DWAYNE GAMREE
1.00
My name is Dwayne Gamree, and I’m a Rock, Folk and Pop singer-songwriter and recording artist who recently migrated from Mumbai to Toronto, February 2025.
I have spent the last 16 years immersed in the music industry, working across advertising, OTT platforms, recording for Bollywood and Disney films, touring with my band Bombay Buzzar, and performing solo live for corporate and private events.
My independent work has been recognized—I was awarded Rising Male Artist at the Indian Independent Music Awards (2022) for my single "Sprinkle That" and won the 94.3 Radio One International Icon (India) in December 2024, followed by the release of an acoustic album, "Based"
MELON JIMENEZ, LARA WONG AND GEORGE CROTTY
5.30
NOMADIC FLAMENCO JAZZ
Award-winning flutist and bansuri player, Lara Wong and flamenco guitarist, Melón Jiménez, make flamenco their universal musical language to traverse musical territories. Their music ebbs and flows with elegance and emotive power, as they fuse the soul of flamenco with the inventive spirit of jazz and the rhythmic improvisations of Indian music.
Joining them is boundary-breaking cellist George Crotty, whose genre-bending voice was shaped in New York’s vibrant jazz and world music scenes. In a constant dialogue between cultures, these three extraordinary artists brings tradition and modernity together through dynamic compositions and vivid improvisation. Dazzling flamenco guitar passages, mystical bansuri melodies and exploratory cello improvisations, come together in this unforgettable performance.
Melón Jiménez, born into a Gitano flamenco (Spanish Roma) lineage and shaped by a cross-cultural musical upbringing, has redefined the flamenco guitar through collaborations with icons like Anoushka Shankar, Enrique Morente, and Jorge Pardo. Lara Wong, a Canadian flutist and bansuri player, originally from Vancouver, made history as the first woman and first foreigner to win the Filón Minero for Best Flamenco Instrumentalist at Spain’s Festival Cante de las Minas.
Since coming together in Madrid in 2021, Lara and Melón have performed over 100 concerts across four continents, captivating audiences across Europe, North America, Asia and, Africa. They have graced world-renowned stages including the National Arts Centre, Blue Note Shanghai, Suma Flamenca, Vancouver Folk Festival, and SunFest. In October 2024, they released their debut album, which received critical acclaim and was nominated for a JUNO Award for Instrumental Album of the Year—one of Canada's highest music honors.
DIYET & THE LOVE SOLDIERS
8.00
Diyet & The Love Soldiers is alternative country, folk, roots and traditional with catchy melodies and stories deeply rooted in Diyet's Indigenous world view and northern life.
Born in a tent, raised in a cabin on the shores of a glacial lake in the Kluane region of Canada's Yukon Territory, Diyet embodies her Southern Tutchone, Japanese, Tlingit and Scottish roots with a musical presence that is equally diverse and unique. Diyet sings in both English and her traditional language, Southern Tutchone, and plays bass. Backed by Love Soldiers, husband and collaborator, Robert van Lieshout (acoustic guitar, drums & percussion) and Juno Award winning producer, Bob Hamilton (electric guitar, pedal steel & mandolin), this multi-instrumental trio has a sound that can fill a big stage or capture an intimate room.
15$ cover after 10pm, with all proceeds going directly to the musicians performing.
YASSER TEJEDA
11.30
Yasser Tejeda, the award-winning Dominican composer, guitarist, vocalist, and producer, passionately advocates for new generations to explore, promote, and enrich their cultural heritage. With a diverse musical portfolio, Yasser has established himself as a prominent figure in the conversation about Afro-Dominican roots music and its fusion with jazz, rock, and Caribbean rhythms. Mezclansa, his first album, was dubbed one of the 100 essential recordings of Dominican music by the Dominican National Association of Art Writers (Acroarte). His second album, Kijombo, received six awards from the Dominican Republic's Premios Indie, including Best Album, and his latest album, La Madrugá, earned him a nomination for Best Alternative Artist at the 2024 Premios Soberano in the Dominican Republic.
Yasser's music has captivated audiences globally. Most recently, he appeared as a guest artist at the 2024 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., honoring the great Arturo Sandoval. Tejeda has performed at esteemed festivals such as Isle of Light (Dominican Republic), Latinxt (Chicago, IL), and the Afro-Latino Fest (Washington, DC). He has also sold-out prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall (Manhattan, New York), Frëims (Mexico City, MX), and the Apollo Music Café (Harlem, New York). Furthermore, his music has been featured in the curriculum of renowned institutions like UCLA, Fordham University, Rutgers University, and Princeton University. As Juan Luis Guerra, the most influential Dominican artist in the world, put it, he’s a “...marvelous example of what’s happening with Dominican music.”
EMPANADAS ILEGALES
2.30
Vancouver-based psychedelic cumbia and salsa ensemble Empanadas Illegales delivers contagious cumbia rhythms, hypnotic guitar melodies, and experimental salsa trumpet lines to create a Latin surf-rock/free-jazz fusion. Their latest full length album, Creepy Mambo, pays homage to cumbia cult classics infusing a vintage vibe with contemporary synth, slinky dub grooves, and feverish percussion departures.
At electrifying performances at Vancouver International Jazz Fest, Calgary Folk Fest, Tofino Jazz Fest, Kensington Market Jazz, Lula Lounge and Global Toronto (Small World Toronto),Empanadas Ilegales has performed alongside such acclaimed acts as Helado Negro, LALOM,Sonido Gallo Negro, and Meridian Brothers. With members representing diverse Latin backgrounds, the band cultivates an immersive experience that takes any audience on an unforgettable journey. With their infectious beats and unique sound, Empanadas Ilegales are a must-have addition to any lineup, offering an unparalleled energy and vibrancy that keeps crowds moving and grooving all night long