Popular underground Toronto music venue is closing
A beloved local arts and performing space appears to be getting the boot from its longtime home for what one regular calls "a buck and shuck restaurant."
Double Double Land, founded in 2009 by Jon McCurley, Daniel Vila, Rob Gordon and Stephen Thomas, can be found down an alley and up the stairs at what was once a bakery in the heart of Kensington Market.
The venue at 209 Augusta Ave. has been used over the past nine years as everything from a bar and off-the-path comedy club to a concert hall and gallery space for art of all kinds.
McCurley announced the closure on Facebook Wednesday afternoon.
"Hear ye, sad news," he wrote. "Tonight is the last show at ddl ever!... Come and celebrate the last time music will play upstairs and celebrate our run of 2 - 5 DIY shows a week every week for 9 years!"
He went on to thank the "actual thousands of musicians and performers who made DDL what it is" and reveal that the venue is "being shut down by the land lord."
Fortunately, it looks like the magic could live on somewhere else. McCurley says that he's currently searching for a new and even better (but inexpensive) location for DDL.
Still, members of the local arts and music scenes are crushed, as evidenced by more than 100 heartfelt comments on the closure announcement post.
"I'm so emotional about this and just so thankful and grateful and blessed to have the privilege of experiencing DDL and meeting so many of the people I consider my closest and most valuable peers," reads one.
"The community of DDL lives on. I will treasure the memories forever. RIP to one of the greatest and legendary DIY spaces Toronto ever saw."
