Remember when I told you I am on a mission to find all the cool spot to find live music in the city? Well, I uncovered a real gem recently when I went to a secret concert called Rooftop revue. It really is on a rooftop in the heart of the Junction. Every two weeks on a Thursday night from May to October they host a show that consists of two very talented acts. These are performers that have built a loyal following or maybe they are going solo from their bigger projects.

I had a short conversation with Stephen who organizes the show. He started this passion project back in 2020. Remember 2020? What a crazy time to start this concept. He told me he had to erect plastic boundaries and stick to the rules of Covid. Well, it can only grow from there.

And it did. I recently have been interested in going to one of his shows and they all seem to sell out. This just made me more determined to get through his door. The opportunity finally came, and I squeezed in a ticket that is very reasonably priced. He will then send you the secret email to let you into this small paradise.

The place holds about 35-40 people, and the stage just feels like you have gone away to the cottage with friends to see other friends perform. This is a true getaway in the heart of the Junction.

He even set up a merch table at the back for the artist to sell their wares.

Claire Voy

Claire Voy was a complete surprise to me. She is in a band from Guelph named SHEBAD and I saw this band about a year ago when they opened for jazz great Kamasi Washington.

Well, this night she was solo and performing songs from SHEBAD as well as her on music.

She stated out with a wonderful song about a river in Guelph. The title is “Waves”, and it flowed with a slightly dark and sultry vibe that was slow moving but peaceful.

She added plenty of personal moments with each song. Was “Brother” really about her brother or is it about a person so close to you that they feel like your brother.

“Woman”, was her moment of pulling out her Stevie Nicks vibes. Of course, you cannot go to a young concert and not hear a breakup song. Well, Claire did two in a row.

In fact, it seems her material really resonates when she speaks about her relationships in life. She passes on her experiences to the audience and this conscientious crowd pulled in everything she was handing out.

If you ever have a chance to see her live, be sure to pick up one of her, “She-Monicas”. They are very tiny harmonicas that actual work and sound great!

This is Claire Voy:

Emily Steinwall

Let’s start this off with; I am a fan of the band Steinwall. They are a fun and funky band that you can catch around town in your local bars and festivals.

Tonight thou, this is Emily’s night to showcase her solo material. I had no idea what to expect a little bit of sax and a guitar.

Well, she brought up her two besties from Steinwall. They are twin sisters, Daisy and Dorothy and they sing back up. The good news is their harmonies are perfectly pitched and made for each other. The other star of the show was Bjorn, the organ player who pumped through a beautiful set of music with this band.

This set began with a moment of meditation and opening yourself up to the universe. Being on a rooftop seemed to be a perfect place for this to happen. Let’s align ourselves with the stars.

The cool thing about these shows is that an artist can try some new ideas out and if it fails nobody really cares. So, Emily made her first attempt at live looping one of her songs. Not only was it a success, but her sax solo at the end really transcended the beauty of the outdoor moment as you entered a larger expanse of yourself as the music faded away.

Emily told a great story about flying to British Columbia just to have the experience of playing on stage with another artist. Not only did she write her first blues number on the plane ride over, but the one show turned in a run of 14 shows all over the province. This was truly a moment of going with the flow and truly experiencing a real adventure for just being open to possibilities.

The blues song had a traditional sound to it with a hint of country energy attached. It is called “Lovesick Blues”. She should do a duet with KD Lang on this one.

Things got a little dark with, “We are all the same”. It comes from a perspective of only forgiving someone after they die. In my world that just leaves Karma hanging around to somehow complete the circle on its own. You could really hear the entire message with the sax solo at the end of the song. It was like riding a noble wave of gentle sounds filled with learned lessons from a youth artlessly searching for wisdom.

Speaking of Karma, Emily shared her woeful tale of having put in a year’s worth of work toward her new album, only to lose it in the process. She continues to rework the songs again, hoping to improve on the original themes. Her brand-new song, “The Fall” is a shining example of determination of coming through a dark period with a sense of grace. Even though it was a simple acoustic song, I could hear this song flourish with some added orchestration to it. I found out later that evening that is exactly what she did. We have similar ears. Well, here is the link to this wonderful song- The Fall • Emily Steinwall

This is Emily Steinwall:

Toronto there is great music everywhere, it is your journey to go out and discover your music. Blast Toronto wants to give you that experience. Continue to follow our website because plenty of things that are constantly evolving, and you will simply be the recipient of our dedicated work.

Here are some Instagram accounts that you should explore today.

www.instagram.com/rooftoprevue/

www.instagram.com/shebadmusic/

www.instagram.com/emilysteinwall/

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