The Ford Plant was a not-for-profit music venue founded in 2002, which has expanded at various times into projects such as an art gallery (the One King Gallery, studio, music store and record label. Located in downtown Brantford, Ontario, Canada, its small spaces and unique atmosphere create one of Canada's most intriguing rock venues, as well as one of the more lively. The Ford Plant holds only about one hundred people, with the party-like environment often spilling out into the streets.
History
The Ford Plant was founded in 2002 by Tim Ford and Chris George at its original location 60 Colborne Street. Josh Bean soon joined and shortly thereafter the Ford Plant moved down a few buildings to its current location at the corner of King and Colborne streets. The Ford Plant became known locally and nationally for its unique alcohol-free, all ages, not-for-profit model, even being featured in national newspapers The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. The Ford Plant has welcomed bands from all over North America and beyond, including Arcade Fire, The Stills, The Unicorns, Julie Doiron, Wintersleep, Blue Rodeo, Great Lake Swimmers, Cuff the Duke, Final Fantasy, Jim Guthrie, The Most Serene Republic, Tokyo Police Club, Ninja High School, Zoobombs, Cursive, Grizzly Bear, Chad VanGaalen, Holy Fuck, and many more. Josh Bean left in 2007 in order to focus on launching the Brantford Arts Block organization. The Ford Plant venue is still run at its location at King and Colborne streets in downtown Brantford by an open-membership collective of volunteers, including remaining founder Tim Ford. On 11 February 2009, The Ford Plant made CBC Radio 3's list of the top 20 best live music venues in Canada, after having made the top 50 on 3 February, and the longlist of 114 on 28 January. On 13 September 2010, The Ford Plant announced in a statement posted on Facebook, that it would be closing after the weekend of October 23. The weekend of October 23 will feature a musical funeral of sorts with some special guests and old friends.
Every August since its inception, The Ford Plant has hosted a week-long music festival called the Murdered City Music Festival. This festival showcases numerous independent Canadian acts and local artists, and is known to bring larger bands to a relatively small crowd. Some past notables of Murdered City include Wolf Parade, The Sadies, The Hidden Cameras, The Constantines, and The Meligrove Band. Murdered City was cancelled in 2007, as several of the more popular bands backed out of the festival in favour of bigger shows. Instead, the Ford Plant held the Ghosts of Brantford Festival. Effectively the same music festival as Murdered City, the Ghosts of Brantford Festival aimed to book bands with a sincere focus on independent music. Some of the bands that played the 2007 festival include Cuff the Duke, Rock Plaza Central, The Ghost Is Dancing, and Uncut. Murdered City returned in August 2008 with performances by Attack in Black, Ohbijou, The D'Urbervilles, Bruce Peninsula, and others.
The Ford Plant Recording Co.
The Ford Plant Recording Co. is an independent record label, with a focus on promoting local musicians by distributing their music under The Ford Plant name. The Ford Plant has an in houserecording studio for this purpose. To date thirteen albums have been released under this label:
