Toronto For KigaliUP Music Festival Fundraiser.....

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:04:56 -0400

Many, many wonderful things have been happening over the past few years and I feel blessed to have been able to share them with you. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about who I am as a person and where I came from.

One of the earliest memories that I have from my childhood involves my grandmother, a 4’ 11’’ southern lady who taught me much about self-respect and taking care of your village. We were on a crowded bus in Brooklyn on our way home after a full day downtown grocery (and department store) shopping. We had just found seats in the back when my grandmother nudged me and told me to get up and let an older woman sit down. As I got up, she told me to always be aware of those around me who might need assistance or my attention. I learned a lot from my grandmother, my grandfather as well as my parents, but the most important lesson I learned is that that in order to live ‘right’, you have to do ‘right’; this has been the goal in the journey of my life.

Last year, Artistic Director of the Calgary Folk Festival, Kerry Clarke shared with me a project that she and her friend, The Mighty Popo were creating in September: a music festival in Kigali, Rwanda. I was so excited that I immediately offered to help them to raise money and awareness so that this event could get off the ground and start the process of international and Rwandan musicians playing on stage together. Which brings me to this moment:

We are starting small: this year we are going to have a one day festival with workshops and music in the schools in the days prior to the festival. Next year, we will send three musical ambassadors to Kigali for a month to partner with 3 music teachers there and together they will visit 3 schools on a daily basis and do a full music in the school program, the culmination of which will be a performance at the 2012 KigaliUP Music Festival. We are funding this amazing venture through fundraisers concerts (Ottawa, Toronto & Vancouver) and online donations (www.indiegogo.com), as well as private and corporate sponsors and partnerships.

Sounds crazy, wonderful, outrageous and maybe even impossible doesn’t it? Well, if you don’t believe that this is possible, then maybe you haven’t been watching me for the past 5 years as I’ve gone from a completely unknown Toronto singer to someone who is getting ready to tour Europe for the TWELTH time in June! I am a true believer in the possibilities of impossibilities!!!

So, in the spirit of ‘It Takes A Village…’ please join me next Wednesday, June 15 at Revivalbar for a celebration called “Toronto for KigaliUP”. The Mighty Popo will perform and I will perform full concerts and we’ve got amazing friends performing as well: Shelley Hamilton and the Delightful Divas, Kobe- Aquaa-Harrison, Mutahdi and anyone else that I can drag up on stage!!

If you can’t make it, no worries-although you will be missing my only Toronto Concert scheduled this year-you can still donate to KigaliUP on http://www.indiegogo.com/KigaliUp-Festival. We need your help, your presence, your hearts-please be there!!

Much love, thanks and gratitude for always travelling along this journey with me,

Shakura

Media information / For immediate release
Please add to coming events listings

CANADIAN ARTISTS SET TORONTO
BENEFIT CONCERT TO HELP FUND
A MUSIC FESTIVAL IN RWANDA

Revival show with Shakura S’Aida & The Mighty Popo set for Wednesday June 15

Toronto blues singer Shakura S’Aida and Rwandan born world music artist The Mighty Popo will play a major benefit concert at Toronto’s Revival nightclub on June 15.

The concert is to raise funds to help create a festival in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda; both artists will represent Canada at the event, called KigaliUp, which will take place on September 10. Funds raised at the Toronto concert will also help start an annual music in the schools programme in Rwanda.

Who: SHAKURA S’AIDA and THE MIGHTY POPO and their bands, and special guests
What: An evening of joyful blues and African music
Why: To raise funds for the first KigaliUp music festival, being held in September in Primature Park in downtown Kigali, Rwanda
When: Wed. June 15. Doors 7.30 p.m. , show at 8.00 p.m.
Where: Revival, 783 College St. 416 535-7888
How much: $20.00 at the door.

BACK STORY IN POINT FORM:

• KigaliUp is the brainchild of Rwandan-born Juno Award-winning musician Jacques Murigande, best known as The Mighty Popo.
Forced to flee his homeland by tribal disputes and horrifying genocide, he was a child refugee in nearby Burundi for many years, before finally coming to Canada at 21 — the first country of which he was officially made a citizen.
The dream of creating a unique festival in his homeland grew out of his immigrant experience, performing at North American festivals and his frequent trips home to Rwanda.

