Date:
Rhythms of Canada festival | June 28–July 3, 2022
Price: FREE
Learn more about our pop-up performers below
Tuesday, June 28 | Festival Market | 5 pm; 6 pm; 7 pm
Sunday, July 3 | Festival Market | 6 pm; 7 pm
A drummer and percussionist hailing from Portmore, Jamaica, Roshane Wright started playing percussion instruments at the age of six and has gone on to win numerous awards in his divisions. Wright fuses his musical Caribbean roots with jazz to create his own authentic sound. Roshane has been a freelance artist as well as a music educator, composer, arranger and band leader.
Follow Roshane Wright on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Tuesday, June 28 | Festival Market | 5:30 pm; 6:30 pm; 7:30 pm
Wednesday, June 29 | Festival Market | 5:30 pm; 6:30 pm; 7:30 pm
A Gayageum musician from Korea, Roa (HyunYoung) Lee began playing when she was seven years old and received formal training at a high school and university for traditional performing arts. Interested in collaboration and incorporating the Gayageum with various music genres, Lee's music blends traditional Korean with different elements from a diverse selection of other genres.
Follow Roa Lee on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Tuesday, June 28 | 8 pm; 9 pm
Matilda Armstrong is a 23-year-old jazz singer and bandleader based in Peterborough and Toronto, ON. She performs frequently at Toronto venues including the Emmet Ray and Free Times Cafe with her quintet and sextet, as well as her passion project Jade Visions, paying tribute to the late Scott LaFaro. Firmly rooted in the cool jazz style, her influences include Bill Evans, Anita O’Day, and Pepper Adams. In addition to bandleading, Matilda is also an accomplished graphic artist and illustrator, focusing on album art/packaging and gig posters for other musicians.
Learn more about Matilda Armstrong
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Wednesday, June 29 | 5 pm; 6 pm; 7 pm
Saturday, July 2 | 11 am; 12 pm; 1 pm
Sunday, July 3 | 12 pm; 1 pm; 3 pm
Originally from Ahmedabad, India, Paul Kamdar and Dhaivat Jani have been performing Hindustani Classical music for over 15 years with musical influences spanning genres like jazz, fusion, and electronic music. They will be performing Indian Classical bandishes, Thumris, and semi-classical compositions.
Learn more about Dhaivat Jani
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Thursday, June 30 | 6 pm; 7 pm
Friday, July 1 | 6 pm; 7 pm
Saturday, July 2 | 6 pm; 7 pm
A Toronto-based Ghanian-Canadian activist, actor, and trumpeter, Rudy Ray Kwaku graces all genres of music with a unique energy and sound. Approaching performances with love, peace, and self-expression, Kwaku received a Juno award in 2020 for best album with Tobi and appeared in Guillermo Del Toro's film, Nightmare Alley.
Saturday, July 2 | 10 am; 11 am
Sunday, July 3 | 10 am; 11 am
Award-winning arts educator, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and community worker Ruben “Beny” Esguerra arrived to Tkaronto from Bacatá (Bogotá, Colombia) as a political refugee with his parents, who were receiving threats for their human rights activism. Today, he is a two-time JUNO nominated multi-instrumentalist/producer, spoken-word poet, arts educator and community worker. in 2021, he was chosen as the laureate of the 2020 Ontario Arts Foundation Arts Educator Award and was nominated and chosen as a finalist for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Community Arts Award.
Learn more about Beny Esguerra
Follow Beny Esguerra on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
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