On Saturday night The Hoxton hosted its final party. After 6 years of pushing the nightlife and music scene forward, the iconic venue closed its doors for the final time. For those unfamiliar, The Hoxton has been the hub for forward-thinking electronic music in Toronto. They acted as the home base for some of the greatest shows the city has ever seen. Whether it was bringing new acts to the city for the first time or helping to provide Toronto talent with a space to flourish. The venue helped break a sea of talented locals ranging from Hunter Siegel and Rezz to Keys N Krates, Thugli, Pusher + so many more. And who can forget their legendary after parties? With everyone from Drake and Kanye, to Diplo & Skrillex turning up in the intimate space. The impact that the venue had on the city is remarkable and although it’s gone it definitely will never be forgotten.
In order to properly say goodbye you know they had to throw one last rager to go down in history. It was only fitting that Hunter Siegel’s No Neon took over the club one last time. The event series has been a staple in the city for the past two years with Hunter bringing through some of the best new talent and throwing down legendary impromptu B2Bs. With Hunter scheduled for an open to close set and special guests practically a given, the club was packed from the time it opened. I arrived before 10:30 and the line-up was already massive. There was a bittersweet energy in the air; a mixture of excitement and sadness. There was a huge buzz outside with everyone talking about who might show up for a quick guest set and discussing their disbelief that this was truly the last night out at The Hoxton. Every person you talked to shared the same sentiment, “I can’t believe this is it”.
I got in just before 11 and it was already filling in nicely. Fast forward 30 minutes and it was packed with Hunter Siegel throwing down heavy. If it were any other night, you would of thought that it was easily 1:00 am. Considering the size and intensity of the crowd, he didn’t need to hold back, saving things for later, he just let it flow. This was underscored by him joking on the mic about wanting to save ‘Bad and Boujee’ for later and then dropping it before midnight. Although the special guests were a highlight to many, it needs to be mentioned that Hunter deserves an incredible amount of respect. Not many DJs can murder a party for 6+ hours and he did just that. Now on to the special guests. Going to the event everyone knew the finale was destined to see another iconic B2B session featuring some of Canada’s finest. Things kicked off with Grandtheft and never slowed down. From them debuting Hunter’s ‘Easy Go’ remix to Zed’s Dead’s DC straight up slaughtering things. The stage became a revolving door of incredible acts. Omar Linx hopped on the table to deliver some classics before getting into his most recent smash ‘Keep It Mello’. Oh and Sleepy Tom and Keys N Krates decided to drop in, cause why not right? In many ways the event was legendary but also felt like another night at The Hoxton. I say that not to disrespect the finale, but rather to highlight the fact that incredible B2Bs, guest appearances and overall amazing vibes are what made The Hoxton the best club in Toronto. Although it’ll never be replaced, let’s the hope its spirit can live on (likely at Velvet Underground). To all the DJs, organizers and staff, I thank you for 6 incredible years and a very special finale. #RIPHoxton.
Check out some of the pics below and head over to our Facebook album for the full gallery. All photos by Eryn McCarthy.
