A resurrected Toad returns to Cambridge

On a Wednesday night in Cambridge’s Porter Square, the neighborhood is mostly quiet – families putting kids to bed and professionals getting ready for another day of work. But there’s one big exception. Across the street from a Dunkin’ Donuts, the harmonic wail of an accordion seeps through the glass panes of a local music bar, back from the dead.

Toad, the pint-sized neighborhood watering hole and music venue, has returned after more than a year-long hiatus, showcasing local music seven nights a week with no cover charge. The bar, which closed in 2023, has been reborn under the ownership of husband-wife duo Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello, who already own The Burren in Somerville’s Davis Square and The Bebop in Boston.

The pair purchased not only Toad but also the neighboring property, which had previously been home to Christopher’s, a local bar and restaurant that closed during the pandemic. The former Christropher’s space is now McCarthy’s, a homey Irish pub with a vegetarian-friendly menu. The large space features daily Irish and Scottish session music downstairs, and acoustic events and dance nights in a smaller upstairs space. With some remodeling, McCarthy’s now connects to Toad through a curtained doorway. The tiny venue has been kept largely as it once was — a cozy home for a music calendar featuring everything from rock to jazz to reggae.

“You’re gonna walk up Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Square and every place along will be quiet after dinner, 9 p.m., 10 p.m.,” said Tommy McCarthy. “And McCarthy’s Toad will be busy because we have live music. It brings people together, and it brings them to their senses.”

Toad’s 2023 closure was another in a series of devastating blows to the local music scene, which saw beloved neighborhood venues, including Somerville’s ONCE Lounge & Ballroom, Atwood’s Tavern and Thunder Road, lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure of Toad meant its healthy rotation of local acts were out of a job and short a creative outlet.

“We essentially stopped playing, it was terrible,” said Tom Bianchi, local music booker and founder and frontman for the Baker Thomas Band. The local rock band began playing Toad in 2009 and settled into a regular Wednesday night residency. When the venue reopened in April, the Baker Thomas Band was the first act back onstage. “ It's funny, because it's brand new, but familiar. It’s like a comfortable shoe you've had for years,” he said. “It got a makeover, and it's even more comfortable now.”

The place looks largely the same. Small tables still line one wall of the narrow room across from a long bar lit by string lights. Now, the tables are framed by co-owner Louise Costello’s handiwork: a gallery wall of photos showcasing some of the region's greatest music heroes, including Peter Wolf and Bonnie Raitt. At the front of the room stands Toad’s small stage. With no room for a sound booth, the acts still control their own sound mix on a board mounted to the stage-side wall. For large acts like the eight-piece Baker Thomas Band, the players spill onto the floor of the bar, playing shoulder to shoulder with patrons.

“To do a residency in this room… and mix it up every single week… it’s the perfect chemistry,” said Bianchi.  ”It's always fun. There's never a cover. We don't make a lot of money, but it doesn't matter. Toad  has always been a labor of love for all musicians.”

Toad has a strong crowd of regulars, folks who have been coming on the same night, or nights, every week for five, 10, 20 years. But the reopening of Toad has also brought in a new audience, folks excited for one more place to hear local music, cover charge-free, in Greater Boston.

Jillian Peluso and Leanne Worob first visited Toad on the day of the grand reopening. They’ve been back every week since, making the drive from Burlington to Cambridge.

“It feels like home… It’s typically the same crowd. It feels like a community,” Peluso said. “We meet new people every week. And the music? It’s incredible.”

McCarthy’s and Toad have a full lineup of music and events every day of the week. McCarthy’s hosts Tuesday night trivia and Wednesday night line dancing in their upstairs space. At Toad, patrons can catch late night cover bands several nights a week. The Baker Thomas Band is back in their Wednesday night residency, and more acts from the original Toad days are making their way back on the roster, too. The venue’s “Sunday Revival” series is dedicated to bringing back the acts that define the venue’s multi-decade legacy.

“Toad has been an established music venue,” McCarthy said. “We’re trying to invite back as many bands that played there over the years, so we can continue where they left off.”