One of Toronto’s most beloved live music venues is returning to its original name. The Axis Club (formerly known as the Mod Club) has been rebranded once again as The Mod Club.
The Mod Club (722 College St) was co-founded in 2002 by ’80s pop star Mark Holmes, best known as the lead singer in the Toronto-based rock band Platinum Blonde. The two-story, 618-capacity venue was set up in a historic 1920s-era building at the corner of College and Crawford Streets in the heart of Little Italy, and quickly became the place to be for 60s-era UK rock and funk parties.
In the following decades, the space hosted more contemporary artists, including Amy Winehouse, Sia, Florence + the Machine, and Lana Del Rey, and helped to launch the careers of local artists like Daniel Caesar, Jessie Reyez and Charlotte Day Wilson. The Weeknd even made his live debut there in 2011!
After temporarily closing its doors in 2020 due to pandemic measures, the venue relaunched with a new name and vision in 2021: The Axis Club. The new venue name came with major tech upgrades, like state-of-the-art lighting, sound systems and live-streaming capabilities.
On Wednesday, the venue announced it was returning to its roots.
“With a renewed identity that embraces change while honouring its legacy, The Mod Club aims to revive the energy that once made it a cornerstone in Toronto nightlife. Welcome home,” the venue stated in an Instagram post.
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If anything, Toronto music fans seem ready to embrace the change.
“Welcome back i never stopped calling you the mod club” one Insta user said.
“Forever and always The Mod Club! Welcome home” another user stated.
To help celebrate the new (old?) name, Toronto R&B singer Daniel Caesar will take the stage on June 14 to perform an intimate, acoustic performance. It’ll mark nine years since he first stepped onto that very same stage for his concert debut in 2016.
“I’m really glad to be coming back to The Mod Club to play after all these years,” Caesar said in a release. “That place will always have a special place in my heart.”
Click here for all upcoming summer shows at the venue.