t.o. music pix

Category: Artists

  • Achilla Orru: Tribute in Globe & Mail & UPDATE re: April 7 event

    A wonderful tribute to the late Achilla Orru (see post below) in the March 19 Globe & Mail‘s “Lives Lived“. Written by his friend & fellow Ugandan-Canadian Opiyo Oloya, who is also known by all African music supporters in the Toronto area. Many harried Toronto subway commuters likely never knew his name, where he came from, […]

  • RIP King Achilla Orru Apaa-idomo

    Written while listening to Achilla’s 2004 CD, Dho-Mach (Sacred Gift)… The Ugandan and Canadian world music communities received sad news this past week, that lukeme player Achilla Orru passed away at the age of 53. apparently as the  result of heart disease. Some information about his passing is on this page, written by Davies Bagambiire. […]

  • Townes Van Zandt tribute (from No Depression)

    Last week, Kevin Norton wrote a tribute on the No Depression website to the great Texas singer-songwriter, Townes Van Zandt, who died New Year’s Day, sixteen years ago. This sentence captured some of the flavour of his talent, his music, and his demons: If there was ever a musician that fit the mold of Robert […]

  • Roots of rock & roll: “hillbilly & blues/R&B”

    I came across this 1951 video of the great Western Swing Band, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys on Twitter recently (posted by Afropop Worldwide no less!), singing their 1930’s hit “Ida Red”  — a song first recorded a decade earlier (by Fiddlin’ Powers and Family), and has roots back to an 1878 popular song, […]

  • Sleepwalk Guitar Festival: A weekend of guitar greats and legends

    You won’t be able to sleepwalk through this guitar extravaganza. The 2nd annual Sleepwalk Guitar Festival at The Great Hall on the weekend of Nov. 2-4, sponsored by Six Shooter Records and curated by Luke Doucet will be filled with guitar stars and legends: in concert, in workshops and in interview sessions. The festival website […]

  • Cuban food — and music — where??

    My neighbourhood of Bloor West Village is not known for particularly interesting restaurants, and certainly not for live music. But things have begun changing recently, at least in one case. Bloom — a restaurant until recently under the same ownership of the Bloor/Yonge Focaccia — after a somewhat promising start, had (in my opinion) regressed […]

  • “Music in Mali” documentary

    Music In Mali: Life Is Hard, Music Is Good: Via Afropop Worldwide, I came across information on this recently completed documentary about Malian music (filmed before the tragic fighting and repression in that great country). The film is produced by Kanaga System Krush (KSK) Records, but at this point, I don’t have any information on any screenings or […]

  • Sherry Ryan at The Dakota: Oct. 6 / Ticket, CD giveaway

    NOTE:  I have a pair of tickets to her Saturday show & a CD to give away to the first to contact me. Email info@to-music.ca This site tends to focus mostly on “world”, and especially African music, but I do periodically report on other music, notably some country/American artists. This Saturday, Newfoundland singer Sherry Ryan […]

  • Harbourfront’s “Classical IV” weekend featuring Masters of Mali with Sidi Touré

    I’ve often found this themed weekend (in the past, appropriately titled “What is Classical”) one of Harbourfront’s most interesting each year, as it poses that musical question. One of my favourite Harbourfront concerts in recent years was Orchestra Piazza Vittorio performing their unique take on Mozart’s Magic Flute. This year’s “Classical IV: Strings” focuses on […]

  • Graceland/Under African Skies: released & reviewed

    I’ve posted a couple of items recently about Under African Skies, the excellent documentary about Paul Simon’s groundbreaking Graceland album, released 25 years go. The documentary includes footage of original recording sessions, Simon’s first return to South Africa last year, and the international political controversy it caused from his breaking of the UN’s cultural boycott […]