Urban Mic Kick-Off

Some great music and a great meal sounds like the perfect date. In the heart of the Eaton Centre’s new Urban Eatery last Thursday night, the mall kicked off its new Urban Mic program, which will feature Toronto artists showcasing their music in a concert series. For the launch, Toronto songstress Shi Wisdom treated the eatery to her immense talent.
Meredith Vlitas, Senior Marketing Director at the Eaton Centre said the mall staff wanted to bring more energy to the mall experience. “What we wanted to do was really bring some energy and some life into the Urban Eatery,” she said. “… We feel like we’re the only ones in Toronto that could do something like this. It’s very urban, it’s very cool and it embraces all the different sounds that are going on in the city.”
The event’s host, Devo Brown from Kiss 92.5 FM, killed rumours that the program was started due to the shooting at the centre this summer, but shared that it is a great night out with friends for students and young professionals in the downtown core. “A lot of people were talking about the shooting here, but that’s not why this program started. This program was a concept from a long time ago. It just made sense to start it when school started back up with Ryerson so close, George Brown being downtown and U of T and all that; so to get the students involved and to let some people that no one’s really heard of shine.”

Shi Wisdom performed tracks off her EP LVSPK such as “Penny”, “Take the L” and “Bad Mood”, and as always, the crowd welcomed her and took in her soulful sound. She also gave away merchandise throughout the show as audience members answered trivia questions about her.
“It’s really awesome. I never thought the Eaton Centre would even have an event like this, and to be the person that kicks it off – I feel really honoured and special. It’s something that’s probably going to be a staple for a lot of independent artists here, that will be able to have a voice in the city, so to know that I’ve set that off, it’s an accolade for me,” said Shi after her performance, while taking pictures with and signing autographs for fans.
Up next on September 20 to 23, Urban Mic will feature artists in a Canada’s Walk Of Fame showcase.