The el Mocambo is Reopening

The el Mocambo is Reopening with a Big Wreck Concert in September

The long-running Can Rock band will play the first official live stream at the venue. Which has been closed since 2014.

The El Mocambo, once again, is announcing its reopening!

The legendary Toronto venue closed for renovations since 2014 and has scheduled its first official concert: Big Wreck on September 10.

It’s a different kind of grand reopening than what owner Michael Wekerle teased, on our walkthrough in March – a virtual concert live-streamed on Nugs.net. That’s about as grand as the el Mocambo can get with COVID-19 restrictions in place. Even if Stage 3 does allow them to get 50 people through the doors. (It’s not like the general public was getting in yet anyway.)

Ahead Of The Curve

The El Mo was ahead of curve when it came to the city’s heritage venues getting into the streaming business. It was already wired for high-quality recording, live-mixing, and live streaming from anywhere in the space. Which was going to be part of the plan before COVID-19 forced everyone to pivot. This isn’t the venue’s first Livestream. It served as the backdrop for the city of Toronto’s Canada Day celebration.

Long-running CanRock band Big Wreck gets to be the first “official” concert at the new El Mocambo. Promoted by the venue itself. They’ll play from the second-floor stage. Tickets to the webcast are for sale on Nugs.TV for $15 in HD or $20 in 4K.

“During these unprecedented times we need to unite together to support everyone in our communities,” says Wekerle in a release. “Music is a thread that unites us all and we are working closely with artists and their team members to bring new and meaningful experiences to music lovers, in new ways – safely.

“I am hopeful that with the continued collaboration we can all work to sustain a healthy and thriving entertainment sector, and to ultimately keep live alive.”

The El Mocambo teases future concerts and “small-scale social events” like weddings and private parties.

Richard Trapunski

Richard has covered Toronto’s music scene for over a decade. He was once called a “mush-brained millennial blogger” by a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and “actually a pretty good guy” by a Juno-nominated director.

@trapunski

Related Articles

The Day the Music Burned

It was the biggest disaster in the history of the music business — and almost nobody knew. This is the story of the 2008 Universal fire.
Chuck Berry, 1958.CreditCreditPhoto Illustration by Sean Freeman & Eve Steben for The New York Times. Source Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.

Music Is Facing a Mental Health Crisis

Money is tight while they work long and weird hours, travel incessantly, are isolated from their friends and family at home, and have ample access to drinks and drugs. They write, record, release, and promote, and then repeat the cycle over and over again. And now, more than ever, the industry demands constant content, lest they are forgotten in the ocean of songs hitting Spotify every Friday. But then they get in the van and, especially in Canada, drive absurd distances between low-paying gigs for a tour they likely had to book themselves.

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *