BREAKING NEWS: Phog Lounge wins CBC Radio 3's Searchlight Contest for Best Live Music Venue in Canada

The votes are in and after a grueling slug fest with 114 nominated venues across Canada from Victoria, BC to Charlottetown, PEI, Windsor's little orange indie venue Phog Lounge has come out on top!

The best part of this win - apart from the seriously kick-ass concert we're going to get at Phog courtesy of CBC Radio 3 and broadcast live on the Sirius Satellite Radio Network - is the amount of genuine community that the entire city has shown when something unique from Windsor was pitted against the rest of the country.

Windsor is not exactly known as a musical hot spot in Canada, despite the fact that I think we are by a landslide. But in Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver, you'd be hard pressed for any of the Hipsters mentioning Windsor in casual conversation as a place that is bubbling over with talent.

Yet they are now. Or at least their ears have perked up and they're willing to listen.

Local media helped out immensely. In the past, much of Windsor's media (particularly the mainstream media) have ignored Windsor's musical scene unless it was somehow connected to the Symphony or it was an artist who had already secured the adoration of at least the rest of Canada, if not the States (such as The Tea Party or Jody Raffoul). So to see such outlets as A-Channel, The Windsor Star, and CBC rally around Phog, alongside the always supportive CJAM 91.5, WAMM Magazine and the countless Blogs and Twitters and Facebook soldiers was truly inspiring.

Well, it's all paid off. Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal can claim to have bigger success stories off the stage, they can laugh and say it doesn't really matter, but deep down, to many, this stings. Through all their talk and their talk and their talk and their talk, they've shown the rest of Canada that when push comes to shove, that's all they had. Meanwhile, in Windsor, we not only said Phog was the Best Live Music Venue in Canada, we made sure it would happen. We talked the talk, but more importantly, we walked the walk.

This became something bigger than Phog Lounge. Coach & Horses regulars voted for Phog. Chubby Pickle regulars voted for Phog. Even Boom Boom Room regulars voted for Phog. This became a Windsor thing. This became our chance - finally - to send out our battle cry to the rest of the country that Windsor does have a music scene. That Windsor does have a sense of musical community. That Windsor will not be ignored.

And after the sound of the roar has quietened, Phog Lounge has emerged as not just the Little Venue That Could, but proved it was The Little Venue That Did.

Congratulations Tom & Frank for all you've given in 5 years.

Congratulations, Windsor. I'm proud of you.

EVENT: Last Day To Keep Phog Lounge Alive in CBC Radio 3 Searchlight Competition

For years now, CBC Radio 3 has been carrying the torch promoting independent Canadian music - from Pop to Hip-Hop, from Alt. Country to Rock N' Roll - promoting, encouraging, developing and singing the praises of thousand upon thousands of artists, from Arcade Fire and Tegan & Sara to Elliott Brood and Caribou. There are hundreds of Windsor artists on-line and many have found their way into Radio 3's regular programming and been featured on Podcasts, Top 30's and more.

From time to time, Radio 3 holds "Searchlight" contests, where music fans across Canada vote on what they like and think should be recognized. The current contest is to determine what is the Best Live Music Club in Canada. This isn't a contest to see who has the biggest club or has the best sound system or has the coolest decor, it's a contest to see what club's are bringing their communities the best in independent music, both nationally and locally, showing great diversity in its line-ups as well as providing atmosphere for both artist and patron.

It started a few weeks ago with everyone across the country writing in their nominations. Anyone who was nominated was put on the ballot. Two Windsor venues were nominated, The Kildare House and Phog Lounge. Voting then proceeded on a daily basis at CBC Radio 3's website. After a slow start, Phog Lounge made the first cut. After a week, the entire list of nominations was whittled down to the Top 50 still standing. And out of every venue nominated, from Victoria, BC to Charlottetown, PEI, Phog made the Top 50.

The next round of voting began again and this time instead of hundreds of options, you had just 50. And Phog was one of those options. The rally cry was heard and people from Windsor cast their vote.

Last week, Phog made the third cut. Yes, long after venues like The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto had fallen off the voting list, Phog Lounge still stood.

Well, today is the final day of voting for this very important leg. After midnight tonight, the powers that be at CBC Radio 3 will tally the votes (you can vote once per day) and announce the nominees for the Top 10 Best Live Venues in Canada. And it would be awesome for Phog to get in there. The people at CBC (and many of the "bigger" club owners) are already amazed that this little secret from Windsor made the Top 50, let alone the Top 20.

So what do we, as music fans and Windsor fans, stand to gain from Phog winning this contest? Well, for one bragging rights. Our city, often overlooked by national media as well as national musicians, will now see that not only do we have a venue that will house them, they have a passionate fan base who will support them coming through.

But there's more...

CBC Radio 3 will set up a very special concert at the winning venue with some pretty decent national acts (I'm sure a local will be squeezed on as well - if not, we'll fight to sneak one on!). This concert will be broadcast live on CBC Radio 3 which is also broadcoast on the Sirius satellite radio network (a subscription gets installed in the winning venue as well), CBC Radio 3 clothing for staff, giveaways for patrons, and a winning plaque and trophy to be displayed that everytime you see will bring you pride in knowing that you helped turned Phog Lounge from The Little Venue That Could to The Little Venue That Did.

Come on Windsor. Let the rest of Canada hear you voice. Or at least the subtle click of your mouse.

Click HERE to vote.