Loplops: “The Elder Statesman of the Local Venues”
by Ashton Carter
Imagine with me: you’re walking up the 600 block of Queen East on a Friday night. Your buddy heard from his buddy heard from his girlfriend about a sweet stage with real art specs, craft beer, and local jams out the window. You like music and you love beer but it’s the name that caught your attention: Loplops.
In the dawn of 2003, Steve and Jenn had a dream; a trailblazer’s vision for the Sault’s early 2000s music and bar scene. It involved establishing local artists with a mix of small and big-time players from across the country (and some from across the globe) hitting their stage in one show. It was a cut beyond what was available in the Sault at the time. Performance, art, and community have always been at the core of what it means to say ‘Loplops’.
“They stocked fine scotch, imported beers from around the globe, and had art lining the walls . . . there was a palpable feeling of being part of something special; something new.” Jay Case of Ergo Office Plus, the original Loplops musical frontrunner and long-time friend of Steve and Jenn, filled me in on what it was like to be there at the beginning. “Loplops was one of the only places in our corner of the North that you could see acts like Joel Plaskett, Corb Lund, The Sadies, Fred Eaglesmith, Elliot Brood . . . [It] was this little corner of the scene that wanted to do things radically different and became a place where artists of all stripes and disciplines could be seen interacting and cross-pollinating. It was a hip place to be.”
There were a few key differences that set Loplops apart from similar spaces at the time. It was one of the first venues of its kind in the Sault to prohibit smoking at the bar and featured locals with both national and international acts from all across Canada to mingle and make music. This was a radical departure from the way things were being run in other prominent local establishments at the time. This inclusivity and willingness to challenge the status quo, or “walking to our own beat” as Steve and Jenn put it, is part and parcel of a changemaker’s bid for the future and is an essential piece of the history of Loplops.
Creating space for local acts has always been a core aspect of the vision for Loplops. “We would create bands just to play certain events at the venue – a Celtic band was created for St. Paddy’s day festivities, a “jam band” was created in order to facilitate musician’s night . . . we even created a band for touring solo acts to play with when they came through next time.” Such homegrown, original ideas are what shaped Loplops into what it is today and that energy can still be felt anytime a show is on their stage. “The bar itself is a character, of course . . . the space has always had its own vibe.”
The heart and soul of Sault Ste. Marie is found in its cultural roots and in the lives of the people who set them down. So much of that history – an ever-changing, evolving story of Northern hospitality and community – is sewn into the walls of downtown. In the case of Loplops, its walls have seen the passage of complete eras over the two decades it has been in business; it has seen love and grief, joy and despair, as any establishment of this nature strong enough to stand the test of time will bear witness to.
From Drag to Rock n’ Roll to The 12 Musicians of Christmas, Loplops has seen it all. If you were around, chances are you saw it, too – at Loplops. As we tighten our bootstraps and prepare to forge ahead into 2024, it’s a comfort to know there are some things we can count on. Music? Without a doubt. Community? You betcha. Good times? Indeed. It’s all right here in downtown Sault Ste. Marie and it’s only getting better with age. “I don’t like to make predictions, but I can say that I’m confident . . . there’s always something cooking at Lops.”