African Music Week festival takes over Toronto on October 22-23rd 2021
October 19, 2021 | Dalton Higgins |
Toronto, ON (October 19th, 2021) – The sixth annual AMW (African Music Week) festival takes place this year on October 22-23rd, continuing the important work of heightening the understanding of Africans and people of African descent through music and culture, with a series of concentrated events in the world’s most multicultural city – Toronto.
African musicians and music industry executives from throughout the African Diaspora gather at AMW each year for both the conference and showcase component, to expose artists to resources, networks and platforms while providing long term mentoring to help launch and maintain careers in the global entertainment industry.
This year’s festival features 2021 Juno Award winner TÖME, the rising Afro Fusion singer, songwriter and actor who’s single “I Pray” featuring MOBO and Teen Choice Award-winning artist Sean Kingston zoomed up the charts. Töme has shared the stage with superstars like Burna Boy, Wizkid and Mr. Eazi.
The conference portion of AMW features special guest and fast-rising Universal Music Nigeria-signed artist Idahams who just released his new single “Problem” after the trans-continental success of his “Man on Fire” EP which topped the iTunes Nigeria chart landing at #1, while generating millions of streams across digital platforms globally. His 2020 single “Ada” debuted at #5 on BBC’s 1xtra chart (it peaked at #2) and zoomed to #1 on the UK’s Black Music chart. Idahams and a whole slew of important music industry figures like broadcast legend Master T will participate in this year’s conference which features two virtual sessions with panels discussing a mixture of topics regarding the ever-changing entertainment industry. (SEE FULL AFRICAN MUSIC WEEK LINEUP BELOW)
October 22nd
SMALL WORLD MUSIC CENTRE – 180 SHAW STREET
Queens Summit (2pm-6pm) – Featuring moderator Tatiana King, with panelists Mz. Undefined, Nadine McNulty, Denise Williams, and a flute performance by Majd Sekkar.
Queens First Showcase (8pm-11pm) – Hosted by Ifeoma Amaechi. Featuring performances by Rayal, Syndy Taata, Tracey Kayy, Mz. Undefined, Xentury, Esie Mensah (video) and Natalie Wong, alongside the Fuller Band. Providing the music will be DJ Donet and DJ Afroditee.
October 23rd
SMALL WORLD MUSIC CENTRE – 180 SHAW STREET
AIM Conference (11am -4pm) – Featuring moderator Rayon Brown alongside panelists T-Nyce, Godwin Tom, Lukman Akanbi, Dalton Higgins, and special guest Idahams (Nigeria). Special keynote address by Tony Young aka Master T, with music provided by DJ Phlex.
Afrobeats Festival (8pm-12 am)
NATIONAL EVENT CENTRE – 1000 FINCH AVE
Hosted by MC Bonde and MC Ebone. The Festival showcases the best emerging artists of the New Africa movement locally and internationally. With performances by Afro Beats, Afro Pop, Afro Soca, dancers and other musical stars, the audience won’t be able to resist the vibrant synergy of the variety of African rhythms. For this Toronto hybrid edition, audiences can enjoy the festival in person or virtually. Live performers include Yinka Farinde and The African Beats, Afiwi Groove (dancers), Dizzle BK, Fuller Sound Band, Tropiks Soca Band, Asiko AfroBeat Ensemble, Mighty Touch, Slim Flex Band, Phlex Denary, Jay Smooth, Black Stars (dancers), and headliner TÖME. Music will be provided by DJ Empire, DJ D-Flex and the legendary Spex Da Boss.
African Music Week is brought to you by Aim 2 Impact with support from our community partner H.N.I.C (Helping Neighborhoods Implement Change). We would like to fully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for their generous contribution.
Source Dalton Higgins
