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Last year, I received Media Accreditation to cover Canadian Music Week 2016. I went to the shows filled with so many people, took in the scenes, the bands performing and the singers singing, it was amazing. It made me realize that I truly was doing something with my blog, If I was able to cover a major festival in Toronto. And last year, I decided to write a review about female UK singer, “Låpsley” and this year, I was blessed again with a Media pass for Canadian Music Week 2017.

And yet again this year, I decided to write a review about a female singer, but this time, this singer is from Toronto and her name is Liza. She’s a 22 year old, Ethiopian R&B singer, who dropped her debut EP, “February 29th” about two months ago. I’ve been playing her music for some time since I found out about her and when I find out she would be playing a show for Canadian Music Week, I knew I would be checking it out. I just didn’t know how shambolic it would be just to see her.

Now what I mean by that is, I accidentally went to the wrong venue. How did this happen? It’s because the showcase “The Hustle” that Liza was playing is handled by “The Academy Presents” and they almost always do their shows at The Drake Hotel, so that’s where I went. I was running late as is, so I rushed to The Drake Hotel, but something was off once I got there.

There wasn’t a line, admittedly, yes, I was late, but still, something seemed strange. I then went inside the ritzy and pretty glamorous hotel , walked by a few people and walked downstairs right to the venue doors and I immediately realized I was at the wrong place. Inside the venue, there was bands on stage and I was supposed to be seeing r&b and rap artists.

There was also the door person waiting for me to give her a ticket to get in, but we both looked at each other with confused faces. Even she knew I was not in the right place. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love rock music and all of that, but I was not supposed to be there.

Just to clarify, I then asked the door person what was going on and found out, there was a different showcase happening. I then left and went on my phone and checked the Facebook page for the event information and realized the place I was supposed to go to the event space Revival on College. So I rushed over there.

Now slowly, but surely I go to the right place, I jumped on a bus, walked about five minutes and got to the venue. The event listed itself from 8pm to 11pm on Facebook, but when I got there around nine, things hadn’t started yet and the place wasn’t yet packed, but it was building towards that as the night grew. The lighting in the venue was dim and the stage was incredibly bright. The MC of the night, Crossword got things started as he went on stage.

The artist I wanted to see, Liza would be the first act to perform for the showcase and once she did, I realized I was in for something special. She may have just been doing her sound check to start when she got on stage, but her voice already seemed ready and just like that, her sound check was over and she was starting her set. One of the songs that really impressed me the most was the song, “You” from the EP.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTcIvSHlWbU/?taken-by=kidfromthe6ix

I’m a massive fan of artists who can really sing and as you can see, her vocals were amazing. And trust me, the video doesn’t even do her justice, it was even better live. Liza would go on to perform cuts from her EP and then finished her set. People in the crowd demanded her set to be longer, showing just how much of an impact she was making. And I was among them who wanted her set to be longer, it was just that good.

She proved to me and everybody who was in attendance on stage that she deserved to be there and I was happy Canadian Music Week decided to highlight her for their co-presented showcase. Now in Toronto, there’s another Ethiopian star, his name is Abel Tesfaye, you may know him as The Weeknd. At Canadian Music Week 2017 though, Liza proved there’s another Ethiopian star in Toronto and she’s just getting started.

MY MOTTO IS: IF YOU WANNA WIN THE LOTTERY, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE MONEY TO BUY A TICKET!

From The 6ix,With Love

Thank You For Reading

Sincerely, Kid From The 6ix

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