PRE-LAUNCH PARTY @THE HIDEOUT The Indie Week excitement continues as we announce six more artists performing at the Official Pre-Launch Party Line-up for Indie Week Canada 2019!
Indie Week showcases some of the best emerging artists and at the Official Media Launch Party you will get to hear a sample of artists from multiple genres and styles – it’s also a great party with attendees consisting of media, music VIP’s, artists and special guests.
Added to the line-up are 2018 Indie Week Alumni Excuses Excuses, Toronto’s candid & vulnerable artist Rachel Romu and Adrian Sutherlandthe Roots Rocker who has been lighting up the music world all the way from the coast of the James Bay! Also joining the growing list of performers are 2019 Inuit Youth Indspire Award Recipient Kelly Fraser, the Toronto based indie rock quartet Fonfur and Halifax hip-hop artist Blow Flyy.
THURS OCT 17
The Hideout (423 College St, Toronto)
Doors: 7PM
Adv. $12 / Door $15
7:00 Adrian Sutherland (of Midnight Shine)
7:30 Rachel Romu
8:00 Kelly Fraser
8:30 Mountain Head
9:00 Ghost Caravan
9:30 Blow_Flyy
10:00 Young Doctors in Love
10:30 Excuses Excuses
11:00 Fonfur
Rachel Romu – Candid & vulnerable, Rachel Romu’s ‘violent soul’ sound comes from the heart. After an Ehlers-Danlos diagnosis, Rachel took their music to the stage, aiming to create visibility for disabled people in the scene. Rachel has now played shows across Toronto, including the NXNE & Pride festivals in 2018
Adrian Sutherland comes from the isolated Cree community of Attawapiskat. He’s a singer/songwriter and frontman for roots-rock band Adrian Sutherland & Midnight Shine, making contemporary music that gives a glimpse of life in Canada’s North, while reflecting universal themes like family, home, love and loss.
Adrian is a knowledge and language keeper of his Mushkegowuk Cree people of the James Bay. He teaches traditional ways of the land, participates in harvests, leads ceremonies, and is a genuine example of someone who lives authentically. He is a father, grandfather, and hard-working husband, proud of who he is and where he comes from.
Adrian is a regular Huffpost.ca contributor and featured writer for Outdoor Canada Magazine. A hockey player, too, he was thrilled to play alongside other hockey-loving musicians and NHL greats at JUNO Cups in Ottawa (2017), Vancouver (2018) and London (2019). He launched a music program in Attawapiskat with support from MusiCounts, and was instrumental in bringing ArtsCan Circle to his community.
It’s obvious when you meet Adrian that he cares deeply about First Nations’ issues. He takes his responsibility as a role model seriously, and is passionate about ensuring young people have access to arts, education, sports, and culture. He was nominated for a 2016 Premier’s Award from Colleges Ontario for his commitment to the North.
Adrian is an advocate for many challenges facing Attawapiskat. While his home has been the subject of much negative media attention, he would like to change those perceptions: “There are good stories to be told from Attawapiskat and from all over the North. I hope to be one of them.”
Kelly Fraser – Originally from Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, Kelly has performed countless concerts across Canada (especially the Arctic), and she is extremely well-known in Nunavut and Nunavik. Her northern concerts attract large crowds, and on social media she has 250,000+ views on YouTube, as well as an impressive 9,500+ followers on various platforms, including SoundCloud.
Like many other Inuit, Kelly has been through many personal struggles, ranging from substance abuse, the loss of her father and others to suicide, to name only a few. Kelly uses her pain as inspiration to make art that can positively impact other native youths. She seeks to spread her messages of joy, healing, and cultural pride through a blend of traditional Inuit music and modern production.
Mountain Head begins with the Hannah Brothers, and a mountain. The mysterious duo wandered through the wasteland and arrived at a mountain, which they scaled. At the top, they discovered a shaman who changed the brothers’ lives and way of thinking forever. Descending the mountain, they channeled Johnny Cash, Flavor Flav, and Billy Gibbons. Dressed in black denim, & rocking solid gold grills.
Ghost Caravan is a group of collaborators lead by Shaina Silver-Baird, Juliana Iannuzziello, Michelle Faehrmann and Sarah Riegler. They have collaborated with members of the Weeknd, Grand Analog, and Martha and the Muffins. The music itself is orchestral soultronica. Ghost Caravan was one of the finalists at Indie Week 2018 and their live show mixes electronic elements with live instruments.
Blow_Flyy who Performs out of Toronto Canada, hailing from Halifax/Dartmouth Nova Scotia, is a new age artist with new thought process, he does it his way, for the Fans, that is without rhyming, {“Where is it written or Who said rhyming is a must in hiphop to be considered a quality entertaining rap artist”?} instead being a storyteller. Story telling in his song writing is his way of expressing.
Young Doctors in Love is a six-piece indie-pop-rock band from Toronto. They write quirky, ambitious, big-hearted, harmony-laden songs. The band released their 2nd album “…in Love” in March 2019 (“A charming and irresistible listen that’s perky and colorful in all the best ways”) and have been getting airplay across Canada and around the world.
Excuses Excuses – Overflowing with attitude, Excuses Excuses is an alternative/punk rock band from Ontario, Canada. Packed with raw passion, energy, and a hint of good ol’ Canadian grit; the trio, comprised of guitarist/vocalist Kyle Wilton, bassist Trevor Bowman and drummer Jason Nicoll, is driven to empower millennials to find strength in self-expression and individualism, and encourages people to live their lives to the fullest potential in our restrictive, modern society. Since their fruition 2016, the band has been developing their version of punk-infused alternative rock inspired by Canadian modern-punk bands, like PUP, The Flatliners, and The Dirty Nil, along with all your favourite stadium rock bands like Green Day, Billy Talent, My Chemical Romance, and Foo Fighters. Over the past two and a half years of being a band, Excuses Excuses has self released two EPs, rendering them multiple top ten spots on Earshot! charts throughout the country, landing them on CBC radio, and helping them grow their following and online presence immensely. After sharing the stage with a few influential Canadian acts, such as Bleeker, Scenic Route To Alaska, MONOWHALES, cleopatrick, Texas King, and We Were Sharks, and finishing their education; they decided to release their sophomore EP, Catch Me If You Can, on June 1, 2018 and hit the road to work on building rapport in the industry in addition to honing their skills as a live performing act. In the past year, the band toured extensively throughout Central Canada and Canada’s East Coast, playing over 75 shows in roughly 25 cities.
Fonfur is a Toronto-based quartet consisting of Pavel Soltys on guitar/vocals, Michael Schroeder on guitar/vocals , James Young on drums and Camille Comeau on bass. Formed in 2016, the group came together to blend soaring vocals and driven guitars with a mild pop mentality. Fonfur continues to develop their sound, and is gearing up for new music to be released in 2019.
