Closures, openings… in Toulouse, the big bang of performance halls

Recently designated a “City of Music” by UNESCO, Toulouse is often cited as one of the strongholds music in France and Europe.

Toulouse, “French capital of music”?

Even foreign media envy us! “Toulouse is the French capital of music”, even headlined the British magazine City AM in an article dedicated to the Pink City, published on April 15. “The city of Toulouse is a paradise for music lovers“, relates the Anglo-Saxon journalist.

“Music is deeply rooted in the culture of the French city of Toulouse. It dates back to medieval times, when the city’s counts supported the troubadours who sang in Occitan“.

The journalist continues: “It is therefore easy to understand why the destination proudly bears the current official UNESCO title of City of Music, in recognition of its exceptional musical institutions, educational programs and vibrant festivals. Even City Hall is located in a musical setting: it shares space with the national theater and the opera within the pink neoclassical facade of the Capitol Theater, the most recognizable emblem of Toulouse”. What Else?

The Music Factory: “Our cash flow has melted”

But for several years, we have observed a strange epidemic in the City of Music…: several performance halls have in fact closed their doors in recent years. The phenomenon had already started in 2016 with the closure of Dynamothe room on rue Amélie, where Bigflo and Oli played in their debut.

The phenomenon suddenly amplified after the Covid years, which seriously weakened many private players in the sector. At the Seven Deniers, the Music Factorya 420-seat room, did not resist and announced its closure in October 2023:

“During the Covid epidemic, we didn’t work, and we only received aid in trickles. We had set up an SARL, which prevented us from having subsidies… However, we have 20,000 euros in fixed costs per month at least, and up to 40,000 euros when the room is running (with salaries, fees artists, etc.). For six months, we had to pay for everything, without being supported. Consequently, our cash has melted“, recounted Eric Maury, the former boss of the performance hall, which has not reopened since, and which, according to information fromToulouse Newswill not find a buyer since a new project (far from music) will be set up in its place.

Rock cellar

Another closure? In February 2023, the Rock Cellara beer bar specializing in rock concerts, based between Bonnefoy and Minimes, has also closed its doors, the fault of a building – a 60-year-old cellar – that was too rickety to be able to continue its activity.

Since then, the managers of the Cave à Rock have been looking for “a place in Toulouse with a capacity of 150/200 people and which would be great for holding concerts” and to continue the adventure, the managers indicated on social networks. They have not yet found what they are looking for…

What about Live Connection?

The landscape of cultural scenes is undergoing profound change in Toulouse and the metropolitan area. Latest example? The closure of the emblematic Connexion Live, in the city center, which closed its doors at the end of March 2024, and which left many local players in cultural music behind, starting by the “small” production companies which organized numerous concerts in this hall which had been established on the street for 10 years.

And nothing says at this time what the buyers of Connexion – which will change its name and concept – intend to make of this place a new stronghold music in Toulouse in the years to come, even if the new managers promise not to give up concerts.

The hiccup at the Écluse Saint-Pierre

Certain places aroused a lot of hope, like Saint-Pierre Lock. With a capacity of 300 seats, this room opened in 2022 was supposed to fill this void in downtown Toulouse… but technical problems linked to acoustics led to its abrupt closure, only six months after its opening… Since then, the place became the Flashback Café.

“It’s true that in Toulouse, at least one room is missing with a capacity of 200 to 300 people. Today, it is very complicated for emerging artists to perform in Toulouse,” Kevin Goret, the co-director of the Bijou, recently told us. The pocket room (89 seats) in the Croix de Pierre district, a real institution for 35 years, has chosen to transform itself into a cooperative society of collective interest to ensure its sustainability. Nearly 60,000 euros have been raised so far. A fairly unique model for a performance hall.

“The Bijou is not in danger, it’s just that we don’t want it to be one day,” explains the room’s team.

Odyssud in full works

In the city, other rooms are closed. It’s the case of Odyssudthe large performance hall (1037 seats) based in Blagnac, has been closed for work since 2020. “The objective is to reopen the large hall at the beginning of 2026”, announces the mayor of Blagnac, Joseph Carles to Toulouse News. While waiting for its reopening, Odyssud continues to program shows outside the walls.

Opened in 2007 in Tournefeuille, Lighthouse and its nearly 3,500 seats, the beating heart of current music in the 2000s and 2010s, has also reduced its size and offers many fewer concerts than before.

The Interference Mystery

As for “Interference”, a 2,500-seat concert hall project based in Balma, is the mystery. The venue was initially due to open in 2022 (with an opening concert by Texan star Marc Rebillet) and promised a huge program, capable of competing with the Bikini…

But since then, the project has not progressed significantly and the managers have remained uncontactable despite our reminders. On social networks, their last post dates back to… a year and a half ago. No news is good news ? In any case, the room seems to have disappeared from radar.

“An extra room or two”

So, are there a shortage of concert halls in Toulouse and more particularly in the city center? Contacted by Toulouse News, Francis Grass, deputy mayor in charge of culture, draws the following observation: “We think that there is a need for concert halls of different sizes in Toulouse. When the Connexion closes, it’s a problem because it’s a place that hosted many groups and artists. But we have no control over private rooms,” explains the elected official.

Is Toulouse under-resourced in terms of number of performance halls? ” I think that’a room or two moreover in Toulouse, that would be good, particularly in view of demographic developments. L’Écluse, we hope that they will resolve their technical problems and that they will eventually get there. But it takes time,” replies Francis Grass.

However, the ambition of the town hall – which had created the Metronum in Borderouge in 2014 (under the leadership of Pierre Cohen) – is not to embark on the creation of a new performance hall.

“For the moment, creating a room is not in our plans. Except for the Auditorium project (which would aim to host concerts by the National Capitol Orchestra, Editor’s note), which is not yet realized and financed If it were to see the light of day, it would free up space at the Halle aux Grains for current music. This remains an objective for us, but this project will not come to fruition in the coming years. “.

The Cabin, the tree that hides the forest?

However, everything is not black in the city that saw the birth Claude Nougaro. Le Bikini, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023, continues to be THE reference room in Toulouse and other actors, from Rex At Metronum passing through the Nougaro roomTHE Teaseor the Grain Hallcontinue to make Toulouse shine in the musical landscape.

And not all the concert venues in the Pink City are packing up! The Cartoucherie district will even be the scene of the upcoming arrival of a new performance hall, The shack : modular, this “little Olympia” located opposite the Zénith can accommodate 500 to 758 people.

But is this really enough in the fourth largest city in France, what is more the City of Music?

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