Popular trivia night returns to golf club Thursday, March 24

Lee Beaupre calls himself a big fan of cheesy music. For the host of music trivia nights, returning for five weeks beginning this Thursday at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club, that often makes for some fun conversations.

“I love playing songs that you hear and say ‘oh my God, I haven’t heard this since that summer when I was in college’,” says the Pembroke, Ontario native. “Music can take you back to a memory instantaneously. I like those songs that maybe weren’t the big, number one hits, but the ones that will put a smile on your face.”

Beaupre is an in-demand music trivia specialist across the region. His Facebook page lists a number of regular gigs at various locations in Niagara Falls. NOTL revellers will also recognize Beaupre from similar evenings at the Irish Harp and the Olde Angel Inn. With the start of the Thursdays at the golf club, he will be going four nights a week. 

The former radio disc jockey has been running music trivia nights for 10 years. Beaupre studied radio broadcasting at Canadore College and spent about four years working for CHVR radio in North Bay, Ontario. When the owners moved to a satellite service for all but three hours of programming a day, he was left looking for a new job. 

He then worked for a newspaper for a few years, back in his hometown, before deciding to make the move to Niagara Falls, where some family members lived. When he got to Niagara a decade ago he noticed a dearth of music trivia in the region. 

“I was always a music fan, but I have no musical ability myself whatsoever,” Beaupre laughs. “I always loved music trivia, but when I got here, there were only a couple of bars doing it regularly in St. Catharines. So I decided to do it myself.”

Beaupre balances the music trivia evenings with his day job, handling marketing, web design and social media for a restaurant chain. 

This is his eighth year at the NOTL Golf Club. It’s become a bit of a tradition that when the restaurant at the club opens, music trivia helps to fill the seats in the evenings before the golfers are out on the course in full force. As the restaurant has just opened this Wednesday, Beaupre’s first trivia night takes place on day two.  

He also provides entertainment for the postseason after the course closes, an eight- or nine-week stretch beginning in mid- to late-October. 

The golf club takes care of arranging for the prizes, which are often gift cards. Beaupre says there are three prizes a night. A few years ago he shifted from awarding teams who place first, second and third to holding a random draw, giving all participants a chance to win.

“Sometimes you get a night where there’s a team of 10, and a team of four and a team of two,” he explains. “When that happens, it’s not really fair. So it doesn’t matter how big or small your team is or even how good or bad you are at the trivia.”

But make no mistake, it is a competition, even if it is just for bragging rights. 

What’s also true of every one of the music trivia nights at the NOTL Golf Club is that they are very, very popular. Reservations are recommended as the tables fill up quite quickly.

It is a ‘name that tune’ type of evening, by the way. That means Beaupre will play a 30- to 60-second snippet of a song from any decade, from the 50s up to today, and participants have to identify the song title and artist. Points accumulate through the night for correct answers. 

Music genres cover the gamut from classic rock and pop to country, hip hop and disco. There are three rounds of questions to accumulate points, with a theme often tying together the songs. Then Beaupre holds a fourth-round final-Jeopardy-style, where teams can bet points with their answers.

“We cover all decades, so the best teams are the ones that are well-rounded,” he tells The Local. “You need to have people with you who know a little bit of everything. I like bringing people together. We get a lot of families who bring all generations. It gets them out of the house, talking and conversing.”

The game usually takes between an hour and a half and two hours, and is free to play. And it’s an early start at the NOTL Golf Club, at 6 p.m., perfect to enjoy dinner and a few drinks. And as you do, Beaupre reminds you to turn that cell phone off and don’t even try to use Shazam or Soundhound to cheat! 

He also provides entertainment for the postseason after the course closes, an eight or nine week stretch beginning in mid- to late-October. 

“It’s exciting to have him in,” NOTL Golf Club owner John Wiens says. “The members love him and the community loves Name that Tune. We get a packed house every Thursday. It’s a great way to get the season started in the spring. And Lee does a fantastic job and is well-liked by everybody.”

“In the fall it’s nice to start winding down with music trivia, too,” he adds. “It gives everyone something to do in November and December and enhances the community feeling at the club.”

The golf club takes care of arranging for the prizes, which are often gift cards. Beaupre says there are three prizes a night. A few years ago he shifted from awarding teams who place first, second and third to holding a random draw, giving all participants a chance to win.