• The team behind KigaliUp is comprised of Festival and arts industry veterans from across Canada, Europe and Rwanda, including Kerry Clarke, artistic director of the Calgary Folk Festival. Using the Canadian folk festival template, recognized world-wide as one of the finest examples of music event organization, KigaliUp will celebrate the diverse traditions of a vibrant country.

• A number of well-known Rwanda artists will take part, including Muyango, Ben Ngabo and Sophie Nzayisenga.

• Canadian performers at KigaliUp will include The Mighty Popo, blues singer Shakura S’Aida, and Kenyan-born rapper Shad.

• Shakura S’Aida is Canada’s international blues artist. Voted Female Singer of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards, she has performed so far this year in Australia, France. Germany, Luxembourg and the United States. She will return to France later this month, and then perform at six major festival or concert events in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Italy.

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For further information, please contact:

Richard Flohil 416 351-1323 rflohil@sympatico.ca

2010 Year End...Happy New Year!!!

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:17:00 -0500

I realize that it might seem odd to say “Happy New Year” in November, but since i celebrate my birthday at the end of of this month, I have always considered it the end of my year and the beginning of a new one. In honour of my name, Shakura S’Aida, (which means ‘Thank God’) and the wonderful aunt who gifted me with this name at birth, I always take time during this month to consider all that I have to be grateful for. 2010 has been wonderfully fulfilling in many ways and I have much and many to be thankful for.

Between touring with Ruf Record’s Blues Caravan and releasing “BROWN SUGAR”, I enjoyed some fun in the sun with Steve Simon’s St. John Blues Festival. After getting my ‘tan on’, I met up with the band in Norfolk, Virginia were we were welcomed into the Historical Attucks Theatre for our first official US performance.

Back in Toronto, our spring really sprung as my band and I had the honour and pleasure of opening for John Scofield at Toronto Jazz Festival, as well as headlining the Toronto Blues Society 25th Anniversary Party.

Our summer festivals were great fun and included the (Kenda the Polar Bear &) Jazz @ Sunset in Worcester, MA; the North Atlantic Blues Festival (& Lobster Capital) in Rockland, ME, 10 days of sunlight during the Dawson City Music Festival, Foxy’s in Whitehorse and the Calgary Folk Festival (pls note- there was darkness at night in Calgary, but since the band partied & jammed until 5 AM, I’m adding it to the all-day/all-night sunlight list!!), floating across Lake Ontario on the Rockin’ Blues Cruise and Sweet Southern Hospitality at the Heritage Music Festival in Wheeling, West Virginia.

I also had a great time on a ‘mini-tour’ with my European friends: Roberto Morbioli (IT), Jonny Dyke (GB), Denis Palatin (FR), and my musical director Roger Inniss (GB), this band and I gave new meaning to the phrase ‘International’ as we performed at the Sierre Blues Festival in Switzerland (we invited Danielle Schnebelen-whose voice i ADORE-up on stage to jam a tune with us, it was great fun and she sounded TERRIFIC!!), the Gevarenwinkel Blues & Jazz Festival in Belgium and the Pordenone Blues Festival in Italy...whew! I get tired (and very hungry) just thinking of that trip...

Donna and I would like to give special thanks to all of the musicians that we were honoured to work with this year; everyone was incredibly talented, hard working, and funny-we had a great time on the road with each of you:

Shamakah Ali
Lance Anderson
Rodney “Cal” Calzon
Matthew di Lima
Jonny Dyke
Roger Inniss
Bill King
Roberto Morbioli
Kenny Neal Jr.
Denis Palatin
Giampaolo Scatozza
Andrew Stewart
Steve Zsirai

Every now and again, while out & about on this musical journey, you come across people who change the way you think about music, absorb music and appreciate music-this year, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet/work/have dinner with or just plain watch some magical, amazing and truly unbelievably talent musicians...here’s a big “HEY Y’ALL” to all who blew my mind this year:

