The Wheel Club has been quietly shaping NDG’s cultural landscape for decades—from its postwar days as a veterans’ social hall to its current life as one of Montreal’s most storied (and stubbornly analog) music venues. Best known for Hillbilly Night, a strict no-electric, pre-1970 country jam running since the ‘60s, the club is still stewarding tradition while testing new ground. Under the care of musician-director Clifford “Cliff” Schwartz, the calendar now stretches from country and bluegrass to ska, punk, karaoke, funk and even choir nights. Its walls are a time capsule—firehouse plaques, cardboard pin-ups, jukebox ghosts—and the vibe is less curated cool than lived-in legend. With a bar slinging daiquiris and Harvey Wallbangers, and a red-and-green-lit stage that welcomes all comers, the Wheel isn’t chasing trends. It’s letting the good ones catch up.