el mocambo toronto

Toronto's historic El Mocambo opens its doors for the first time in years

It seems like all music venues ever do in Toronto is shut down, but theEl Mocambothat's been around for over 70 years is actually poised to reopen.

A media walk-through this week offered the public the first glimpses of the glamorously refurbished club and performance space.

If you played a battle of the bands at this place in the past, you'll barely recognize the place. Two completely soundproofed floors are now equipped with a ton of "selfie spots" including custom neon, not to mention state of the art sound equipment.

Each floor can host separate acts on solid concrete stages, and the space has a total capacity of about 700. The second floor features the iconic old El Mo sign flanking the stage, a balcony, and a tiki bar.

There's also a vocal booth for recording and broadcasting, an elevator and a third-floor dressing room that should also encompass a recording space. The venue is also designed to be available for rehearsals, film shoots and special events.

The venue's makeover has already been called "mindblowingly good," and it seems the new El Mo will have bills to match. Apparently the venue is in talks with acts like Pearl Jam, Billy Idol and The Rolling Stones.

Unfortunately that also means no measly $5 cover charges. According to ownerMichael Wekerle, tickets for shows here will run more around $100 - $1000.

The El Mo has been closed for around five years, and the updates cost around $30 million.

No firm opening date has been released, but apparently it'll be sometime in early April, most likely April 1 or 4. While this is earlier than a previously promised date prior toCanadian Music Weekin May, the El Mo has missed deadlines to reopen in the past.

Lead photo by

Big Sugar Music


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