Deb Callahan

JT Lauritsen

Deanna Bogart

Dawn Tyler Watson

JT Lauritsen

E.G. Kight

The Ty Curtis Band

Roberto Morbioli

Shannon Maracle

Troy Adams

Dane Hartsell

Jadea Kelly

JP Soars

Dave Rotundo

Billy Gibson

Trampled under Foot

Honey Boy Edwards 
John Lee Hooker Jr

Janiva Magness

Karla Anderson

The Good Lovelies

Saidah Baba Talibah

Harrison Kennedy

Alejandra Ribera

Kellylee Evans

Nina Attal

Keb’ Mo’

Preston Shannon Band

Biscuit Miller

Coolooloosh

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Macy Gray

Chaka Khan

Allen Toussaint

Molly Johnson

Bettye Lavette

Mavis Staples

John Scofield

HIll Country Revue

Andrew Craig and all the Sistahs (& Brothers) of ‘The Project’

Stacey Bulmer

dj Logic

Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir

Mako Funosaki (Honorary Musician!!)

Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

Fred Penner

David Essig

Etran Finatawa

Roberta Flack

Guy Davis

Pinetop Perkins & Willie Big Eyes Smith

Jackie Richardson

 I would also like to thank all of the festival Prime Ministers that we met this year-i call them prime ministers because they all do more than ‘organize’ or ‘promote’ -throughout the year and during the festival these individuals are true politicians, with great staff/volunteers and the ability to make all challenges disappear- together they provide a fantastic experience not just for the audience, but for each and every
artists lucky enough to perform at their events:

Paul & Jean Benjamin and Jamie Isaacson
John Ramstine
Steve & Helen Simon
Patti Marshall
James Doran
Bruce Wheeler
Ross Robinson
Jen Edwards (& Frostbite Music Society)
Tracy Dill
Tim Jones
Everyone at the Gevarenwinkel Festival
Kerry Clarke
Silvio Caldelari
Andrea Mizzau
A Very Special Thank You to All the ‘Prime Ministers’ we worked with during the Blues Caravan 2010-you treated us like kings and queens AND you gave us great venues to perform in!! It was a great 1 1/2 months of great cities, great people, sweet music, much laughter and yummy food!!

I am also very, very, VERY thankful to Donna “Firecracker” Grantis-she has been having great success this year, both on her own and with other talented, hot performers and yet still has found time to work/write/eat/gossip with me-can’t wait to see what we come up with next year!!

There is a team of giants who carry me on their shoulders: Steve Hecht, Andy Loesche, Didier Tricard, Brian Slack, my Gatekeeper-and keeper of my sanity-Richard Flohil, my personal (and always there at inopportune moments) photographer, Karl Schmed and my ‘MOM’-ager, Gloria Schmed - to you I say not only ‘Thank you’ but also ‘I cherish you always’.....

Many thanks to all of the journalists who have given us kind/generous/honest reviews and kept us on our toes......an enormous “Thank you” to CBC Radio and their incredible staff for non-stop playing of not just of my music, but of so many Canadian Musicians-we fly high with the love you provide!

I’ve met more people this year than I ever thought possible and I don’t have enough words to thank all of you who have been supportive during this year. Your emails, facebook/myspace messages and kind words when we meet allow me to continue singing with confidence and love in my heart. You are much appreciated... Have a great ‘New Year’ whenever yours begins and remember to always carry a little bit of gratitude in your heart.....Much love, music and joy....Shakura S’Aida

INTIMATE BLUES @ HUGH’S ROOM & 3 MAPLE BLUES NOMINATIONS!!

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:08:33 -0500

Shakura S'Aida Performs "Intimate Blues" @ Hugh's Room Nov. 19, 2010

From the beginning until now, my blues have kept me company in many different ways. My blues are mournful, loud, personal, brutal, joyous, truthful and defiant- my blues may not always pretty but my blues will allow you to see and know me intimately. Join me on Friday November 19th, at Hugh’s Room as I revisit the beginning of my blues’d journey and celebrate where I stand today.

