Category: Events

  • Exhibit: 50 years of the Mariposa Folk Festival

    Toronto’s Market Gallery is hosting an exhibit, through Oct. 15 celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of Canada’s great music festivals. From the press release: “Mariposa: fifty years of making music” documents five decades of one of Canada’s oldest and best known music festivals through historical photographs, festival programs, and sound recordings. Materials featured in […]

  • Musical notes from here & there

    A few random musical notes Khaira Arby: The singer from Mali made her first North American tour last fall. Here in Toronto, she sang at the Ashkenaz Festival over Labour Day weekend as a guest with the New York group Sway Machine (and also earlier that day live on air at CIUT FM).  I was […]

  • Award to Waleed Abdulhamid

    This news is actually a couple of months old, but I just came across it today. Waleed, a native of Sudan, and one of the busiest musicans working in the Toronto African music community last may received the 2011 New Pioneers Award for the Arts. The award is organized by Skills for Change, a non-profit […]

  • High Def concert videos posted: videos.to-music.ca

    I’ve created a new site to post some recent (and not so recent) HD concert videos I’ve taken. See www.videos.to-music.ca  Posted so far: Bombino @ Lula Lounge, Jul. 12 Thomas Mapfumo @ Lula Lounge, Jul. 11 Kabakuwo @ Lula Lounge, Jun. 30 Yemen Blues @ Luminato, Jun. 12 Freddie Gwala, Platform One & Tich Maredza, […]

  • Notes: Mapfumo, Bombino, Ragovoy, Congotronics &…

    Shows at the Lula last week As noted in another post, Thomas Mapfumo closed out Afrofest, but because some of his band members didn’t get visas for Canada, filled in with some local musicians (including guitarist Larry Lewis & Tich Maredza on bass).  Mapfumo wasn’t happy with the struggles to get the tightness he wanted, […]

  • Event notes for this weekend

    Some events to consider this weekend:  See alsowww.events.to-music.cafor more Jul. 22: Sexteto Tabala at the Lula Last weekend, Harbourfront held the Colombian Diaspora Festival (see Harbourfront blog for some video & photos) Friday night, the Lula hosts the Toronto debut of Sexteto Tabala, from San Basilio de Palenque (“the first free town in America”). The […]

  • Afrofest replay: audio & video

    A strange bout of flu made me miss my first Afrofest in years, but whether you were there or not, you can catch some of its performances. CIUT FM, as always, broadcast most of the two day festival, and has archived all the performances it broadcast. Listen here I talked to many people who were […]

  • Afrofest schedule

    The 2011 Afrofest schedule and a map of the site is here. Three stages, vendors, food, a Children’s Village and of course a beer garden. This year Wellesley St to the south and one lane of Queen’s Park Crescent to the east will be closed to traffic, expanding the size of the festival area and […]

  • “Summer kicks off”: Upcoming highlights

    Event listings have been updated. Check out www.events.to-music.ca for information on numerous shows through the summer. July this year keeps up its tradition of great music. Some shows to check out in the next couple of weeks: Details on the event listings page.   Fri. Jun. 30: Kabakuwo at the Lula Mandingue music, featuring dual […]

  • Afrofest in Queen’s Park 3 weeks away

    Email announcement from Music Africa: AFROFEST AT QUEEN’S PARK ON JULY 9th & 10th Afrofest, a free celebration of the richness and diversity of African culture, is set for Queen’s Park in Toronto on Saturday July 9th and Sunday July 10th.  Featuring world-renowned African musicians and top African groups based in Canada, an African marketplace, food and craft vendors, artistic displays, […]