Shania Twain finally gets her Horseshoe Tavern moment
The country-pop star played a 500-capacity Toronto club, mixing hits with songs from her upcoming album Little Miss Twain.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Shania Twain traded stadium scale for a 500-capacity Toronto room on Friday, finally playing the Horseshoe Tavern, a venue she told the crowd she had dreamed of reaching since her early bar-band days in Ontario.
Rolling Stone’s Karen Bliss reported that the 60-year-old country-pop star used the intimate Queen Street show to preview material from her forthcoming album, Little Miss Twain, while still giving fans the big singalong moments that made her one of country’s biggest crossover names.
The tickets were priced at $40, about $30 in U.S. dollars, and sold out within minutes, according to Rolling Stone. They were non-transferable, with some spots held for contest winners, industry guests, media and other invitees. Fans who missed out gathered outside and listened from the sidewalk, though the stage sits deep inside the back room.
Twain opened the 75-minute set with “Come On Over” and “Any Man of Mine,” Rolling Stone reported. Seated with a silver acoustic guitar, she told the room that playing the Horseshoe marked her first time at the storied club.
“I grew up in northern Ontario,” Twain said, according to Rolling Stone. She recalled that during her youth, teens and into her 20s, the goal for her small bar bands was to play the Horseshoe Tavern, but they were not established enough at the time.
The show leaned heavily into personal stories from Twain’s life in Timmins, Ontario. Rolling Stone reported that she spoke about growing up in “the North,” her parents, her father’s truck, learning to drive at age 10, old ripped jeans and the childhood idea of a dream man, all threads that connect to songs on the new record.
At several points, Twain repeated verses without the full band after performing them, apparently to make sure the lyrics landed with the room, according to Rolling Stone.
She was backed by a six-piece band that included four women and her longtime music director Brent Barcus. Rolling Stone reported that she played guitar through most of the set and joked about the loose feel of the night, including small technical adjustments and the fact that she had recently recorded some of the songs.
Among the new tracks was “Dirty Rosie,” the lead single and opening song from Little Miss Twain, which is due July 24. Twain said the song was inspired by her “favorite truck,” according to Rolling Stone, and described learning to drive on the backroads and gravel roads of Timmins in her father’s pickup.
She also performed “I’d Be Loving Me,” which she said came from a jam with musicians who had played on Motown records, and “Stranger Things,” which she described as a reflection on her life growing up in northern Ontario.
The old hits still had their turn. Rolling Stone reported that Twain played “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “You’re Still the One” and “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!,” with the crowd singing along and phones raised.
The Horseshoe Tavern, now 78 years old, has hosted country names including Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Willie Nelson, as well as rock acts including the Rolling Stones, the Ramones, Foo Fighters and Bryan Adams, according to Rolling Stone.
Twain closed the main set with “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” and, after taking fan suggestions, added 2023’s “Giddy Up!” as an encore. For a superstar who recently opened 12 stadium shows in London for Harry Styles, the tiny Toronto gig was the dream booking she had waited decades to play.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.