Back in early January, the city of Toronto announced a new livestream concert series called City Hall Live Spotlight. The idea was to film local artists playing around town at empty music venues, but when the city went into lockdown even virtual shows were forced to cancel.
Now that Toronto has moved into the grey zone of COVID restrictions, empty-venue concerts are back – and so is City Hall Live Spotlight.
The free Toronto livestream concert series kicks off this Thursday (March 18), at 7:30 pm with a performance by Lido Pimienta from the Phoenix Concert Theatre. The Toronto-based artist caught a lot of attention (including support from lots of BTS fans on Twitter) for a gorgeous performance this past weekend at the Grammys, and it should prime you for a full set.
To make up for lost time, Spotlight will now have back-to-back performances every Thursday night after that.
Here’s the schedule so far:
Thursday, March 18, 2021:
7:30 pm – Lido Pimienta @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Thursday, March 25, 2021:
7:30 pm – Little Magic Sam @ the Dakota Tavern
8 pm – Shakura S’Aida @ the Linsmore Tavern
Thursday, April 1, 2021:
7:30 pm – Myles Castello @ Coalition Music
8 pm – Shan Vincent de Paul @ Drake Underground
Thursday, April 8, 2021:
7:30 pm – Azalyne @ Poetry Jazz Cafe
8 pm – Joanna Majoko @ Hirut Cafe
Thursday, April 15, 2021:
7:30 pm – Aysanabee @ Rockpile West
8 pm – Tallies @ Adelaide Hall
The concerts will be free and will stream live on Facebook and on the Toronto-based livestream app Happin. Viewers can choose to make donations to Unison Benevolent Fund, which supports music industry workers in crisis.
Musicians and venues will all be compensated for the performances.
You can RSVP and reserve free tickets on City Hall Live’s Facebook.
