Performers
Melo-T
About Melo-T
Now living in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, the Zimbabwean born Canadian has been pioneering African Electronic Dance Music in Canada for over a decade with shows across Canada and most recently Bluesfest, the largest music festival in Canada and the second largest blues festival in North America, including many other countless different countries on different continents. His For the Culture 2 EP released in 2021 reached critical acclaim within the music community heavily inspired by amapiano and afro house, with write ups and features from, Earmilk, The Pan African Music Magazine, Music Crowns, The Music Essentials, CelebMix and many more. Drawing inspiration from South African DJ Black Coffee and Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi and many other African Electronic Dance Music pioneers, MELO-T’s music embraces a variety of distinctly unique genres into one pure and melodic sound known as “Afro Fusion or Afro Dance Music,” which combine Afrobeats, Amapiano, Afro House and Afro Soul. MELO-T’s unique artistry has also been recognized as a significant contribution to Canada’s cultural landscape, with recognition and funding from Canada's Art Council, Ontario Arts Council and Ottawa Arts Council, recognizing and acknowledging his contribution to the Canadian music scene especially in the electronic afro dance scene, which includes promoting and hosting African dance music power houses such as Mi Casa (RSA), DJ Manoo, Djeff Afrozilla and many more!
rise ashen
About Rise Ashen
Rise Ashen has devoted his life to the study of sound and movement. From his early years as a B-Boy in Montreal in the 80s to his studies at Fanshawe College (North America's Oldest Recording School) and the Banff Centre for the Arts, his focus has been on applying hi-fi knowhow to global dance music. His record collection spans the four corners of the world with club music of all tempos as his primary focus. As a DJ, he blends it all in a worldy mash and is always the sweaty and dynamic life of the party. He has played in clubs and festivals across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. His study of Yoga has led him to combine his musical journey with his Yogi journey and he has been DJing extensively for yoga classes, festivals and events since 2012.
With his partner Tangent, he founded Capital Sessions Community House Dance Practices in 2010 to share the couple’s love for house dance music and culture.
His first album with Algonquin singer Flying Down Thunder received a Juno nomination in 2012, and the duo’s second album received a Native American Music Awards nomination in 2014. Since 2015 he has been collaborating with Silla, the Nunavut-based Inuit throat-singing ensemble, with whom he was long-listed for the Polaris Prize in 2016, nominated for a Juno Award in 2017 and for a Juno in 2019 as well as winning the Stingray award at Mundial in 2019 and Inuit Group of the Year and Artistic Video of the year at the SSSIMAs in 2021.
He believes music and dance are essential to human culture and that united, artists can lead humanity towards a more enlightened way of living. He aspires to embody the wise words of Fela Kuti: "when the higher forces give you the gift of musicianship… it must be well used for the good of humanity"
Alanna Sterling
About Alanna Sterling:
Alanna Sterling is a gender-fluid, genre-fluid vocal shapeshifter and multi-instrumental sorcerer. As an advocate for mental illness, their ultimate passion is to create musical movements out of moments of struggle, in hopes to work through life’s adversities and inspire others to overcome their own battles.
Upon learning piano at the age of 2, Alanna made it their mission to pursue the arts in all of its forms - music, visual arts, dance, drama, literary works. In their teen years, Sterling took it upon themselves to learn over 40 different instruments and start writing poetry, as a way to escape from bullying, trauma, social anxiety and depression. Music ultimately became their sword and saviour and gave them the confidence they needed to carry on. Songwriting came naturally, and since the age of 12, Alanna has composed hundreds of songs, most of which will remain hidden in a notebook, never to be recorded.
Currently, Alanna has made their mark as a partnered streamer on Twitch, under the alias “MermaidUnicorn”, aka Merms. Merms has gathered a huge loving community of over 49k people from their weekly broadcasts, and has been able to skyrocket their career into a global platform.
This June, Sterling released a full length album entitled “Mind / Matter”, which is a heartfelt diary of their journey in overcoming their struggles with mental health issues. The genres vary from vaudeville, rock’n’roll, folk, synthwave, to jazz and everything in between. Each song is a different flavour and experience to reflect a different state of mind. You can listen to Mind / Matter on all music streaming platforms now!
LINKS
Website: https://alannasterling.ca
Youtube: https://youtube.com/AlannaSterling
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/MermaidUnicorn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alanna_Sterling
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alannasterling
Instagram: https://instagram.com/sterlingsilversinger
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6gfQSJ07CJAEvOwKz4sX2f
Facebook: https://facebook.com/AlannaSterlingMusic
bastards and the buzzards
About the Bastards and the Buzzards
Originally formed as a six piece. Over the years Bastards and the Buzzards has been whittled down to a trio with Clint Towns on Upright Bass, Asjia Papineau on Violin and Dan Rae on Guitar, Vocals and Percussion. Bringing an unmatched brand of Folk Punk to the Ottawa/Gatineau area for over 7 years.
mecca of stank
About the Mecca of Stank
Blending elements of soul, funk, jazz, reggae, downtempo, Latin music, r&b, and old school hip hop, Mecca of Stank has been performing live music for a few years in the local bar scene. Comprised of some of the top players in Ottawa, this year marks their debut release of original content, dropping their 4th and 5th singles this fall. Their mission is to entice the audience into a heightened state of musical euphoria (i.e., the stank face) while they get lost in the music, promoting love and positive vibes.
shaemara
About Shaemara
Escape with Shaemara into her world of imagination. Embrace the unknown, leaning into your vulnerability to experience freedom through music. An overall sensory experience, hypnotic sound, and visually stimulating. Expect to dance, think deep, and vibe high. Shaemara is a Toronto born multimedia artist, producer, singer songwriter of Barbadian and Hungarian descent, who has been active in the music scene since 2010.
Shaemara's original lyrics focus on love, heartbreak, perseverance, and achieving peace and freedom. Shaemara is a self taught producer, who’s music captivates you to move and flow along the waves of hypnotic contemporary RnB Soul with electronic elements, deep vocal layers with rich harmonies, mixed with ambient and organic sounds.
Plus, Shaemara promotes her brand the “Nubian City” featuring handmade regal crowns and designs, plus vintage and thrift apparel.
Eniid Goodman
About ENiiD
ENiiD Goodman (aka Carol) was born in Ottawa to parents who immigrated from Sweden & England. She has called Wakefield, Québec her home for over 20 years and lives with her family on a 100 acre homestead called 100 Mile Farm. Her debut album in November 2015 is A Celebration of Joni Mitchell; songs by & for her + stories and 2 originals. Musician, visual artist & entrepreneur. ENiiD’s most recognizable attribute is her unique, young sounding voice which compliments Joni Mitchell’s songs perfectly. ENiiD has toured extensively in Canada & the USA.