K-Os
By Will McGuirk
The inaugural Whitby Music Fest organised by Town Brewery was by all accounts an outstanding success. The festival took place over four days in several locations in Whitby’s core and it leaned into local at all levels. Mikki went to some of the lead-in shows but I attended the outdoor main stage event at the Whitby Library courtyard.
I’ve been to many festivals and I love the walk in when the music is already playing, getting louder as you get closer and the world slips away and the vibes grow, but walking into the fest as my own son’s voice and music (Mary and Adelaide) bounced around me off the walls of the buildings downtown was next level, gave me chills and a surge of emotions. The location also created that sense of an enclosed environment, even though we were all next to Highway 2 traffic buzzing by. The way the crew at Town laid out the square, with food, merch, bars, and info setups also contributed to the togetherness of the festival. Even the portable washrooms were placed in such a manner to be accessible but not intrusive. Security too was subtle but firm. Everything contributed to a sense of organisation and planning which allowed the voices to be at the core of the experience and what voices. And local to boot.
Chastity sported a Whitby football shirt, K-Os wore a Whitby jacket, both were obviously thrilled to be playing their hometown and that speaks to the value the organisers places on being Town and what that implies for them as a business and as a community hub. M+A never sounded better and those kids I know for sure were also thrilled to be part of it all. K-Os was incredible. I’ve never seen him live before and his performance was a Master Class in Hip-Hop. As the Dj sampled and spun behind him he rapped out seemingly off the cuff lyrics, some of them from his own Juno winning hits, and some from other songs he knew and grew up with - I thought he was absolutely brilliant.
Anyway this is Mikki’s page but I thought I’d just put context to her pics and shout out Town for an event that proves Durham Region has some great talents and we need more opportunities to showcase them. Kudos too to the actual City of the Town of Whitby for accommodating all of this.
Chastity
Little Junior
Mary and Adelaide
