Two-day Run Tings Festival for Toronto this weekend
Promoter aims to keep Jamaican culture alive
Published:Friday | June 23, 2023 | 12:54 AM
Veteran music promoter, Wayne ‘Lonesome’ Brown, is gearing up to organise his first ever two-day festival dubbed the Run Tings Festival, which will be held this weekend in Toronto, Canada.
“We are trying to keep the music and the culture alive, it’s going to be a great event, there is a great demand for events that offer Caribbean culture in Toronto,” Brown, head of Run Tings label and production company, said.
Reggae music remains popular in Canada, even though it’s been a long journey to mainstream exposure. Though the genre and its players are known commodities, the scene still fights for recognition but remains alive through the many Canadian recording artistes – black or otherwise – who have incorporated reggae sounds into their music, whether it’s pop, rock, country or soul.
People of Caribbean descent make up more than 346,000 of Toronto’s population of just over 2.9 million, according to the 2016 census. Jamaicans comprise almost two-thirds of that figure.
“There is a huge Jamaican and Caribbean community here in Toronto so this festival represents an opportunity for them to enjoy their culture and to attract a diverse audience, everyone from families across Canada and the US [to] young singles looking for a good time, to celebrities,” Brown said.
The first day is dubbed Chaos: Dancehall Soca Madness and will feature top-notch soca selectors from Toronto such as Lukie Supreme, Magnum Force International, D’Enforcas Soca Sound crew, Doc Diplomats and Soca Sweetness.
The second day, dubbed Tenacity, will feature performances from Jigsy King, Lukie D, Louie Culture, and Sample King. Toronto-based talents such as Steve Knight, Mel C, Culture, Lucky Ras, Mr Blaze and Richie C will also be in attendance at the 72 Dynamic Drive location in Scarborough in Toronto, Canada.
Over the years, Wayne Lonesome and his wife, Carlene ‘Mama Angie’ Brown, have promoted successful events such as the Battle of the Giants, a sound system clash which began in 1998, and the Veterans in Action stage shows, which have been held for more than a decade.