to town – sometimes it’s as simple as geography.
“We’re a tertiary market. We’re close to Toronto – we’re absolutely cornered in by major players in the London-to-Hamilton corridor,” says Bender.
Earlier this year, city councillors agreed to hire a New York-based consultant to look at the relationship between Centre in the Square and the symphony.
“We really have to look at the whole picture, to see how the Centre in the Square operates in conjunction with the symphony,” says Coun. Zyg Janecki.
A report from the consultant is expected this summer.
CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story attributed to Centre in the Square CEO Sandra Bender assertions that certain acts cannot be booked for Centre in the Square due to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony holding dates on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. This statement caused some confusion. It has now been clarified. The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony books its weekends approximately two years in advance, which is earlier than many other acts are secured.
