By Christine Kilfoil
The Rainbow, Ottawa’s legendary blues bistro, will be celebrating its 35th anniversary this fall. The bistro, located at 76 Murray Street in the Byward Market, plans to celebrate by featuring national and international blues artists. While the lineup is not yet confirmed, in the past the Rainbow has featured celebrated blues artists such as Philip Sayce, MonkeyJunk, David Gogo, Jack de Keyzer and Colin James.
The Rainbow has been successful over the last 35 years by tapping into Ottawa’s supportive live-music scene. For example bands like Bitter North might start out there on a Wednesday night, and within a few years they are packing the house on a Saturday night. Family is also key to long-term success. The Rainbow is a family-run enterprise. It has had friends and family members working there for a long time. It helps when the staff care about the business and are committed to its success.
Stacie Sivyer, daughter of the founder, started at the Rainbow when she was 17. Her first duties were stocking beer, bussing tables and cleaning ash trays. She stayed because the building, the staff, the customers, the bands that come through the door are all one big family. She notes that “We have regulars who come to the open blues jam every Sunday afternoon, and they refer to their weekly visit as ‘going to church’. Many of the first staff who started in the 80s stayed on for a decade or more. It’s just that type of place.”
Stacie mentions that they have at least one staff member who has been there almost 20 years; his son is now also part of the team. “Many of our other staff are getting close to working at the Rainbow 10 years or more. For some, we were pretty much their first job they got when they moved to Ottawa, and they are still working with us.” That is a remarkable record for any business.
The Rainbow is also a good community partner. It has hosted many fundraisers over the years, where bands are willing to play for free as a way to raise money for local charities or other concerns in our community. According to Stacie, when fundraisers are successful, they become annual events for the Rainbow. She explains, “Along with the Friday Night Truck Stop (CKCU radio show), the Rainbow hosts an annual fundraiser for CKCU called the Johnny Cash Bash. Lefty McRighty hosts a night where he gets local artists to come in and sing various Johnny Cash songs all night long. It happens the last Saturday of February and sells out every year. Other events are a little more impromptu and occur as the need arises. For instance, the night after the tornado ripped through Ottawa, the Rainbow had Bush Pilots booked to play. They donated the entire door to the Red Cross that night.”
There have been a few changes to the Rainbow over the years. In the early 1980s it had a kitchen, which is why it was called the Rainbow Bistro. The kitchen was converted to a green room many years ago. But the Rainbow has been an island of stability which is likely another key to its success. As Stacie sums it up: “Really though, little to no change has occurred, and that’s part of the charm. Obviously the PA system has been updated, there’s been many coats of paint, but overall it’s a well-run ship that has stayed the course. You can feel that in the character of the venue.”
And as the Rainbow grew, so have its patrons. “Our clientele has grown with us. People who started coming in the 80s still come in 2019. This again brings us back to family. I have so many ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ and people whom I have known almost my whole adult life. Now, the next generation come out too. I often am told by younger customers that their mom or dad used to party or play at the Rainbow, and it’s so cool that now they’re playing/seeing a show there.”
The last key to lasting for 35 years is the talent. The Rainbow hosts live music every night of the week, as well as five afternoons a week. As Stacie explains, “We have more live music than any other venue in Ottawa. In fact, we probably have one of the busiest musical programs for any venue in Canada.” It is a lot of work putting together a line up.
“I spend hours and hours each week scouring the internet for local and Canadian content, listening to music, watching what bands are going on tour and coming close to Ottawa. I’m just so thankful that the internet exists. When my dad started booking the shows in the 80s and 90s it was all done by phone, fax, and snail-mail. Can you imagine? Though, there’s nothing like having a demo tape of that band who is now pretty famous in your collection. Youtube, sonicbids, etc, just doesn’t have that analogue documentation that you can come back to years later.”
The Rainbow has made its name by bringing in the best of the best of blues in North America. Dr. John, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, John Primer and Colin James, are some of the history that has graced the stage. The Rainbow was the first venue that the Tragically Hip played outside of Kingston, and it hosted k.d. Lang on one of her first cross-Canada tours.
Upcoming events at the Rainbow include multi-blues JUNO winner Jack de Keyzer on April 26. For reggae lovers, Errol Dunkley will be performing on May 17. Some of Ottawa’s best party bands are lined up to play this spring: Angelique Francis (May 4), The Hornettes (May 10) and The Wailin’ Hues (May 11). And some of the biggest names in blues are coming up later: Maurice John Vaughn, Freddie Dixon (son of Willie Dixon), Joseph “Mojo” Morganfield (son of Muddy Waters) and Shirley Johnson (opening act for Aretha Franklin in the 1970s).