Name:

Kirk Diamond

Genre:

Reggae

Founded:

2013

# of Albums:

1 out( that won the Juno in 2024), 2nd coming out fall this year

Latest Album:

DREAD

Latest Single:

Deh Yah – 2026 Juno Award Nominated – Reggae Recording Of The Year

Latest Video:

Favourite musician growing up:

Beenie Man and the Fugees

Favourite musician now:

Freetown Collective, Chronixx, Bob Marley

Guilty pleasure song:

One Direction – Night Changes

Live show ritual:

Pray, and no one speaks to me 15 mins before showtime

Favourite local musician:

The Movement of Ahryel, Ras Yunchie, Ammoye, Joy Lapps, Larnell Lewis, Roshane Wright, Kairo McLean, and so much more on my list.

EP or LP?

I prefer an LP

Early bird or night owl?

I would say both.

Road or studio?

Definitely Studio

Any shows or albums coming up?

– Roots Rock Reggae concert on February 20th @ The Rose theatre
– Black History Month Concert Series on February 21st @ National Event Venue
– New Skool Rules, May 24th, De Doelen – Rotterdam, Netherlands
– Reggae On The Mountain, July 26th, @ Blue Mountain Village
– As well, I’m currently finishing an album to be released later this year. I have some legendary collabs on it already, so I’m really excited about it.

Where can we follow you?

Instagram | Facebook

***

Rapid Fire Local Questions:

What is your favourite local restaurant?

Ital Vital

What is your favourite street in your city and why?

Queen Street because I know the traffic is terrible up to that point, and most restaurants and the mall is off Queen.

What is your favourite park in your city and why?

The Kirk Diamond Park because it’s named in my honour, of course lol

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

The Rose Theatre

What is your favourite music store in your city?

Definitely Long and McQuade.

The post Five Minutes With: Reggae Musician Kirk Diamond appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Name:

The Recipee

Genre:

Soul, R&B, Gospel, Reggae, Hip Hop

Founded:

2012

# of Albums:

1 on the way!

Latest Single:

“Edges Laid (Tonight)”

 Latest Video:

Favourite musicians growing up:

The Clarke Sisters, Brandy, Jon P Kee, Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald

Favourite musician now:

Luke James, Tank, Chris Brown, PJ Morton, Tiana Major9

Guilty pleasure song:

Fine China – Chris Brown

Live show ritual:

Finding parking that won’t ding you 2 different rates before and after 6 pm

Favourite local musician:

Shi Wisdom

EP or LP?

Depends on the artist. LP for classics

Early bird or night owl?

All Night owls (the grind doesn’t stop!)

Road or studio?

Both!

Where can we follow you?

Website | Instagram | Facebook

***

Rapid Fire Local Questions:

What is your favourite local restaurant?

Lot 25 or Grumpys

What is your favourite street in your city and why?

King Street. That’s where our 7 years live music night began

What is your favourite park in your city and why?

Chinguacousey Park. Lots of family BBQs!

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

History or ACC

What is your favourite music store in your city?

Long and McQuade

The post Five Minutes With: Toronto Soul and R&B Band The Recipee appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Name:

Ammoye

Genre:

Reggae/Fusion

Founded:

2007

# of Albums:

3 Albums and 3 EPs

Latest Album:

Water

Latest Single:

“Count On Me” (Remix)

Latest Video:

Favourite musician growing up:

Bob Marley and Sade

Favourite musician now:

Bob Marley, Sade, Chet Baker, Amy Winehouse, Chris Bottie, Sy Smith, Lauryn Hill, Ravyn Lenae and Lucky Daye to name a few

Guilty pleasure song:

Tamia – “Leave It Smokin’”

Live show ritual:

Prayer in a circle with my band before we go on stage and wearing my Ankh, placing it on my lips while I set the intention to invite my HigherSelf, my Soul and Spirit Guides and the energy of love, light, peace and joy to be apart of the performance, the space and present time where we are in and will be performing.

Favourite local musicians:

Michael Buble, Zaki Ibrahim, Treson, Tama, Tony Antony and Kirk Diamond…. A lot more but too many to name here.

EP or LP?:

LP

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl!

