ArtHaus Music brought ‘block pARTy,’ a vendor market followed by a series of performances by an all-Canadian lineup, to Toronto’s west end

By: Kinza Zafar

Torontonians are celebrating the return of live events as COVID-19 restrictions slowly ease, starting with a never-before-used venue in the west end of the city. 

“block pARTy,” the inaugural 10-hour launch event for ArtHaus Music, a new creative collective founded by Serena Ryder and Sandy Pandya, generated a significant turnout on Nov. 27 in the Junction neighbourhood. The first half of the event consisted of a pop-up vendor market soundtracked by Toronto DJs Junia-T and Bambii.  

The scene later transitioned into a series of performances by an all-Canadian lineup, including Montreal-based artist Clerel, dream pop multi-instrumentalist Luna Li, R&B sensation Adria Kain, and Juno award-winning rapper Shad.

Junia-T kicked off the market, quickly setting the scene and filling the environment with his feel-good vibes. The reggae influence in his beats was prevalent, which had the vendors and customers swaying along. Bambii’s electronic dance beats, complete with grimey bass, showcased her inspiration from rave culture, as she attracted a crowd at the stage for her hour-long set. 

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Clerel travelled to Toronto from Montreal to perform for ArtHaus. His jazzy chord progressions combined with his gentle voice were eclectic and he later joined the audience to experience the remaining performances alongside fans.

Special guest Luna Li performed solo for the first time in years, following her tour with Grammy-nominated indie rock band Japanese Breakfast. Her hazy, vibrant voice magically complimented the sweeping chords of her violin and funky guitar. Fans sang along to her hit track, “Afterglow,” which has accumulated nearly four million streams on Spotify and is featured on her latest EP. 

Adria Kain, represented by ArtHaus’ label, performed with a full band, including a saxophonist. Her smooth vocals and funny attitude made for an energetic set as she interacted with every band member and brought the audience closer to the stage for a more interconnected experience. 

Acclaimed local rapper Shad also made a surprise appearance at block pARTy, as he announced earlier that week to his Instagram followers, making for a memorable cap on the event. He had the crowd bouncing around as they all jammed to his many popular songs off of his six studio albums.

ArtHaus aims to build a community space in which creatives can connect and collaborate. “block pARTy came about as an idea to get into live music and we’ve always been such big fans of the Toronto music scene,” says Esra Firatli, the event organizer. 

She addressed the future of ArtHaus as they plan on expanding throughout the city, country and even abroad, saying, “block pARTy is definitely something we would [eventually] love to do in different neighbourhoods.” 

 Local artisans were invited to showcase and sell their goods with a free table gifted by ArtHaus, allowing them to keep one hundred per cent of their profits. Florists, ceramicists, artists, vintage clothing vendors, skateboard vendors and coffee shops all connected with the community by selling their items. Additionally, LayLow Brewery, a bar on College Sreet, sold merchandise and house-brewed beer. The venue was decorated with large paintings from an exhibit created by Jamaican Canadian artist, Krystal Ball.

Bree Fawn and Sarah Sleeth are the duo behind Slolife Supply, a Toronto-based creative business producing prints, tote bags and more that attracted many at the event. Both music industry professionals, Fawn and Sleeth began creating their own art over the pandemic through teaching themselves silkscreening and printmaking. 

“We started doing it out of house, we didn’t really think about markets or anything. And then just as the pandemic ended, some [opportunities] started popping up and we jumped on it,” Fawn explained.

They emphasized their pleasure of working with ArtHaus due to the success in vendor curation and ability to get “wildly creative people out and about.” Being able to be immersed in an in-person creative community again was a highlight of the event for them; “to have everyone in one room is blowing my mind.”

Emilie Caneo, a university student residing in the Junction, said this was her first live event since the pandemic began. She described her experience as inspiring and said “the turnout of the event reflected the area,” as it captured the “low-key and creative vibe” that the Junction neighbourhood  is known for. 

According to Firatli, live music has undoubtedly left a “big fingerprint” on Toronto. 

“It’s what we’re known for in so many ways. Even with the loss of venues during COVID, which has obviously been devastating,” she said.

However, she said many more are likely to come out after the closures of popular venues such as The Mod Club, Alleycatz and the legendary Matador. 

Firatli describes Toronto as being an exciting city; “it feels like a really big hub for people to be free, to share their visions and their ideas,” she said. “I’ve felt really lucky to feel connected to the artists that I’ve been fortunate to work with and that’s been an honour.”

Toronto can look forward to more community-integrating events from ArtHaus Music in the new year.