Melanie Fiona in Toronto

Two-time Grammy winner, Melanie Fiona, returned to her hometown and put on a legendary show for her city at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre for her first-ever headlining concert in Canada earlier this month.

The show began on time (surprisingly) with a short list of talented opening acts such as Toronto’s own LeiLa Dey, who stepped on stage, exciting fans with a sweet voice and relatable tracks for female fans who were vibing along with the up and comer.

New York duo CharlieRED, comprised of vocalist Rocki Evans and producer Cobaine Ivory, hit the Phoenix stage next, introducing their hip-hop/blues sound to Toronto with an electric performance. The two, accompanied by their band, paid homage to their influences such as James Brown and Notorious B.I.G. and made a good first impression on a critical city.

The dark venue filled up and it was evident fans were ready for Melanie.

As her band began to play, hometown legend Melanie Fiona skipped onstage at 11 p.m. on the dot, in the dot, sporting a pair of cut-off jean shorts that had a Canadian flag stuffed in the back pocket and sky-high Louboutins that the songstress was amazingly able to dance in effortlessly.

From start to finish, Melanie took us through an ‘emotional journey’ of her MF life and performed to her fullest capabilities, belting out her hits such as “Give It To Me Right”, “It Kills Me”, “Monday Morning” and “Change The Record” with immense class, so rare for R&B artists today.

In Toronto fashion, the crowd erupted in cheers with Melanie’s use of patois and danced along to her energetic performance of the Caribbean-influenced “Ay Yo”. Astonishingly, Melanie announced to the crowd that earlier she had lost her voice, but the energy from the city brought it back through sparked adrenaline, which was hard to believe as her pitches and melodies were completely on point throughout the powerful set.

To conclude the show, Melanie belted out her soulful ballad “4 AM”, which the predominantly female crowd sang along with. She left the stage as the lights went low before chants and claps brought her back out for an encore of her Drake cover of “Started From The Bottom” and fan requests of favourites like “Gone and Never Coming Back”.

Melanie delivered arguably the best R&B performance of the year to her hometown city, reciprocating the love she received from her fans and giving them a superstar-quality show. Toronto should be proud.

Flow 93.5 Summer Jam

The second annual FLOW 93-5 Bacardi Summer Jam, which took place at The Masonic Temple last Friday night, was definitely Toronto’s party of the summer.
Tickets, which were sold out in one day, could only be won on-air, drawing in a diverse crowd of radio listeners, rather than genre-specific fans. The night was jam-packed with Canadian talent as DJ Starting From Scratch spun the ones and twos before performances by The Airplane Boys, Dru, Shawn Desman, Melanie Fiona and host, Kardinal Offishall.
“It’s a real nice party atmosphere and the people that came out to see everybody, they’re not the sometimes ‘typical’ Toronto mood, everybody is really enjoying themselves, which is always a good surprise, so it’s dope,” said Kardi, who hyped up the audience with his comedic personality and spirited stage presence.
The Airplane Boys began the show with a bang, performing tracks such as “Born To Be” and “Beau Monde” with the unique sound, swag and stage presence the group is known for. The hip-hop duo even cooled the audience down by pouring two bottles of water into the crowd.
Shawn Desman, who is a performing veteran, sang hits such as “Shiver” and “Electric” with two backup dancers, showcasing why he has continued to stay relevant after over a decade in the game with hit after hit.

Melanie Fiona, who also performed last year at the first Summer Jam, headlined this year’s event, and proved why she is Canada’s R&B princess by belting out her hits such as “Change The Record”, “4 AM” and “Give It To Me Right” in a pair of killer red heels. She held it down as the only female on the bill, while the crowd sang along with her every word.
“It’s fun being able to be home and being able to do a show with this cool vibe and everyone is a little nice off the Bacardi and it’s beautiful,” said Fiona. “FLOW is doing its thing for the city and I appreciate it. Sharing the stage with fellow Torontonians and artists, it’s the best shows you can do.”
The Summer Jam’s party vibe and all homegrown talent on the bill made it a unique showcase. Only two years in, it is safe to say that the jam will only get bigger but many of the artists say that it is important to keep the event Canadian based.
“The beauty of FLOW Summer Jam is that it’s Toronto’s urban station and a lot of artists look at this as their haven, their environment, it’s our own – it’s Toronto. When you say FLOW – that’s us, that’s this city, so it should stay this city,” said Beck Motley of The Airplane Boys.

Each artist shared that they only have hopes for the Summer Jam to grow in the future, but an all-Canadian cast will only flourish with the help of more media outlets such as FLOW 93.5 FM.
“As the radio stations and media outlets continue to support our own talent, it’s going to be a bigger bill and more of a demand to see Toronto artists,” explained Fiona. “I think it’s just going to get bigger and better.”

Photos by: Fitzroy Facey