Sweet Harmony Canal begins to spread its wings

This week has been a crush for the small team at Sweet Harmony Canal, which is in the midst of a series of last-minute upgrades and renovations in anticipation of a ticketed show hitting the Canal Winchester venue on Friday.

“We’re cleaning out the [backstage] area to make a green room for the show, and the lights are going up tomorrow, said program and operations director Paige Vandiver, who joined owner Kendra Ryan for an interview in the cavernous space earlier this week. “All of the things are happening.”

“All of the things” might even include a last-minute renovation of a bathroom located toward the rear of the former South Central Power Co. warehouse, which would include among other updates the removal of the “Mad Men”-esque ashtray bolted into the wall next to one of the urinals. (A feature that none of “The Guitar Women” – Sue Foley, Rory Block, and Cindy Cashdollar – would in all likelihood be able to take advantage of in performing at the venue on Friday, May 15.)

The structural changes serve as a physical manifestation of the evolution the venue has undertaken since Vandiver stepped into her role after her former employer, Rambling House Music Bar, announced its pending closure last fall. (The Old North concert space has since been reborn, opening under new ownership.) 

At the time, Ryan said she had been in touch with Natalie’s Grandview owner Charlie Jackson, whom she had solicited for advice on developing a space dedicated to music. “And Charlie came out, and Charlie was like, ‘I know Paige,’” said Ryan, who remains awed by the fortuitous timing of this introduction. “Her last day at Rambling House was our bar manager’s last day here. It was just ridiculously cosmic.”

Ryan has been involved with Sweet Harmony Canal since 2019, when her father, Ken Smith, purchased the building, then occupied by World Harvest Church, which utilized the facility as a warehouse and printing space. “And my dad just planned on owning the building, and not doing anything with it,” Ryan said. “And then Covid happened and that [triggered] a natural disaster clause where [the church] could break the lease, and they did. … And my dad’s like, ‘Let’s do a family project!’”

“A small one,” Vandiver said, and laughed. “A small family project.”

Initially, the family planned to renovate the space into a restaurant, reconsidering this option once they learned the cost of jackhammering the concrete floor to add the required plumbing. They then briefly considered running it as an event venue, settling on a bar and music hall when city officials told the family they wanted the space to maintain weekly hours. “So, when we opened, we were like, ‘I guess we’re a bar then,’” said Ryan, who noted that this week also serves as the second anniversary of Sweet Harmony’s doors opening.

Coming in, the family knew they eventually wanted to include a concert component with the business, which Ryan attributed to having grown up in a home where music was a constant presence. But getting performers to the venue’s expansive stage – an outcrop of the onetime loading dock – proved to be more of a challenge. “We didn’t have any experience with that, and the people we hired originally didn’t either,” Ryan said. “I don’t think we realized what would go into it, and how you have to build all these relationships with people and other venues.”

Enter Vandiver, who brought with her connections built and developed over years playing and working in the Columbus music scene. In her early run, she has brought in the likes of the Devil Doves, Talisha Holmes, and the High Definitions, among others, learning to tailor the musical voice of the space to its acoustics, which initially favored quieter, more roots-leaning acts. 

“We really did go the Americana route, at least at first, because we had some rock bands in here and it was loud as fuck,” said Vandiver, who joined Ryan to build and install a number of sound-dampening panels that have helped to soften the sonics in the room, which is cozily appointed with vintage furniture. “Also, having a sound engineer work the room has made a world of difference, where … we can start to expand into something a little bit harder, though I don’t think super, super loud would work in here.”

Moving forward, Vandiver said she sees Sweet Harmony working symbiotically with Columbus’ independent venues, whose owners and management have taken to meeting informally, sharing information and swapping stories. “We all want to see Columbus getting these shows, because that just helps the whole,” said Vandiver, who can envision a scenario where the types of bands that play Natalie’s and Woodlands could grow and develop a fanbase in Canal Winchester, and vice versa. “I think there’s room for us to develop into a destination venue and to tie into that whole Columbus thing, just in a different way. … I mean, it’s only an Uber ride over here.”