Ezra Kwizera is an international artist, music producer and community leader. Ezra’s music style is richly multi‐cultural – a zesty yet soulful mix of Reggae, Soca, East African Bongo, and Pop. With linguistic agility, Ezra fluidly sings and raps in English, Kinyarwanda, Luganda, Zulu and Swahili. Growing up as a refugee in Uganda before moving back to his home country Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, Ezra has a powerful motivation to support Rwandans through his music to rebuild their country. His music conveys the spark of an overcomer and the passion of a community leader with a vision to inspire change in his generation. He currently lives in BC, Canada.
Categories: Tier 2
Rheinlander Band
Vancouver Rheinlander Oompah Pah Band is a Vancouver, BC based group that plays authentic Oktoberfest, Oompah Pah Pah and Polka music. This band plays the most famous Oompah Pah Pah “Drinking Songs” and Oktoberfest music made popular at celebrations in The Munich Hofbrauhaus. Oktoberfest drinking songs are not only a Bavarian tradition, but also, a way for all the people in the community to come together and pay tribute to the year’s bountiful harvest.
Malcolm-Jay
Malcolm-Jay is an award nominated, socially conscious and self reflective artist who has now been active in hip-hop for a decade. He has played for Manitoba Music, Focus Wales, New Skool Rules, Northern Touch Music Festival and BreakOut West. He’s catching the attention of fans and industry alike with his natural charisma, ability to engage and connect with the most diverse of audiences.
Malcolm-Jay also offers hands-on production and songwriting workshops, most recently at Northern Touch Music Festival (alongside Kato, a celebrated American producer), Ndinawe Youth Centre and Studio 393.
The Enemy Within, the first full-length solo album also shows his skill in production and has earned him an active following worldwide. Malcolm-Jay gives his all, often backed by his energetic band; it’s hard not to relate to the honesty and passion permeating his music. This independent release spent several months in the Top 10 of Canadian campus charts. His latest EP “Restless” is now available on all streaming platforms.
Vancouver Cantonese Opera
Rosa Cheng is a principal performer, Canadian performer, Founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Cantonese Opera Society. Her passion in the preservation and promotion of Cantonese Opera to the highest standard in Canada has led her to the founding of the Vancouver Cantonese Opera (VCO) Company in the year 2000. VCO has attained its charitable status in 2005. Its non-profit making objectives have enabled Cantonese Opera to be accessible to a wider audience at a lower cost, with the hope to cultivate a wider appreciation of the unique and vibrant aesthetic of Cantonese Opera.
Akhil Jobanputra
At the age of 3, Akhil Jobanputra started his journey in the Indian classical vocal form known as khayal. He has received training from a variety of Gurus primarily from the Mewati and Jaipur stylistic disciplines, and is currently learning under Dr. Arun Dravid, Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, and Shri Arijit Mahalanabis. Akhil has performed across Canada, the United States, India, and the UK. He is the Founder and President of the Indian Classical Music Society of Vancouver, and he’s currently pursuing a B.A. in Human Geography at the University of British Columbia.
Veronica Fusaro
In the quiet remoteness of her home recording studio, Veronica Fusaro developed her
characteristic soul pop sound and the bluntness of her songs. She then stepped into the
spotlight in 2016 with her self-produced EP “Lost In Thought” and surprised the Swiss
music industry by winning the “Demo of the Year” at the M4Music-Festival. She was then awarded “Best Talent” by the national radio station SRF3 and was nominated for the Swiss Music Awards 2017. Touring ever since, her music matured with the euphoric reactions of her listeners. On small and large stages, from New Zealand all the way to London back to Switzerland, Veronica Fusaro captivates audiences by building sound structures with live multi-instrumental loops – or by simply standing at the edge of the stage with her guitar and singing her songs with her affecting voice. Her second EP “ICE COLD” was released on February 9th 2018. With the single “Better If I Go” Veronica performed at the Swiss Music Awards at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, was invited to the Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang and played two showcases at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton. With the experience of 136 shows in 2018, 2019 is set to be even more exciting. The young musician from Switzerland shines with new songs on the stages of the world, skillfully balancing between the depth and playfulness of her music: pure, powerful and intimate.
Via Barcelonia
Via Barcelonia is like an edible melody that tastes as good as it sounds. With a nod to the music of the past and a leap into the music of the future, this band rides the fine line of authentic, festival pop…merging not only the sounds of the times but the sonics of the world.
Andrew Allen, Taylor McKnight and Liv Roberts, aka Via Barcelonia, have set out to change the musical conversation by creating something so dynamic, fun, positive, genuine and awesome, that you can’t help but be drawn in.
With their debut single, ‘JUST WANNA DANCE’, gaining over 30,000 streams on Spotify during its first week online, Via Barcelonia is definitely an emerging act to watch for.
Boasting songs co-written with multi-platinum songwriters and productions by Juno award winning producers, this is an act with soul stirring, singalong choruses, addictive and electrifying energy and one with limitless opportunity!
Olin Brix
Olin Brix is a one man band. Through layers of looped beats, vocals and guitar, he creates a fresh vibe that is certain to keep the crowds wanting more. Performing covers in his unique way, he transitions from genre to genre and beat to beat while live looping it all together. Everything from Pink Floyd to Biggie Smalls to Ed Sheeran, Olin will find a way to put a groove on it. You can find him playing gigs in and around the Vancouver area, always working to develop his craft, and please the crowd.
Camaro 67
Camaro 67 brings together classic Afrobeat influences (Fela Kuti, Tony Allen), and modern Afrofunk / Groove sounds (Antibalas, Budos Band, The Herbaliser) to produce a propulsive, high-energy, made-in-Vancouver heavy funk experience. This explosive 10-piece instrumental group debuted in the fall of 2015, picking up from where Miami Device (BC’s premier Afrobeat orchestra since 2007) left off. In their first year as a band, Camaro 67 released their 9-track debut album “Burn Rubber, Not Your Soul”. They quickly followed this up with their second full length album “Still Burning” which was released on June 1st, 2018. The band has been featured at festivals throughout BC including the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Celebration of Light, the Vancouver Dragon Boat Festival, Winterruption Festival, Garden City Grooves, and the Wapiti Music Festival. They have shared the stage with with reggae legend Alpha Blondy and local groove-music heavyweights Emily Chambers, Wooden Horsemen, Kutapira, Love You Miss You, and Bazooka Picnic.
Quinta Kalavera
Quinta Kalavera is a mexican reggae, ska & gozadera band from Mexico characterized by its high energy on stage and its connection with people, has had shows on stages in Mexico, Canada, Colombia and Cuba, and has alternated with Gondwana, Kaasav, Rubén Blades, among other international artists. Featurings with Damien Schmitt (France) and Mcklopedia (Venezuela).
