What to know
- Spotlight Sessions is a bi-weekly open mic and live-band showcase highlighting Toronto’s emerging singers, rappers, and musicians.
- The community-driven event has found a new home at Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park after relaunching for the new year.
- Organizers say the series aims to provide a safe, inclusive space for artists to build skills, confidence, and real-world connections.
- The return comes as Toronto continues to lose small live music venues, leaving fewer stages for independent and emerging artists.
A Toronto cultural hub has reopened its doors for the new year and is inviting local artists to take the stage.
Inclusive, safe, and energetic are the words Spotlight Sessions’ organizers use to describe the community event — a bi-weekly open mic and artist performance series now back on stage, this time in Regent Park.
Spotlight Sessions takes over Daniels Spectrum every other Thursday evening, kicking off with an open jam session backed by live house band Wide Witness. Singers and rappers are invited to hone their skills in an intimate yet relaxed setting. The night typically wraps with a headliner — an emerging artist making waves in the city, hand-selected by the organizers.
Luis Vasquez, founder of parent company Audio Station, says the idea for Spotlight Sessions grew out of a collaboration with local beatboxer and emcee Realije (Elijah Bartoszewski). Already running his own weekly event, Sunset Cyphers, which brings BIPOC artists together across the city, the two teamed up with a shared goal: to bring real music and authentic connection together.
“My whole vision and goal is to create real connections, empower youth, empower people through music, and really establish cathartic moments within this digital age of AI and everyone being so disconnected,” Vasquez told Now Toronto.
The first Spotlight Sessions launched in August, and event organizer and host Jessica Ramlakhan recalls only about 10 people in the room.
“We started off very, very small,” Ramlakhan said. “The last event that we did had almost 100 people coming in and out throughout the night, and I could see firsthand that this music community was almost like the antidote to the social isolation that’s often felt in Toronto.”
Ramlakhan, who also performs under the moniker Soulfluence, says the space has become a place to foster and nurture upcoming Canadian talent — and, as the name suggests, to shine a spotlight on buzzing Toronto artists.
“We provide an opportunity for emerging artists to perform with a live band, work on their freestyling abilities, build stage presence, and get over performance anxiety,” she said. “We try to make it a very safe space for artists to feel comfortable, feel like they belong, and build a support system so they’re not feeling alone.”
The event returned last Thursday following a brief holiday hiatus, with rapper Tash Simone headlining the night. It also marked a venue shift, moving to Daniels Spectrum from its original home at District 9 — which is now closed.
The loss of District 9 is one Vasquez says hits close to home.
“It really is kind of frustrating and disheartening as an artist,” he said, noting it’s the fourth venue he’s been involved with to close in recent years. “There’s fewer and fewer spaces where you can just go on a random night and experience that discovery of live music and entertainment.”
While he shouts out institutions like El Mocambo, Horseshoe Tavern, Cameron House, Rivoli Toronto, and Lee’s Palace as some of the last small music venues still standing, Vasquez cautions that the state of the arts will continue to spiral as venues become more profit-centred.
“With the rising cost of living, it is harder and harder for the younger generation, lower-income artists, and people to really go out and experience live shows,” he said. “This really reflects on the community, and the first people to suffer are definitely people in the arts.”
Still, Vasquez says finding a new home at the Regent Park–based arts hub signals a new era of growth for Spotlight Sessions.
“Daniels Spectrum is very community-oriented. It’s very much in line with the values that helped start the whole thing in the first place,” he said. “They’re very focused on keeping that heartbeat of the city alive.”
Spotlight Sessions returns next Thursday, Jan. 28. While the lineup has yet to be announced, Ramlakhan encourages artists and everyday Torontonians alike to stop by.
“We really want people to leave feeling inspired and empowered,” she said. “As an independent artist, there’s so much you need to do and it can feel very isolating. We want people to leave Spotlight Sessions thinking, ‘I can do this. I’m not alone. I’m surrounded by people who believe in me.’”
