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TD Sunfest unveils four-night virtual lineup – with small watch parties

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Think of it as a warm-up.

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That’s the message from Alfredo Caxaj, TD Sunfest founder and co-artistic director, as London’s acclaimed world music festival announced the lineup of 30 musical acts, including 16 international performers, for its four-day virtual festival July 8-11.

“This will be warm-up for what’s going to happen next year,” said Caxaj, promising a return to a live festival in 2022. “Many of these groups will be coming here next summer and it will be an amazing festival. Unfortunately, we can’t be together again this year, but there will be music for everyone (online) each night.”

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There will be 14 Canadian acts, including Lazo, one of Canada’s leading reggae stars, who has appeared at almost every Sunfest, and the wacky Five Alarm Funk crew, the two-time Juno nominee whose nuclear stage energy is exhausting just to watch.

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Among the other Canadian acts are several Juno nominees, including Ammoye, Tanika Charles, Genticorum, Anwar Khurshid, Rachel Therrien and Vishtèn, a Grammy nominee in Malika Tirolien, along with B.C.’s Piqsiq, Quebec’s The Liquor Store, Fairouz Oudjida and Waahli, and London’s own The Light of East Ensemble.

The international acts include Anacaona (Cuba), Latin Grammy winners C4 Trio (Venezuela), Latin Grammy nominees Chano Domínguez and Taller de Músics Ensemble (Spain) and Araceli Poma (Peru), The Garifuna Collective (Belize), Pascuala Ilabaca and Fauna (Chile), Minyo Crusaders (Japan), Neuza (Cabo Verde/U.S.), NST and The Soul Sauce Meets Kim Yulhee (South Korea), Notify (Ireland), Xosé Lois Romero e Aliboria (Spain), Harouna Samake (Mali), Siguarajazz (Colombia), Trad. Attack! (Estonia), Alune Wade (Senegal/France) and Warsaw Village Band (Poland).

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“This is really an incredible lineup we’d love to see perform in Victoria Park, but we’ll see many of them next year,” Caxaj said.

Details about the virtual festival are still being worked out, including the schedules and locations for watch parties. Caxaj said each artist will perform about 20 minutes with seven or eight performing each night.

Visit the website sunfest.on.ca for more information about the artists and the festival.

Caxaj said the quality of the recorded performances is “excellent,” noting musicians have begun to settle into performing virtually.

Caxaj said musicians around the world continue to suffer financially due to the pandemic, making a virtual TD Sunfest even more important in 2021.

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“The most important thing for us is the ability to engage so many global artists who otherwise would not have the opportunity to share their music during a pandemic, so we need to support them, but also bring their music to our community,” he said.

“Each performer is truly an extraordinary artist — from international icons like Poland’s Warsaw Village Band and Spain’s Chano Domínguez to electrifying newcomers like South Korean reggae band NST and The Soul Sauce Meets Kim Yulhee, who are creating buzz wherever they go, and 2021 Juno nominee Ammoye, who has been called Canadian reggae’s ‘next big thing.’ ”

Caxaj said he’s excited about pulling together the watch parties so Sunfest supporters can gather in small crowds and enjoy the music together, as they do when tens of thousands of people gather at Victoria Park.

“It’s going to be a truly culturally diverse show with the artists from across Canada and every corner of the world,” Caxaj said.

“We hope the virtual show will be complemented with these watch parties. People need to be together, but safely.”

jbelanger@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/JoeBatLFPress

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