The Island Soul Festival looks at Caribbean culture with fresh eyes
By Chris Dart From Torontoist
This year’s edition of the Island Soul festival will emphasize French-speaking Caribbean culture.
Now in its 16th year, Harbourfront Centre’s Island Soul festival, which takes place this weekend, picks up where Caribana (or, um, the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival) leaves off. In addition to having music and dance from the Caribbean, it also features film, art, food, sports, and a whole raft of other Caribbean-related cultural events.
“There’s stuff going on constantly,” says lead artistic associate Nadine McNulty. “We’ve got dance lessons…You can sit down at one of the beginner tables during the domino tournament and learn how to play dominoes. It’s not just a thing where we want people to watch. We want them to get involved.”
This year, McNulty says there will be a particular focus on the culture of the French-speaking islands, thanks to a partnership with Festival Kompa Zouk Ontario, a Francophone Caribbean cultural festival that started on July 25 and will continue until Sunday. McNulty says that when people in Toronto talk about “the Caribbean,” they’re almost always talking about English-speaking islands like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada. As a result, they’re missing out on huge part of Caribbean culture.
“[The festival is] going to be delivering a lot of Haitian content, and that’s not something we get to see in [Toronto] very often,” McNulty says.
She adds that, while Torontonians may pride themselves on their diversity, the diversity of the Caribbean is truly astounding.
“The Caribbean may be the most multicultural place on this Earth,” she says. “When you look at all the different peoples and influences, it’s just incredible…All these people have created some of the most exciting art and culture in the world.”
Another focus of Island Soul is bridging the gaps between old-school calypso, reggae, and soca. In a perfect example of that, critically acclaimed Torontonian calypso-fusion act Kobo Town will co-headline with septuagenarian calypso heroine Calypso Rose on August 2.
Trinidad-born, Ottawa-raised Kobo Town frontman Drew Gonsalves says that playing an event like Island Soul is a perfect way to celebrate his band’s Trinidadian musical heritage, as well as the uniquely Canadian way his music career came together.
“I only really go into calypso after moving to Canada,” he says. “And I think that’s common for a lot of immigrant kids. You don’t appreciate your home culture until you leave it. But obviously I listened to a lot of different music growing up, whether that was dub, reggae, or blues, and that all finds its way into Kobo Town really naturally.”
“I think Island Soul gives an opportunity to let people hear music that’s different than what you hear on the floats and the trucks at Caribana.”
Gonsalves adds that he’s particularly excited to share the stage with one of the greats of the genre.
“[Calypso Rose] just has a wonderful, powerful energy when she sings and performs,” he says. “Her songs just have really funny, smart lyrics and infectious melodies. She’s incredible.”
Ultimately, McNulty just wants everyone who goes to Island Soul to come away with an understanding of the true breadth and diversity of islands that make up the Caribbean.
“There are a lot of languages, different influences, a lot of intermixing of cultures,” she says. “It’s a place where people have been able to assimilate from other cultures and share certain commonalities, but there are also all these unique identities.”
PHOTO: Kobo Town will play Harbourfront Centre on Friday night. Photo courtesy Harbourfront Centre.
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