Produced by the 50/50 Performing Arts Collective those behind the Tkaronto Music Festival decided to help keep the spirit of music alive, even though live music events continue to get put on hold through the debut of incredible Indigenous talent online over this past weekend.
“Tkaronto Music Festival aims to put the spotlight on Indigenous entertainment and keep it there year after year. By showcasing upcoming and established Indigenous artists we hope to introduce people from around the world to the spectacle, talent, and artistry of the world’s first people,” reads the TMF website.
From Friday, May 15 to Sunday May 17, the festival offered a schedule full of indigenous talent, including DJ NDN, Cody Coyote, Santee Smith, Lacey Hill, Murray Porter, Isaac Murdoch, and more.
Originally planned as an outdoor music festival, the event was moved online and will be streaming on Facebook Live, Youtube Live, and TKMF.ca. With the goal of not only giving virtual attendees an escape from the everyday but to give artists paid performing opportunities, Tkaronto Music Festival: Online aimed to be the virtual destination for May long-weekend entertainment.
“Incredible! With your help, Tkaronto Music Festival reached over 94,000 people this weekend! Thank you to our partners and sponsors for helping us put on an unforgettable show, thank you to our artists for bringing their remarkable talent and showmanship to our event, and thank you most of all to our audience! You’re the ones we aim to entertain and without your viewership, we couldn’t have made this dream a reality! Keep your eyes and ears tuned to Tkaronto Music Festival and our Instagram @tkaronto_music_fest to see what we have in store for later this year!” Reads the Tkaronto Facebook Page.
“Artists for Artists”. That’s the motto behind the upcoming Tkaronto Music Festival: Online, organized by 50/50 Performing Arts Collective.
The 50/50 Performing Arts Collective is a new collective who enjoy music and have grown up in the music scene and bring a combined 40+year of working in the festival circuit, both in organization and implementation. The collective was formed to produce Indigenous arts events and grow audiences for Indigenous performing artists, showcasing top Indigenous artists to audiences. Our vision is for “all Canadians to support Indigenous musicians equally as they do settler musicians” and more work is expected in the future.
The 50/50 Performing Arts Collective is comprised of Cynthia Lickers-Sage, Candace Scott-Moore, Ian Maracle, Adam Moffatt with the Festival Mentor as Alan Greyeyes, Technical Lead as Lindsay Sarazin, Graphic Design by Octopus Red, Promotional Video by Marshall Leigh George and Live Streaming Graphics by Mathieu Taillefer
