Organizers of the third annual Speak Music Be Kind Festival are thrilled to announce another impressive lineup for their free, virtual show on Saturday.

The 2022 edition will be presented as a series of pre-recorded video performances via the festival website. Donations this year go to the Anishnawbe Health Foundation. For more information on the festival and for updates, please visit www.speakmusicbekindfest.com | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SPEAKMusicBeKindFest

The show continues the gender-balanced, diversity-supporting approach of the inaugural and second editions of the festival. Among the performers are award-winner Beny Esguerra and New Tradition, who incorporate hip-hop elements with Afro-Indigenous Colombian música-de-gaita, champeta and modern cumbia; Nigerian-born Kunle, whose folk and soul music bridges contemporary styles with roots in West African rhythms and stories; Toronto-based Ian Lake, who is a gifted musician and performer with a voice that ranges from baritone to high falsetto and who’ll be releasing his debut album this spring; Montreal-based Sophie Lukacs, a singer, composer and kora player, who’s collaborated with some of the best-known Malian musicians, including Habib Koité.

Also featured are Ottawa-based Moonfruits, bilingual makers of contemporary folk that mixes French and English lyrics; Grainne Ryan (whose first name is pronounced GRAWN-ya), a Canadian singer-songwriter who the press says sounds like Lucinda Williams, Joni Mitchell or even a slightly rebellious Mary Chapin Carpenter; Tannis Slimmon, whose exceptional voice “full of gentle grace and unobtrusive dignity” (Penguin Eggs) can be heard on more than 100 albums, including those by Willie P. Bennett, David Francey and Rheostatics; major label veteran, Toronto music scene staple, musical chameleon, and double-Juno-nominee Julian Taylor, whose versatility as a songwriter is his calling card; and Caroline Wiles, who sounds as if she’s exploding out of ’70s AM radio, given the perfect combination of her husky, Ann Murray/Karen Carpenter voice and the poetic lyricism of her hero, Gordon Lightfoot.”

There’s something for everyone to enjoy at the virtual Speak Music Be Kind Festival.

Full artist lineup:

Beny Esguerra https://www.newtraditionmusic.com/
Kunle https://www.kunlemusic.com
Ian Lake https://www.ianlake.com/
Sophie Lukacs https://www.sophielukacs.com/
Moonfruits https://moonfruits.ca/
Grainne Ryan https://grainnemusic.weebly.com/  
Tannis Slimmon https://tannis.ca
Julian Taylor https://juliantaylormusic.ca/
Caroline Wiles http://carolinewiles.com/

Running order: 
Grainne Ryan
Kunle
Caroline Wiles
Beny Esguerra
Sophie Lukacs
Ian Lake
Moonfruits
Tannis Slimmon
Julian Taylor

See the show online at www.speakmusicbekindfest.com, YouTube, and Facebook
Saturday, Feb. 12 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Free admission. Donations will be collected for the Anishnawbe Health Foundation

If you are enjoying this content, please take a second to support Roots Music Canada on Patreon!