April 8, 2021 | Dalton Higgins |

New fest features some of Toronto’s finest rap, R&B, reggae, Afrobeats, dancehall, reggaeton artists

Today Toronto’s new Black music festival AFROWAVETO announces it’s inaugural event line-up. Headlined by five-time JUNO Award-winning reggae artist Exco Levi, JUNO Award-winning reggae/dancehall singer-songwriter Kirk Diamond, and featuring a slew of local stars of today and tomorrow including Congo-born, Toronto-based singer Desiire whose unique blend of R&B, Afro, electronic and hip hop has been featured in Billboard, The Fader and MTV, talented R&B songstress LeiLa Dey, and buzzing Afro-fusion artist Shopé who won CBC’s Searchlight competition for Canada’s best undiscovered talent. Please note: AFROWAVETO festival was pre-recorded on March 24th, so Ontario’s latest COVID livestream concerts ban does not apply. 

“Dream It. Build It. Grow It.” This is the slogan for Toronto’s newest music organization and FREE festival, founded in 2019 and spearheaded by Jamaican-Canadian artist, Lexxicon. The company’s mission is to provide growth opportunities for Black multi-genre musicians working within the Toronto music industry through intentional music programming, the creation of safe spaces, and through community and cultural connections. While Toronto has a large population of emerging and successful African, Caribbean, Indigenous Black Canadian and Afro Latinx musicians, this is not reflected in the local music festivals, showcases, panels, or song writing sessions held within the city. And while there has been unprecedented growth globally in these culturally-driven sounds, that momentum hasn’t been reflected in the local Canadian market. This year’s inaugural festival is here to intentionally champion a more diverse and inclusive urban music scene in Toronto, while bridging the gap between more obvious Black music forms (rap, R&B) and less recognized genres such as Afrobeats or dancehall on the local scene.

AFROWAVETO 

2021 Artist Line-up

EXCO LEVI

KIRK DIAMOND

LEILA DEY

DESIIRE

SHOPE

ALLISTON DAVIS

KRIS HANS

LOTI

H.O.D

KAHRIS

KING MAJIK & BAWSE

ZAHRA MOVES

SWISHA SWEETZ

ICONS

DOLOTHEGIFTED

LOOCH BODEGA

EBER

HNDFLL

JEVY

AFROWAVETO

Date: April 24, 2021

Start Time: 7pm

Community Partner: VibeArts

Sponsors: Audiomack, Jaxsta

Funders: Factor Canada, Canada Arts Presentation

Festival Registration (FREE)

Publicist is Dalton Higgins.