RENAISSANCE MUSIC 3.0
Hamilton’s Renaissance Music festival is now in version 3.0 and still intent on helping Hamilton develop new tastes for indie funk, soul, hip hop and rap.
“Hamilton tends to be indie rock dominated,” says local songwriter and festival organizer, Kojo Easy Damptey, who describes his style as mainly Afro-soul. While there’s a vibrant indie rock scene, Damptey says, there isn’t an equivalent space for musicians who identify as people of colour and who work in styles like soul or funk to share their art.
These emerging artists — many of whom are part of the African diaspora — are under-represented at the big-ticket festivals like Festival of Friends, It’s Your Festival or even Supercrawl, he says.
Rather than continuing to feel left out, the organizers of Renaissance Music, which borrows its name from the Harlem Renaissance of the interwar period, decided it made more sense to create their own platforms to show their work, Damptey says. These new artists shouldn’t feel they have no option but to go to Toronto or beyond to find audiences, he says.
Renaissance Music 3.0, which runs August 11, 13 and 14, also wants to capture the experience of the African diaspora in music. “It’s that kind of art experience we want to share,” says Damptey who, along with fellow artists in Hamilton, has recently launched the Coalition of Black and Racialized Artists (COBRA) to address the need for racial diversity in Hamilton’s arts scene.
Renaissance Music 3.0 will also shine the spotlight on the music producers and emcees working in Hamilton. The festival’s Thursday night special event will feature producers making beats live as rappers improvise overtop. The festival, which operates on a shoestring budget, remains primarily local in focus, but this year’s guests include some artists from outside the city, such as Montreal-based soul singer-songwriter Hanorah and U.S.based hip hop artist SkyBlew.
Tickets are $12 at the door. Visit facebook.com/RenaissanceMusic2.0 for details.
Thursday, Aug. 11, 7 to 11 p.m., 55 Elgin St.: Local DJ and music producer Brett Klassen headlines the It’s a Live Mix Tape producers’ showcase with Guelph rock-popsoul-psychedelic group Other Moons.
Saturday, Aug. 13, Baltimore House, doors open at 8 p.m., 43 King William St.: Soul music showcase featuring Nasr Beny, New Era Neisha, Jack Moves, Voices of the Savannah, Hanorah, Soul Finger.
Sunday, Aug. 14, Baltimore House, doors open at 7 p.m., 43 King William St.: Hip-hop showcase featuring Spokken Musiq, Redd, Gene One, SkyBlew, Canadian Winter.