History of Dollar Bill's

Dollar Bill's was a live music venue situated in the Prince George Hotel in Kingston Ontario. It was named for the legendary bootlegger of Barriefield, William Allen, aka Dollar Bill, who avoided trouble with the law partially due to his famed philanthropy. In late 1978 the Prince George was renovated and started running bands six nights a week. The stars were aligned. It was a time when there was a convergence of album format radio and an appetite for live music, fueled by the availability of touring bands of so many different genres. From blues to rock to reggae, as well as country and punk. James Cotton, John Mayall and John Lee Hooker all played at Dollar Bill's. Kingston's hotel was in the right place at the right time. It was an eclectic mix of music that came from anywhere and everywhere. Great Canadian acts like David Wilcox. Ronnie Hawkins, The Lincolns, and Teenage Head were regulars.

Spearhead x Dollar Bill's Apex Group

In 2014, the Dollar Bill's Apex Group had their first Live From Dollar Bill’s fundraiser for the University Hospitals of Kingston Foundation (UHKF). They then held a second music-focused event in 2017 again for the UHKF.

Donations from these events were used to purchase equipment for the Cancer Clinic here in Kingston.

For their third event, Dollar Bill's Apex Group has put together an amazing live concert to raise funds once again for UHKF. This event will be held at The Tir Na Nog on May 13. In addition to the event, Dollar Bill's Apex Group approached Spearhead to create a special brew that would help raise funds for UHKF.

Spearhead always felt it was important to support local initiatives, and the current challenges for health care made the decision to join forces with Dollar Bill’s Apex Group to support UHKF an easy one. Spearhead will donate partial proceeds from every can of Dollar Bill’s Private Stock Premium Ale sold.