What to know
- Sounds Good Organization is a Toronto not-for-profit supporting emerging Canadian artists.
- Its monthly Sounds Good Live concerts are held at Poetry Jazz Café on Queen Street West.
- Performances are professionally recorded and shared online, while all audience tips go directly to the artists.
- The next show on Aug. 27 will feature JUNO-nominated R&B and soul artist Zenesoul.
Toronto has no shortage of musical talent, but getting that talent in front of the right audience can be a challenge.
That is where Sounds Good Organization comes in.
The Toronto-based not-for-profit is creating an intimate live-music platform for emerging Canadian artists, pairing small concerts with professionally recorded performance videos that can reach audiences even after the show ends.
Think of it as a Toronto-made take on NPR’s popular Tiny Desk concert series — one focused on helping the country’s next generation of R&B, soul and urban artists get discovered.
Amber Ashley is one of three directors and a co-founder of Sounds Good alongside her partners Daniel and Devante.
“The idea first came about when we spoke to a lot of the artists in the Canadian industry, and they expressed that there was a barrier to getting quality content and performance opportunities,” Ashley told Now Toronto.
“Sounds Good Live is both a program and an event to meet that. We wanted to create something that could live online and introduce people to new, amazing artists and talent in the city, while also helping artists fulfill their need for high-quality content.”
According to its website, Sounds Good Organization is building a national creative platform to advance artist discovery and give Canadian performers meaningful opportunities to move their careers forward.
Its main program, Sounds Good Live, brings musicians into an intimate venue where the focus is kept on the performance and the connection between the artist and audience.
The shows are held at Poetry Jazz Café at 1078 Queen St. W., a small live-music venue in Toronto’s west end. Capacity is intentionally limited, giving each performance the feel of a listening session rather than a traditional crowded concert.
Ashley said the venue holds between 65 and 70 people, depending on how the room is arranged, and Sounds Good Live has sold out every show.
The organization has been asked to move to a larger venue, but Ashley said the team values its relationship with Poetry Jazz Café and wants to continue supporting the Black-owned Toronto business.
“We would love to move, but we also love where we are,” she said.
The smaller room also gives artists an opportunity to interact directly with the people watching them.
At a recent performance featuring Nicole Jaskot and Osé, Sounds Good handed shakers and tambourines to audience members so they could participate in the show.
“You can see when the artist comes to the realization that the audience is participating in this. They’re here with me,” Ashley said. “They just light up, and the energy explodes. It’s such a special moment.”
“I think that opportunity to really intimately exchange energy with the audience makes a huge difference.”
The events are also professionally recorded. Full performances and individual songs are later uploaded to the organization’s YouTube channel, giving artists polished content they can share with potential fans, collaborators and others in the music industry.
While Sounds Good is not affiliated with NPR, Ashley openly describes the series as Toronto’s version of Tiny Desk.
“I definitely call Sounds Good Live Toronto’s Tiny Desk,” she said.
“We have artists who are both emerging and starting out in their career, but have performance experience and are confident performing without Auto-Tune, without any vocal manipulation, similar to Tiny Desk.”
Ashley said the stripped-back format allows audiences to learn more about the performers, hear some of their favourite songs and experience their music differently. The room also brings together music lovers and people working within the industry.
Putting emerging Canadian artists at the centre
Sounds Good says its events are built around the artist rather than simply placing them on a bill.
The organization handles production, promotion and audience development, allowing performers to focus on their music. It also works to create paid performance opportunities and operates a “Tip the Artist” system, with 100 per cent of the money collected going directly to the performers.
Ashley said artists do not need a minimum number of followers to be considered for the program. Performers apply through the programs section of the Sounds Good website, and the team selects artists who are serious about building their careers and continuing to develop their live-performance skills.
Beyond offering stage time, Sounds Good pays its performers and subsidizes professional photo and video shoots.
Artists receive and own all the photos from their shoot, along with clips from their live performance that they can use and share however they choose.
“That makes it really special in terms of the give back because it’s also a paid performance, and they’re getting all of this content that they can use for whatever purpose they want,” Ashley said.
Past Sounds Good Live artists listed on its website include Rachelle Show, Orit, Leila Dey, Jasmine Kiara, Divine Lightbody and Ryael.
Ashley pointed to Orit as an example of the platform’s potential impact. She said the artist used clips provided by Sounds Good on Instagram and TikTok, helping one of her songs go viral.
“It went from 10,000 monthly listeners to, I think, almost three million now, if I’m not mistaken, on Spotify,” Ashley said.
“Since then, she’s even booked her first headlining show with Live Nation. It’s been a crazy whirlwind, but it’s really beautiful to see how impactful the actual program has been.”
More recent shows have featured Rhyan Douglas and Elyssa Plaza. Videos shared on the organization’s Instagram account offer clips from the performances, artist introductions and behind-the-scenes moments, while directing viewers to longer sessions on YouTube.
That combination of an in-person show and online content is an important part of the platform. An artist may perform for a small room in Toronto, but the resulting videos can continue finding new listeners online and even worldwide.
The organization says its work is guided by collaboration, empowerment and amplification. Along with producing concerts, it gathers feedback through a “Barriers to Success” survey, which asks artists about the challenges they face while trying to build sustainable careers.
Sounds Good says those responses help shape its artist-development programs and ensure its initiatives reflect what musicians say they actually need.
Ashley said Toronto once had a reputation as the “Screwface Capital,” suggesting local audiences could be difficult to impress. However, Sounds Good’s events have shown her that there is significant interest in supporting and discovering local talent.
“What I’ve learned is that there is so much support and there’s so much interest,” she said. “You just have to build that space for people to come, really enjoy the music and ensure that the taste level always remains high.”
“We have so many amazing artists, and to platform them is really our goal.”
What is coming next?
Sounds Good Live is continuing its monthly showcase at Poetry Jazz Café.
Its next event is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27 and will feature JUNO-nominated Canadian-Nigerian R&B and soul artist Zenesoul. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
The show is being presented in partnership with the City of Toronto’s Music Office. Eventbrite listings show tickets starting at $27.23.
For music fans, the series offers a chance to discover Toronto and Canadian talent in a room designed for listening. For the performers, it offers something that can be much harder to find: a stage, an audience, and an organization invested in what happens after the show.
Looking ahead, Ashley hopes Sounds Good can grow into a national discovery platform that connects artists and audiences across the country.
“I can see Sounds Good being a hub for discovery in various provinces and various cities,” she said.
“Our goal is to really leverage the platform to export artists elsewhere. Whether it’s artists from Montreal coming to Toronto, Toronto going to Montreal, out west or anywhere, I would love to see us build an ecosystem and appreciation of Canadian music.”
