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Artist Spotlight: Maracatu Mar Aberto
This past weekend was the Cabbagetown Festival, a community event with street vendors, a craft fair, lots of yard sales, food vendors, and music. ((Almost entirely awful cover bands, much to my dismay. But there were a couple of good acts – read on!)) Luckily enough for me, the whole thing took place right outside my door, so I spent most the two days strolling around, noshing on murtabek and roti, and meeting some of my neighbours. ((I even met a guy who has a bee hive in his back yard, who sold me a jar of Cabbagetown Gold – illegal bees make the best honey!)) Things were winding down…
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Artist Spotlight: Unbuttoned
Saturday was a beautiful day in Ol’Toronto, and I’d spent most of the afternoon in Riverside, catching an historical tour of the neighbourhood. ((Local history and old architecture are some of my favourite things.)) I decided to grab some Thai take-out on the way home, and explore some areas of town I hadn’t been through yet, and I meandered along, across the Don River Valley and into Regent Park. I’m endlessly curious about anything that looks like a free festival, so when I saw tents selling food and jewelry, I ducked down that street to check it out. I got a very friendly greeting at all of the booths I…
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Artist Spotlight: The 24th Street Wailers
The lineup for the Peterborough Folk Festival was released this past week, and for the first time in seven years, I didn’t do all of the booking. And for the first time in more than a decade, I won’t be working on the festival or even attending, because I’ve got another festival to run here in Toronto. ((Taiwanfest!)) It’s a weird feeling to see things roll along without you, but Nick’s ((PFF’s new Artistic Director!)) doing a great job, and so is Ashley ((PFF’s Executive Director!)) and the rest of the team. One of the bands that I booked in this year’s lineup is The 24th Street Wailers; ((Full disclosure:…
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Artist Spotlight: Lakes of Canada
I can’t remember where I first heard Lakes of Canada, but I feel as though in the last month or so, their name has come up a dozen or more times. Rousing, fun, intelligent, and skillful, I think they’d kill whether in an intimate bar or on a festival stage. This is the kind of band that can get a cross-generational audience up on their feet dancing as well as lining up at the merch table. Great harmonies and overall vocals, as well as a nice mix of instrumentation, make listening to their music a lovely experience. Add to that their really beautifully-crafted sound a slew of fun, watchable videos…
