Toronto's Bassline Music Bar — a Bloor Street West haven for up-and-coming and established local DJs alike — has announced its permanent closure.
UPDATE (3/29, 4:25 p.m. ET): Bassline owner Craig Kovacs has confirmed the bar is back up and running this week, with events scheduled into the weekend. "It's a permanent reopening," he said, crediting his business partner CJ for resolving issues with the venue's landlord [via blogTO]. "Now we're cleaning the place up, giving it a little bit of a paintjob, making it look all nice for everybody. We're back at it."
See an announcement about Bassline's return (with an event happening tonight, March 29) below.
Originally having opened in September 2012, Bassline became the last bar in the city to offer open decks, allowing DJs to sign up to play any type of music they wanted on club-standard equipment. On March 19 of this year, a lockout notice appeared on the venue's front door.
"Negotiations are not going favourably," owner Craig Kovacs told blogTO of his discussions with the landlord. An avid partier since the '90s, Kovacs worked at bars and restaurants around the city before establishing Bassline — his own space for the drum and bass (DnB) community.
"Well, what do I like?" He had asked himself. "I like listening to music. I like drinks. Why don't I do this? The concept — I bought a greasy spoon, made it into Bassline."
Bassline's Tunesday is hailed as the longest-running Tuesday night weekly, having persisted for over six years. Wasabi Wednesday, a spicy showcase of local DnB DJ talent, had recently marked its five-year anniversary.
Feeding the city's love of DnB (and with the occasional techno and house night thrown in), the bar was a staple for many who loved to lose themselves in big sound. In addition to letting seasoned DJs get experimental, Bassline also fostered the talents of countless emerging acts — some of which have since gone on to become major headliners.
UPDATE (3/29, 4:25 p.m. ET): Bassline owner Craig Kovacs has confirmed the bar is back up and running this week, with events scheduled into the weekend. "It's a permanent reopening," he said, crediting his business partner CJ for resolving issues with the venue's landlord [via blogTO]. "Now we're cleaning the place up, giving it a little bit of a paintjob, making it look all nice for everybody. We're back at it."
See an announcement about Bassline's return (with an event happening tonight, March 29) below.
Originally having opened in September 2012, Bassline became the last bar in the city to offer open decks, allowing DJs to sign up to play any type of music they wanted on club-standard equipment. On March 19 of this year, a lockout notice appeared on the venue's front door.
"Negotiations are not going favourably," owner Craig Kovacs told blogTO of his discussions with the landlord. An avid partier since the '90s, Kovacs worked at bars and restaurants around the city before establishing Bassline — his own space for the drum and bass (DnB) community.
"Well, what do I like?" He had asked himself. "I like listening to music. I like drinks. Why don't I do this? The concept — I bought a greasy spoon, made it into Bassline."
Bassline's Tunesday is hailed as the longest-running Tuesday night weekly, having persisted for over six years. Wasabi Wednesday, a spicy showcase of local DnB DJ talent, had recently marked its five-year anniversary.
Feeding the city's love of DnB (and with the occasional techno and house night thrown in), the bar was a staple for many who loved to lose themselves in big sound. In addition to letting seasoned DJs get experimental, Bassline also fostered the talents of countless emerging acts — some of which have since gone on to become major headliners.