Martin Onrot, a major figure in the Toronto music scene in the '60s and '70s, has reportedly died at age 82.
Onrot passed away as a result of dementia yesterday (August 24) at North York General Hospital, surrounded by his family.
"I went to hundreds of shows promoted by him, many of which influenced my music sensibility for decades," journalist Larry LeBlanc shared of Onrot in an email to Exclaim! "Not only was he the primary promoter of a generation of Canadian artists, but he also had close ties to leading British and American artists of the era as well."
One of the city's first club bookers, Onrot was the foremost Toronto concert promoter in the 1960s and 1970s — including having a lock on Massey Hall for nearly two decades — and brought in major international acts like Elton John. He served as one of the directors of the 1964 edition of the Mariposa Folk Festival.
Onrot was also an early manager for Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, and went on to manage some of the most popular groups of the '70s, including Chilliwack, Scrubbaloe Caine and Crowbar, as well as Canadian actor Michael Burgess. That same decade, Onrot was vice president of Mort Ross's Revolution Records Limited, co-founding Revolution Artist Management with the label head.
In the 1980s, Onrot managed Dallcorte Records, which had national success with Cutting Crew, the Drivers and Elkie Brooks. He also established a promotion and management company called Encore Productions Ltd., and joined Toronto's O'Keefe Centre (now Meridian Hall) as programming manager in 1984.
More recently, Martin was president of THE Group Tix Company — an independent agency founded in 2005, offering ticket-buyers savings on access to concerts, theatre performances and events.
Onrot passed away as a result of dementia yesterday (August 24) at North York General Hospital, surrounded by his family.
"I went to hundreds of shows promoted by him, many of which influenced my music sensibility for decades," journalist Larry LeBlanc shared of Onrot in an email to Exclaim! "Not only was he the primary promoter of a generation of Canadian artists, but he also had close ties to leading British and American artists of the era as well."
One of the city's first club bookers, Onrot was the foremost Toronto concert promoter in the 1960s and 1970s — including having a lock on Massey Hall for nearly two decades — and brought in major international acts like Elton John. He served as one of the directors of the 1964 edition of the Mariposa Folk Festival.
Onrot was also an early manager for Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, and went on to manage some of the most popular groups of the '70s, including Chilliwack, Scrubbaloe Caine and Crowbar, as well as Canadian actor Michael Burgess. That same decade, Onrot was vice president of Mort Ross's Revolution Records Limited, co-founding Revolution Artist Management with the label head.
In the 1980s, Onrot managed Dallcorte Records, which had national success with Cutting Crew, the Drivers and Elkie Brooks. He also established a promotion and management company called Encore Productions Ltd., and joined Toronto's O'Keefe Centre (now Meridian Hall) as programming manager in 1984.
More recently, Martin was president of THE Group Tix Company — an independent agency founded in 2005, offering ticket-buyers savings on access to concerts, theatre performances and events.