Road or studio?

Road

Any shows or albums coming up?

My next album, which will be called “The Shift”. I’m actually in the process of getting ready to write for it, so look out for that dropping in late 2024 or early 2025! My next shows coming up are Mariposa Folk Festival – on July 7th, Bell Park – on July 8th, Northern Lights Festival – on July 9th, Mont Tremblant – on July 12th, Mosaic Festival Moncton – on September 22nd and Contact East (Newfoundland & Labrador) – September 21st – 24th. More dates to be announced.

Where can we follow you?

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | TikTok | Spotify | Linktree

***

Rapid Fire Toronto Qs

What is your favourite local restaurant in Toronto?

SottoSotto

What is your favourite street in Toronto and why?

My favourites would be Baldwin Street and Nassau Street in Kensington Market. I love those streets that connect into Kensington Market. That area is filled with the island street vibes and it reminds me of back home in Jamaica. I shop at a lot of the stores and markets in Kensington and I know a lot of the people there by name. It is just a close-knit family atmosphere. Music is always playing loud in the streets and It’s one of my favourite areas and places in the city. All the streets in Kensington are filled with good energy and vibes!

What is your favourite park in Toronto and why?

My favourite park in the city is Toronto Music Garden and Trinity Bellwoods. I love the park of the Toronto Music Garden because in the summer I always find it to be vibrant, filled with the musicians playing their music and people with their families or partners or just by themselves checking out the performances. I find it to be high vibrational energy in that park and it’s a place I spend a lot of quiet time meditating at because we also have the water there as well and the energy of the children and the doggies running around…gives me a lot of joy! Trinity Bellwoods is a great place to gather with friends and also to connect with the earth and fresh, open air and elements. Also a great place for observing and people-watching!

What is your favourite music venue in Toronto?

My favourite music venues are The Opera House, SuperMarket, Paradise Theatre, 3030, Lula Lounge, Revival and Phoenix to name a few.

What is your favourite music store in Toronto?

My favourite music store is Treasure Isle on Eglinton W. Shout out to Natty B!

The post Five Minutes With: Toronto Reggae/Fusion Musician Ammoye appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Jason Wilson is the protégé of Studio One keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and the cousin of UB40’s Michael Virtue. He has performed and recorded with UB40, Sly & Robbie, Ernest Ranglin, Pee Wee Ellis, Ron Sexsmith, Alanis Morissette, Amanda Marshall, The Mighty Sparrow, Percy Sledge, Brinsley Forde (Aswad), Dick Gaughan, reggae-folk duo Wilson & Swarbrick (with former Fairport Convention member, the late Dave Swarbrick) and Jason Wilson & Tabarruk.

Ashara (the band) features Jason Wilson on vocals, acoustic guitar and piano, joined by legendary guitarist Carl Harvey (Toots & The Maytals), saxophonist Marcus Ali, vocalist Laurel Tubman, drummer Vince Reel and Michael Shapinko on bass. The group also comes with a rotating cast of award-winning Scottish trad musicians including, fiddler Jack Smedley (Rura), Highland piper Ali Hutton (Old Blind Dogs), accordionist John Somerville (Treacherous Orchestra) and special guest, Scottish-based Jamaican songstress Subrina (Ibrina) Ward.

Name:

Ashara, featuring Jason Wilson.

Genre:

Folk, singer-songwriter, reggae.

Founded:

2021

# of Albums:

I have previously released nine albums. The upcoming album by Ashara will be my 10th!

Previously – all on Wilson’s Wheel Records – these include: 1994’s ‘Tabarruk’ by Tabarruk, plus ‘Dark Corners’ (1998), ‘Jonah’ (2000, Juno Award nominee) and ‘dREaD & BLUE: A Canadiana Suite’ (2004) by Jason Wilson & Tabarruk, and in 2008, ‘The Peacemaker’s Chauffeur’ by Jason Wilson (Juno Award nominee and Canadian Reggae Music Award winner), ‘The Lion Rampant’ in 2013 and ‘Kailyard Tales’ in 2018 by Wilson and Swarbrick, plus Wilson’s ‘Perennials’ in 2016 and ‘Sumach Roots’ in 2019.

