By Neil Armstrong
Photo contributed Multiple award-winning reggae recording artist, Steele
When veteran multiple award-winning reggae recording artist, Steele, steps onstage at the first-ever drive-in showcase at Afrofest, the largest free African music festival in North America, he plans to deliver “110% of uncorrupted Steele, good vibrations and interaction” at his first performance at the annual event.
He is hoping that people can get out of their cars and party with him. “110% of reggae material because our thing is always family friendly,” he quips about what to expect at this new feature of the festival.
Billed as AFROFEST 2021, the 33rd annual festival will take place from July 16 to July 25 in two installments – a ticketed, live drive-in performance showcase at Guildwood GO Station in Scarborough on July 17 and 18, and a free of charge virtual event from July 16 to 25. It is organized and presented by Music Africa Canada Inc. in collaboration with the Beaches Jazz Festival.
“I’ve always felt like if my work speaks then the calls will come, if not now they will come eventually,” says Steele, who is Jamaican, about his debut performance at the 33-year-old festival.
He continues to focus on promoting his work and putting out good music and notes that when the calls come they signal that people recognize his work.
“This call came and I’m blessed because Afrofest is close to us because we are Jamaicans but we’re also descendants from Africa. This is one of those festivals that I’m actually proud to do.”
Steele says in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, he is glad that he and other artists will get to do a live performance outside in a drive-in setting.
He says the vibrations will be a little different from all the virtual shows that he has been doing in studios and he welcomes the change.
“It is new to me but it’s still outside performing so as long as people show up it’s going to be a different vibe. I try to put in the energy no matter what situation I’m faced with, but I think the good vibes with the sun and the atmosphere and the food, just a different energy will give us some semblance of normality.”
Steele says the pandemic has changed everything and before its onset he would have probably been getting ready to do an outside festival in Toronto or another Canadian city.
He recently performed on the International Reggae Day on July 1, and last year did 10 to 15 virtual shows. His performances were recorded and sent out to the various shows, including A Tribute to the Legends of Reggae, a Jones & Jones Productions event in February this year.
“The format has changed but I try to bring the same energy to it. I’ve always felt that it doesn’t matter if there is one person in the audience; you’re there to perform because you don’t know who this one person is, and you don’t know how much this one person can elevate your movement and your career. It has been different in the sense that you’re not hearing the people shouting or screaming your name, enjoying themselves and the dancing, but the shows are still coming in. The demand is still there for Steele the artist. The compensation is a little bit different,” he says.
The artist, who will be featured at the upcoming Rastafest and the Calgary Reggae Festival, says he has to be consistent and “through all the ups and downs, good music and good people will always stay above because when you’re real.”
It is that good music that he will bring to the lineup of Afofest’s signature cross continental intersection of dynamic African and diasporic talent and musical style.
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| Photo contributed Imah of Senegal |
The other performers at the drive-in showcase are Imah (Senegal), Donne Roberts (Madagascar), Slim Flex (Ghana), and DJ Shaqt (Rwanda).
Tickets for the special two-night showcase, AFROFEST 2021 Drive-in edition, are $25.
“AFROFEST 2021 offers the maximum exposure to African culture. This year, we will include a first-ever highly anticipated drive-in segment with great music, food and other exciting elements as well as our regular virtual festival with over 25 artists from 20 different African and diaspora countries. Other inaugural elements of AFROFEST 2021 are talks which will offer an insight into the interdependencies between India and East Africa and the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in that region,” says Peter Toh, executive and artistic director of Afrofest.
Toh says there will also be Community Shield awards presented to individuals who are making a difference in the African and Diaspora communities.
“We look forward to meeting our audiences at the drive-in and online events, and to having our entire artist lineup deliver their best show and compete for the $1,000 cash prize.”
This contact-free experience will be enhanced by the cultural backdrop of merchandise and food vendors, providing fashion, crafts and other shopping, as well as a variety of delectable onsite cuisines representing tasty menu offerings from across Africa and the Caribbean.
Online, audiences can enjoy the likes of Asiko Afrobeat Ensemble (Nigeria), Tich Maredza (Zimbabwe), Hassan El Hadi(Morocco), Zambe (Togo), Afrogospel Band (Congo), Kaisha Lee (Jamaica), Kaabi Kouyate (Guinea), Beenie Gunter(Uganda), Sweet Maria (Angola), and the list is still growing.
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| Photo contributed Donne Roberts of Madagascar |
Afrofest is a top cultural draw on the Toronto events calendar. Usually a two-day event, it has attracted crowds of up to 125,000 in a single year, and grown from previous maximum capacity at Queen’s Park to Woodbine Park.
As a marquee celebration of African culture, the Music Africa team has risen to current unprecedented times by programming a multidimensional, immersive festival experience to ensure that audiences can enjoy maximum AFROFEST 2021 exposure.
This year’s event promises to be informative, engaging and entertaining. With various artists expressing their work through multiple mediums and platforms, AFROFEST 2021 is a definite “must do” and “must see” for summer, notes a media release.
The festival’s parent company, Music Africa, is a not-for-profit community-based organization that promotes African music in Toronto through Afrofest, its annual flagship music event.
Established in 1990, Music Africa is among the oldest and most respected organizations promoting African music in Canada. Through its activities and events, such as the annual Black History Month Concert Series, Music Africa is committed to enhancing appreciation and awareness of African music among Canadians and continues to strive to establish Toronto as a thriving global centre for African music.
The Beaches Jazz Festival began in 1989 when local jazz artists were booked to perform at the Kew Gardens Bandshell in the beach area of Toronto. Now celebrating its 32nd anniversary, the festival has blossomed into a month-long mid-summer event that attracts thousands of fans and makes a major contribution to promoting Canadian jazz excellence locally and on the world stage.
Check afrofest.ca for more information about AFROFEST 2021.
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