The first thing I would like to say is a big thank you to the Toronto Blues Society for asking me to be a judge at the Toronto Blues Society talent search yesterday at the TD Jazz Festival. It happened at the OLG stage at 115 Cumberland Ave from 3-6pm.
There were six bands competing to be the next sensation in Toronto.
The first band up was a young lady named Isy Aboagye. This is a young band that had a special guitarist in their corner. Nichol Robertson was on stage inspiring this band to ramp up their game to be noticed in the busy Blues community. Isy is a great vocalist and with the help of Nichol, this band has a shot at glory.
Bonecat was up next. The came all the way from Ottawa to compete and show Toronto the Blues can reside anywhere in Canada. Their style of fun party songs will keep this band busy on the club circuit for a long time. I enjoyed this band because they looked like a well-oiled machine. They seem to have a synchronicity when they are together on stge. This is a true mark of a solid band.
Speaking of the blues all over Canada, The Bustle came all the way from Thunder Bay to rock our worlds. Yes, they did rock. Their stage presence was strong and playful. Their song choice was strong, and they really worked to engage the audience. When they come back to Toronto, this is a blues band you should make a real effort to see.
Grant Lyle and the Brotherhood came on next, but I felt they were a little overshadowed by the high energy performance of the Bustle. Grant Lyle was not deterred by this, because once he goes into one of his guitar solos, you get locked into his world.
The contest took a turn when JE Lopez took to the stage. He doesn’t look like your typical blues player, because of his Philippine background. Well, he opened with his smoking hot licks, and we had a veteran blues player bleeding on stage. I met him last year and the I truly noticed an improvement in his style and talent. This guy is not going away anytime soon.
The contest finished off with Rae Melvin and his broken foot. Don’t worry, I did not deduct anything from his performance just because he couldn’t jump around on stage. In fact, it was his harmonica playing that caught me. He possesses a fun style that has a theatrical edge to it. Very light and fun.
Well at the end of the contest all five judges put in their scores and the runner-up for this contest was JE Lopez.
This years winner was Isy Aboagye!
Toronto, this is your opportunity to read these names and take these artists and embrace them. They may be the next big thing that makes Toronto proud. And that is why I was proud to serve as judge to take in the next wave of the Toronto music scene.
A big Congratulations for every band that showed up, Blast Toronto would be happy to take the time out and introduce you to more blues fans out there.
Here is The Toronto Blues Society’s website so you can find your favourite blues shows near you! While you are at it, why not become a member so you can be close to your kind of music that you love dearly.
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