Latest Album:

My most recent is a solo album titled ‘Sumach Roots’ (released in 2019).

Latest Single:

“My Love Sings Like a Lintie” (released on 6 January 2023, Wheel Records/Proper Music Distribution).

Latest Video:

Favourite musician growing up:

Bob Marley.

Favourite musician now:

Bach – Monk – Marley – Kate Bush (sorry I could only whittle it down to 4!).

Guilty pleasure song:

Firework (Katy Perry…shh!).

Live show ritual:

Stolen from David Bowie: fist pump every member and say “don’t eff up!”

Favourite local musician:

Adrian “Sheriff” Miller…still kicking it in his own inimitable way!

EP or LP?

All my favourite EPs just leave me wanting more…so LP, please.

Early bird or night owl?

Now an early bird…never thought that would happen.

Road or studio?

Whichever one I’m not doing at that time.

Any shows or albums coming up?

Our new, self-titled album is called ‘Ashara,’ and the official release date is 29 September 2023 (Wheel Records/Proper Music Distribution). Stay tuned for shows and tour dates this year, including a Toronto album release show in the fall!

Where can we follow you?

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud | Youtube

***

Rapid Fire Toronto Qs

What is your favourite local restaurant?

The Caledonian…but I would say that wouldn’t I?

What is your favourite street in your city and why?

Keele Street…where I grew up, mom is still there and the CBC AND BBC both did features on my song, you guessed it: Keele Street!

What is your favourite park in your city and why?

Earl Bales dog park: our big Bernese Mountain dog Cyclone loved that place!

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

Massey Hall…came oh so close to playing there before the refurbish with UB40, but alas, the dream remains on hold!

What is your favourite music store in your city?

Soundscapes was until it perished as so many have, but how could it not be Sonic Boom now?

The post “Five Minutes With” singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jason Wilson appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Walking into The Bob Marley One Love Experience guests are greeted by an array of graffiti installations in the likeness of Marley, mounted records and various artifacts straight out of Mr. Robert Nesta Marley’s personal stash. Classic albums like Burnin’ by the Wailers, Exodus and Rastaman Vibrations line the walls. For any fan of the reggae legend or music lover, this immersive experience will offer more insight into the personal life, passions and influences of Marley. Cedella was onsite for the opening day event at Lighthouse Immersive Toronto, as this was a collaboration between the Marley family and the Lighthouse Immersive team. They have created a harmonious, nostalgic ambience to imbue audiences with this unique multi-sensory immersive experience.

There are six rooms tailored to immerse audiences in the world of Marley. The first room is the Music Room, which offers insight into Marley’s discography and personal life. The One Love Forest is the second room in this experience. This room transports you to Jamaica. With floor-to-ceiling leaves and photographs of Marley, the audience will enjoy the temporary tranquility provided by the atmosphere. As you flow through each installation there are plenty of picture perfect areas to take a photo or to relish in the dynamic layout of these immersive spaces. The One Love Forest features a photo friendly spot with a rope swing and waterfall backdrop. With every turn, there is something more to discover.

Next, flow through the Silent Disco and Beautiful Life Zone while listening to Marley’s catalogue. Enjoy photos and projections of Marley and his life influences including Haile Selassie I, Former Emperor of Ethiopia. Images of Selassie I are attributed to Marley’s Rastafarian faith. The Street Art and Next Gen Zones showcase a multitude of graffiti art of Marley’s likeness, as well as interactive elements for audience to enjoy.

The details present in the One Love Experience are well executed; with tons of never-before-seen memorabilia, there is something for everyone to appreciate. The atmosphere is tranquil and melodic, two words synonymous with Marley. Lighthouse Immersive Toronto captures and illustrates a beautiful ode to the memory of Bob Marley. This is the perfect end of summer experience for those looking for fun in the city. The show has just been extended until the end of September, so get outside and enjoy Toronto’s waterfront and check out the show at One Yonge St. before it’s too late. With six showrooms to explore, remember to wear comfortable shoes.

The post The Bob Marley One Love Experience is Enchanting and Captivating appeared first on Toronto Guardian.