Rock n' Roll in Muskoka

On a quiet road in a quiet northern town, the ancient white, shabby building stands silently, as it has every day since 1942.
In a couple of hours, the silence will be broken as hushed whispers echo between the lofty wooden beams, microphones hum with anticipation, and bottles clink loudly while bars are frantically stocked. As loud rock’n’roll music booms across the still waters of Bala Bay, the Kee to Bala will once again come alive with drinking, dancing and the sounds of one of Canada’s many famous bands.
Bala, Ontario may be unknown to most, but over the last fifty years has attracted some of the biggest names in Canadian music. Erected in 1942 by an entrepreneur named Gerry Dunn, Dunn’s Pavilion (which is now known as the Kee to Bala) quickly became known as Muskoka’s hot spot for both young and old.
Gerry Dunn, originally known around town for being the local pharmacist quickly reinvented himself as Bala’s most attentive host. With his charming and eager attitude, he managed to snag the current largest names in music, and everyone who came to see them was made to feel at home with Gerry’s firm handshake and personal welcome.
During its opening years, Dunn’s Pavilion was a high-class establishment where patrons would dress in their finest suits, dresses and shoes to dance the night away on the shining wooden floorboards. Dancers would swing to the house band six nights a week, then boogie on the seventh night to the Big Band sounds presented by the likes of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and Les Brown to name a few.
“I was able to offer them mid-week employment,” said Gerry Dunn in an interview with novelist Peter Young, who wrote about Dunn’s Pavilion. “The big bands had no trouble playing halls on weekend nights, and I always had a full house on weekends with my regular house bands, so it worked out well – they were happy with the work and I could promise them a good crowd on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.”
A ‘good crowd’ to Gerry usually consisted of around 1,500 people.
The inside of the Pavilion was as unique as its founder. The vast rectangular dance floor was decorated with palm trees, hanging plants and a fountain in the centre, lit up with colored lights. Silver cedar boughs hung from the rafters to create a fantasy-land atmosphere.
Knowing the Pavilion was destined to be a Muskoka landmark, Gerry Dunn designed the backdrop of the stage to look like a typical cottage, complete with window awnings, curtains and flowerboxes. These original designs, though updated over the years, still grace the stage today.
As the band worked up to the peak of the night, the wooden floorboards would bend and bounce with the weight and energy of the dancers, adding to the overall excitement of the evening. When it all became too much, the large wooden patio overlooking Lake Muskoka offered a breath of fresh air. The bay would twinkle with lights from the boats that had gathered to enjoy the music, echoing off the water.
As soon as the bands stopped playing at 1 am after a Saturday night concert, cleanup would commence to rid the hall of beer bottles and garbage. Few remember that after such a night of debauchery, the Pavilion’s devout Roman Catholic owner used to draw crowds Sunday mornings as well - for Mass.
In the twenty years Gerry Dunn owned and operated his dance pavilion, he became known in the music industry as one of the Canadian greats. People would travel from miles away just to spend their 50 cents and have a night to remember for the rest of their lives. Asking any elderly couple today would likely result in the recollection of a summer night and a fond memory from the early years of Dunn’s Pavilion.
When Gerry Dunn handed over the reins in 1963, poor management combined with the changing trend in music away from Big Band and towards rock’n’roll led the Pavilion on a downward spiral. It changed hands many times over the subsequent years and fell into disrepair.
Fortunately, with a catchy rename - “the Kee to Bala”, and a little work, the Pavilion was revived as a popular place to see rock concerts. In addition, it was no longer BYOB, since the Kee became a fully licensed establishment.
Over the years, many things have changed about the Pavilion – the name, the type of music, the dress code, and the original interior has been cleared out to make way for larger, rowdier crowds. But one thing remains the same…any night at the Kee is guaranteed to stick in your memory.
Walking through the front doors of the venue today, you are no longer greeted by Gerry Dunn, but by the posters of the great bands he brought to his establishment decades ago. No longer do you see greats like Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller, but posters for bands such as Nazareth, April Wine, George Thoroghgood, Blue Rodeo, The Ramones, Barney Bentall, Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox and the like cover the walls from floor to ceiling.
More recently, bands such as The Tea Party, Matthew Good Band, Sloan, Finger Eleven, The Trews, Thornley, Sam Roberts, and K-os have attracted sold out shows week after week. On occasion, a special guest such as George Clinton, the ‘grandfather of funk’ will make an appearance. It also provides a venue for up-and-coming local bands to showcase their talents.
Not only has the Kee maintained its reputation as a great venue for concerts, but has also become a popular spot for teens and twenty-somethings to gather on Monday nights for what are known as ‘Resort Nights’. Muskoka-area resorts fill buses with vacationers and staff alike weekly to take part in costume-themed nights at the bar.
Although some of the mystique of the Pavilion has been lost over the years, it remains a place where friendships are made and memories are built. Anyone who is fortunate enough to spend a few hours inside what has become one of Muskoka’s oldest and most cherished establishments knows why it holds such a special place in our hearts.