The City of Victoria has found a tenant to run the downtown Victoria music venue formerly known as Hermann’s Upstairs.
The venue will become The Coda in early 2025.
The Coda is co-owned by entrepreneur Al Smith and musician and dance studio director Christina Morrison.
“We have a deep love for live music and appreciation for musicians,” said Al Smith in their media release. “True live music venues have been slowly disappearing in our city, so we decided to do something about it.”
Some in the music community may know Al Smith from his Vic42 studio that used to be beside Discovery Coffee on Discovery Street. The studio served as Rifflandia venue, a music venue for small all-ages shows and also a former sponsor of The [email protected]’s Band of The Month program.
Christina Morrison has been a semi-professional musician performing with Victoria Motown, Soul, Pop, Funk and R&B band The Midnights as a saxophonist and has been the director of Salsa Caliente dance company for 25 years.
“Our goal with The Coda is to create a space Victoria can be proud of, where musicians and live music are valued,” said co-owner Christina Morrison. We want it to be a venue where music lovers can truly connect with the music they love.”
The site has two rooms and The Coda plans to use the front room for smaller 100 person shows and the main room for 200+ capacity concerts.
The Victoria Jazz Society has already booked The Coda to be a venue for the 2025 TD Victoria International JazzFest.
“It will be great to have another venue in Victoria run by good people who really understand how to present live music – who put the music and musicians first,” said Victoria Jazz Society Executive & Artistic Director Darryl mar. “The Victoria Jazz Society is very excited to have The Coda as a venue for the 2025 TD Victoria International JazzFest.”
Hermann’s Upstairs closed at the end of March 2024 after The Arts on View Society announced on March 7 that they were giving up the lease. The building that the venue is housed in was purchased by the City of Victoria from the family of Hermann’s Jazz Club’s late owner Hermann Nieweler in mid-March for $3.95 million.
Since then the city has performed some structural renovations to the building while searching for a tenant to run it as a music venue as part of the city’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.
“I’m beyond excited that Council supported this request,” said Victoria City Councillor Matt Dell on social media. “This space is particularly important as it will be able to support a wide range of arts and music, from jazz to metal, from electronic to salsa dancing. The City purchased this building so that all residents could find something to enjoy here. I think Al Smith and Christina Morrison are top-notch operators who are focused on live music and affordable venue space.”
Terms of the lease have not been disclosed, but we can confirm it is a multi-year agreement.
Follow The Coda online and on social media:
Website: gotothecoda.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotothecoda/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gotothecoda
