Head to Little Montreal for a night of soothing sounds from Sault Ste. Marie’s Catherine Taddo followed by the “buck wild, beaming and disarmingly vulnerable” Franco-Ontarian, Mehdi Cayenne. This show is 19+. Government issued IDs may be required. $15 for non Weekend Pass holders. TICKETS: www.nlfb.ca/tickets SCHEDULE: www.nlfb.ca/bloom/schedule 11:00PM - Catherine Taddo 12:00AM - Mehdi Cayenne Mehdi Cayenne: Buckwild, beaming and disarmingly vulnerable, Mehdi Cayenne has been developing his intense and luminous approach over three LPs so far: Luminata in 2011, Na Na Boo Boo in 2013, and Aube in 2015 – earning awards, rave reviews and performing on major stages in Canada and abroad. With an uncanny stage presence, Mehdi roars through his quirky, funky-punky repertoire – whose worldly influences are strange and familiar at the same time. His songs possess something animalistic as well as a poetic sweetness, evoking a musical culture of many stripes and eras. Catherine Taddo: Sault Ste. Marie’s Catherine Taddo brings her experiences, passion and voice to her music. At age 11 she found a home playing guitar and has been playing and writing songs ever since. Taddo’s first album This Way, has been compared to the unique musical style of Norah Jones. Taddo’s latest release, Under Your Hood, features nine of Taddo’s songs, and one relatively obscure track by Louis Jordan, titled Men Are Like Street Cars. One review describes “The easy, powerful flow of Taddo’s voice mixed with the slick musicianship almost compels the body to sway, tap and move along.”

Feel like experiencing something different? Dance and sway to the unique sounds of LAL followed by a hypnotic show put on by Canada’s most sought-after tabla players, Gurpreet Chana. This show is 19+. Government issued IDs may be required. $15 for non Weekend Pass holders. TICKETS: www.nlfb.ca/tickets SCHEDULE: www.nlfb.ca/bloom/schedule 11:00PM - LAL 12:30AM - Gurpreet Chana Gurpreet Chana :: The Tabla Guy: A musician, technician, composer and performer, Gurpreet and his music juxtaposes the time-honoured tradition of the tabla with a dizzying array of musical styles. Weaving the hypnotic sounds of the tabla drum into the fabric of various music, he spreads its rhythmic pulse like a meme with each fresh cultural integration. LAL is an intersection between idea, place, and people, where we stand for moment and discuss the kind of world we will create. The conversation eventually gives way to dance, which, in turn, gives way to conversation, which again, makes room for dance. We will win. There’s no doubt the late 1990s, LAL introduced a political edge to the electronic underground, bridging the gap between art and social justice.

From forbidden love to the myth of Prometheus, the SSO performs music inspired by romance that speaks of enriched stories. We open with Sibelius’ doomed love epic, “Pelléas and Mélisande”, followed by Beethoven’s “Prometheus Overture”, inspired by a tragic myth. We delve into Schubert’s dreamy and melancholic “Unfinished Symphony”, along with Glenn Buhr’s slowly evolving melody, inspired by the culture of India, “Akasha” (the Sanskrit word for space or sky).

Get ready for a night of First Nations alternative rock from multi-award nominated project, NADJIWAN, followed by a wild show featuring a crazed, flamboyant and all around fun group of musical gypsies, Jumple. This show is 19+. Government issued IDs may be required. $15 for non Weekend Pass holders. TICKETS: www.nlfb.ca/tickets SCHEDULE: www.nlfb.ca/bloom/schedule NADJIWAN: 10:30PM JUMPLE: 12:00AM Marc Nadjiwan: The man behind the NADJIWAN project and the music is Marc Nadjiwan. Born in northern Manitoba and raised in the untamed beauty of Northwestern Ontario, Marc knew from an early age he would perform music. Marc currently lives in Toronto, Ontario and although Marc has left the humble and untamed beauty of Northwestern Ontario, he will never forget his roots. The deepening red skies, flourishing forests and fresh running rivers will always remain in his heart, soul and music. JUMPLE: Jumple are a band of crazed musical gypsies that are simply impossible to beat. With all members of the band hailing from different parts of the former USSR, there is a distinct cultural and musical influence that clearly sets this band apart. It’s very rare to see a live band that can coax a crowd into dancing the way the Jumple can – they get people out of their seats and on their feet. Rocking flamboyant costumes, synchronized dance moves and an anything-goes attitude, they put on one of the zaniest and most compelling performances around.

IT'S BACK! The annual Meltdown Competition is an event where emerging artists from Northern Ontario compete for their chance to play a paid gig at Northern Lights Festival Boréal 2019 (Jul. 4-7). Each artist has 15 minutes to impress the judges. This is an open audition with a Band and Solo categories. The public is encouraged to drop by and watch. This event is scheduled as part of our new festival, Bloom 2019! Think you have what it takes? APPLY NOW: http://bit.ly/2RBmVVo This is an excellent opportunity for emerging Northern Ontario artists to gain valuable exposure, and perform their best music in a fun environment! Past winners have included Hello Holiday, Spencer Jose, The Keyframes, and Patricia Cano. Bloom 2019 Pass Holders - Free admission Other patrons - donation (suggestion: $5-15)

Pierre Kwenders will headline March 10 following the NLFB Meltdown Competition 2019. Fun fact: he sings and raps in FIVE different languages! This show is 19+. Government issued IDs may be required. TICKETS: www.nlfb.ca/tickets FULL SCHEDULE: www.nlfb.ca/bloom/schedule Afro-Canadian singer/songwriter Pierre Kwenders’ music is a response to a world that so often asks people who fit comfortably in multiple boxes to pick only one. Born in Kinshasa, Kwenders draws on his wide-ranging experience to make personal music with multiple points of entry, rather than paring it down to fit recognizable genres. While Pierre’s music ranges from icy R&B to futuristic hip-hop, his style is rooted in Congolese rumba, the ubiquitous sound of The Democratic Republic of Congo. Like Kwenders, the genre’s identity transcends location: It began in the 1960’s as central African artists’ take on Afro-Cuban rumba, which in turn grew out of African sounds imported to Cuba through the slave trade in the 17th century. But Pierre is as influenced by the sound of Congolese rumba as he is by the attitude of artists like the late Papa Wemba, who pushed the genre forward by finding ways to incorporate new ideas. Kwenders takes a similar approach to R&B and hip-hop.