Oh So Beautiful

Many independent artists find themselves stuck somewhere in between open mic nights and sold out concerts, looking for an outlet to play their music, but some find it difficult to find a platform that suits their individuality and creativity. The Oh So Beautiful showcase held at Toronto’s Art Gallery Of Ontario last month proved a successful outlet for some of these artists with a night of performances by a group of musicians, all vastly different from the next.
What the showcase stands for is really defined by its name. Married couple, Ahkinoah and Ahshatèn Izarh, who are both artists themselves, started the showcase to put the power of performance back into the hands of musicians and provide an opportunity for artists who don’t fit a particular genre or trend.
“We see both sides of the coin and that’s why there’s so much value in the show,” Ahkinoah, better known as his stage name AHI, said before the showcase. AHI is also the founder and producer of BLUEBLACKmusic, which provides independent artists with a platform to grow from and with other artists such as themselves.

The event, hosted by Trivelle “T-Stylez” Simpson and Shanna Armogan, was a night filled with powerful music, but there was a process in choosing which talented artists would grace the stage.
To make it into the showcase, the artists went through a rigorous audition process, where they performed in front of a panel of industry professionals such as bass guitarist Orin Isaacs and Bruce Chapman, a store manager with Long & McQuade, and were given feedback as to what worked with their style and sound, but also, what they needed to work on.
“There is a world between amateur and superstardom. People think that if you’re not a superstar, then you’re an amateur and you just want to play for free and don’t have a career sense. We wanted to see people who are pushing themselves and are working towards something,” AHI said on the audition process.
The seven acts that were chosen to perform, all brought a unique and refreshing vibe to the showcase.
JP Saxe, who opened the show, sang his original pieces, while accompanied by a guitar player. He touched the audience with his incredible song writing skills and shared pieces he had written while helping out in an orphanage in Kenya.

Sixteen year old, self-taught pianist, Simon T. Lendore wowed the crowd with an intricate medley of popular urban hits such as Usher’s “You Remind Me” and Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass”.
The six-piece band, Vibonics rocked the stage with its unique mixture of genres, performing numbers “Let’s Get It” and “Lights Out”.
Crossword, emcee of Vibonics, attended the previous Oh So Beautiful showcase. He saw what it was all about and wanted to be a part of it. “This is awesome. It’s a really good vibe, I like how they put the artist first, but they also had a really great continuity within the acts. It seemed to be flowing well and it was a really nice vibe, so off the bat, I was like, ‘How do I get involved in this’,” he said.
Also to grace the stage was opera singer Jennifer Uy, talented songstresses Mirian K and MelRose, as well as Jeff Burke, who played many melodies with his bassoon, such as “Single Ladies” and “Thriller”, which had the audience participating by guessing the songs.
AHI and his wife Ahshatèn, along with their band, also took the opportunity to showcase their talent by performing a set, which featured “Billy Jean” and their original track, “Second To None”.
The appropriately named event was the one-year anniversary of the Oh So Beautiful showcase, which AHI hopes will continue to support independent artists in the city through artist development in the future.