My fellow “Bluezers” will include my co-writing partner & musical director, Donna Grantis, 2010 Maple Blues Nominee Lance Anderson, the deepest bass player EVER Andrew Stewart and our very own piece of Memphis - the wickedest blues drummer EVER (& my personal good luck charm), Shamakah Ali......There will also be special surprise guests opening the show....old friends are coming out to play....!!!

TICKETS ARE MORE THAN 50% SOLD, so hurry and call for reservations today at 416 531-6604 or click here.

Can't wait to see you there....

Peace, Love and Much, Much Music,

Shakura

Toronto Blues Society announces 14th Annual Maple Blues Award Nominees

Nominees from across Canada have now been announced for the 14th Annual Maple Blues Awards! Toronto’s own Shakura S'Aida is nominated for Best Female Vocalist, Entertainer of the Year and Recording of the Year.

The Maple Blues Awards is Canada’s national blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field.

Voting opens on October 29th at noon (DST) and is open until December 12th through to midnight (EDT). (CANADIAN ONLY) Blues fans cast their votes online at www.mapleblues.ca.

The winners of the Fourteenth Annual Maple Blues Awards will be announced at the Annual Maple Blues Awards Gala in Toronto, on Monday, January 17, 2011. This very special evening is Canada’s national annual celebration of homegrown blues talent. It’s also a night of great music by the Maple Blues Band, comprised entirely of Maple Blues Awards winners and nominees.
This year's Gala will be held at Koerner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The Gala is the culmination of ‘Blues Summit Five’ a weekend long industry conference, with music showcases, for the entire blues community.
For more information on the Gala, including details on how to get tickets, see www.torontobluessociety.com
AND REMEMBER: : DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!!!

BLUES CARAVAN 2010

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:16:13 -0500

RUF RECORDS’ BLUES CARAVAN FEATURES SHAKURA S’AIDA, AUSTRIA’S MEENA AND GUITAR VIRTUOSO COCO MONTOYA

Read a review of the show...

http://www.english-network.de/blues-caravan-2010

CD RELEASE PARTY APRIL 14

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 12:33:12 -0500

EUROPEAN CD RELEASE COINCIDES WITH SHAKURA S’AIDA’S FIRST EUROPEAN
TOUR THIS YEAR: CANADIAN LAUNCH SET FOR APRIL 14

Toronto-based singer Shakura S’Aida has released her second album — titled Brown Sugar — to coincide with her first European tour in 2010. The CD is being released worldwide by the German company, Ruf Records.

The tour beings January 21 with four dates in Germany, followed by dates in Austria and Switzerland before returning to Germany (with a side trip to Luxembourg). The 19-date tour sees S’Aida, along with her songwriting colleague and guitarist Donna Grantis, on a triple bill with Austrian singer Meena and guitar phenomenon Coco Montoya, a veteran of bands fronted by Albert Collins and John Mayall.

The tour includes an appearance at Dietikon, the Swiss town where she grew up. “I was the only black kid for miles around – people used to touch me to see if I was real. Now they’ll have to pay to do that at my show,” she laughs.

A Toronto resident for more than 20 years, S’Aida was born in Brooklyn but raised in Switzerland; she’s been dubbed Canada’s international blues star, and played four European tours in 2009.

Brown Sugar, her second CD, was recorded in Tennessee and produced by Jim Gaines (Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker, Santana). Released in Europe to coincide with the tour, the CD will be released in Canada and the United States on April 13, with a celebration/concert set for Toronto’s Revival club the following day.

The new album includes 10 songs co-written with Donna Grantis — a dramatic departure from her 2006 debut album, Blueprint, on which Shakura wrote only 2 of the 11 tracks.

Two more tours in Europe have been set for S’Aida so far, and she will perform at the St. John Blues Festival in the U.S. Virgin Islands in March, as well as part of the Blues Discovery Series at the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, VA.

Closer to home, she’ll be part of a concert at Koerner Hall, Toronto on March 3 — named Sistahs, the event features performances from a number of other African Canadian singers, including Molly Johnson and Jackie Richardson. In the summer, she’ll also make her debut performance at the Calgary Folk Festival.