Sound Academy announces new name and opening date

No one really liked the Sound Academy. It was hard to get to and had bad acoustics considering its size and the calibre of artists it attracted. But Toronto's oft-derided Port Lands-area music venue is no more. On October 1, 2016, it'll be reborn as Rebel (well, REBEL).

Ink Entertainment has been revamping the Sound Academy for nearly a year. Frequent Ink collaborator Studio Munge designed the 45,000 square foot nightclub, which will include four different and distinct spaces. The main room will feature a 65-foot stage and a terrace overlooking the lake.

"REBEL is a truly distinctive and transformative nightlife destination, offering guests access into the extraordinary, the unique and the unparalleled," says INK Entertainment CEO says Charles Khabouth in a news release.

"We look forward to introducing a new luxurious entertainment space with unexpected and dramatic elements of intrigue and opulence that have yet to be seen in a nightclub setting in Canada."

This luxurious entertainment space definitely sounds like a departure from the old Sound Academy.

There's no word yet on the opening party lineup, but Rebel seems more like a nightclub than a bonafide music venue. And if you're curious and eager to see the space on October 1, check out this strangely epic-sounding trailer for it below.