Celebrating 30 years of supporting women in music, Honey Jam is taking over Massey Hall for a special anniversary concert on July 30.
Since 1995, the Toronto-based non-profit has provided a multicultural, multi-genre artist development program for young emerging Canadian female artists. It accomplishes this through mentorship, workshops and educational programs, vocal and performance coaching, and different opportunities to network with other industry professionals, and perform for audiences.
Alumni of the program include Canadian heavy-hitters Nelly Furtado, Jully Black, LU KALA, Melanie Fiona, Savannah Ré, and Haviah Mighty.
On July 30, Honey Jam will be celebrating its 30th anniversary with a special concert titled INSPIRATIONS, showcasing 17 talented Canadian artists.
Ebonnie Rowe, Honey Jam Founder and Executive Director, told Now Toronto that people can expect fantastic performances from artists in 13 different genres, from dancehall and soca to gospel and hip-hop.
“Massey Hall is like a temple for music,” Rowe explained, adding that this is the first seated venue Honey Jam has occupied, and the largest event the organization has thrown so far.
Among the performers hitting the stage is Toronto-based artist V!llah, self-described as a tiny but mighty Filipino rapper who is here to break down barriers one performance at a time.
“Once you’re a part of the Honey Jam, you’re forever a part of the Honey Jam fam,” the 2022 Honey Jam alumni told Now Toronto.
She explained that to her, Honey Jam represents sisterhood in a male-dominated industry.
“It’s really nice to have that sisterhood with Honey Jam,” she explained. “It gives opportunities for girls and young women to bloom and find where they are.”
“Honey Jam is an amazing part of my journey that has helped me get into the Toronto music scene.”
With the theme of this year’s show being “inspirations,” the local rapper shared that the performers are all inspired by generations of female artists who came before them.
“That kind of helps us bring our character and identity as artists,” she explained.
V!llah shared that audiences can look forward to a show filled with women’s empowerment.
“You’re going to see the originality of the artists, but also the inspirations that helped them get to where they are today.”
FOUNDING HONEY JAM
Rowe, who was recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her work with Honey Jam, says creating the organization was a happy accident. In the 1990s, while working as a legal assistant and running the Each One Teach One mentorship program, Rowe was also editing an all-female issue of a magazine. After throwing a party to celebrate its publication, called Honey Jam, attendees began to ask her when the next event would be.
“There was nothing like that for young women, so I thought, ‘Let’s try this for a year and see how it goes,’ and here we are,” she explained.
Honey Jam then evolved into a series of showcases where artists could share their talent and work on stage, and connect with industry professionals. This predated the time when artists had online platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud to share their work.
“It was like a gift to the community,” Rowe shared.
She says artists would be approached by industry professionals after coming off stage, but without online platforms, it was difficult for the young and often impressionable artists to determine who would be ideal for them to work with.
“So, I thought we had to take them under our wing, we have to bring people from the industry together who have no negative motivation, who only want them to win.”
That led to the founding of the Women in Urban Music Seminar, hosted at the Harris Institute. This was the beginning of the programming offered by the charity today.
For over a decade, Rowe paid for this programming herself, running Honey Jam without the help of sponsors. But getting sponsorship allowed her to develop what she calls more sophisticated and expanded programming.
Technology has also allowed programming to change, with artists being able to market themselves online thanks to social media.
“We used to get Polaroids of artists,” she explained. “We’d get tapes FedExed in from artists outside of Toronto.”
But now, thanks to more technological tools available for independent artists, there are more opportunities for marketing and even self-production.
“Because everyone can be a producer now once you have a laptop and the software. Back then, not the case. So, you’d have to pay thousands of dollars to a producer to get a demo tape,” she explained. “So, that has made the biggest difference, I would say, is funding and technology.”
SUPPORTING WOMEN IN THE ARTS
The founder shared that supporting women in the arts is crucial because of the barriers female artists face.
“We are not yet on an equal playing field,” Rowe stated.
“When Honey Jam started 30 years ago someone asked, ‘What would success look like to you?’, and I said it would mean we would no longer need to exist because we had reached that point where it was society of being a meritocracy and you wouldn’t need to have any specialized programming [for women].”
While society has made great strides, equality has not been achieved, and Rowe emphasizes that the progress made can easily backslide.
“If you see what’s happening south of the border, progress can be repealed,” she said. “Women’s rights, civil rights, all kinds of rights are being repealed by the stroke of a pen just south of the border. It could happen anywhere, and so we always have to be vigilant.”
Honey Jam’s show INSPIRATIONS will take over Massey Hall on Wednesday, July 30. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and are available here.
