As the summer blossoms, the charity is hosting a Mid- Summer fundraiser party - in Toronto at The Duke Live, (1225 Queen St. East.) The event promises to be full of great music, dance and loving support hosted by Canadian TV personality Michael Williams and Birdsong Foundation founder Margaret Konopacki. All songs performed are original songs created by Birdsong Artists subsidized by the Birdsong Foundation.

The line-up includes Poet and artist Robert Priest, D.M. Lafortune, Dustin Harder (a.k.a. Prairie Soul), Arif Jinha, Jordan Gow, Ashley Bell, Jhmal King, Dianne Samuels (a.k.a Bird of Paradise) and Bryant Didier with the Birdsong Village Band.

Voices Travel the WInd - Hey Na Na Na Ney 
Song by Dustin Harder - Produced by Birdsong New Music Foundation
Music Producer: Bryant Didier

So Good Looking Man
Song written by David Martin and performed by Mae Martin
Produced by: Birdsong New Music Foundation 

Musicians and artists are arriving from Winnipeg, Ottawa, Hamilton, Haggersville, Windsor and the Toronto area.

The fundraiser for the charity is also a celebration of D. M. Lafortune’s new single “How Many Times.,” now available on Spotify.

New birdsong artist Arif Jinha from Ottawa will be travelling with his beloved sitar which he will play and showcase at the concert. One of his songs entitled “I Am” will be produced this month by Platinum Award winning music producer Greg Kavanagh who also produced “How Many Times’” (D.M. Lafortune,) and “Simple Human Kindness” (Robert Priest).

Arif is very excited about joining the Birdsong Foundation as a new artist and his hope is to create new Canadian musical sound that is integrated with classical Indian music.

His heritage is Indian, Persian, African and English. He describes his music “as collecting rivers not fusions.”

Arif is a philosopher and a musician who loves to write music and perform. He lives in Ottawa and is a full-time care giver for his aging mom while also finding time to perform in a children’s hospice while taking care of his family. Arif also struggles with mental health.

“I feel the healing power of music and it has always helped me with my bipolar disorder diagnosis. Music sustains me and helps me survive. My music can be verbal or non-verbal and it ‘s soothing sound can be compared to walking in a beautiful garden - looking, feeling, hearing, transforming – a trance vibe. I play many instruments but am particularly drawn to the sitar. A sitar is like a person, in some ways; it’s a relationship you have with an instrument. She is like a queen. This is a very exciting time for me to arrive in Toronto to perform and record and I thank Birdsong Foundation for inspiring me to write music again after a long difficult hiatus.

Just 1329 miles west in Winnipeg, Dustin Harder who is called “Prairie Soul” will be boarding a plane to get to the rehearsals and gig in a few days. When asked what kind of music he makes, here is his response.

“I have always had a hard time giving a simple answer as I write and perform multiple styles so I asked the late Mitch Podaluk (the founder of The Winnipeg Folk Festival and Home Routes House concerts) if he could help me define my genre and style of music which he did. He said I play Rockin' Prairie Soul Music!

I am a Red River Metis Prairie Soul and as I look back at songs from my first album (Searchin’ for a River), which I produced independently with my former group, The Dusty Roads Band, I believe I can measure my own growth. I identify myself as a Metis man with insight into some of the hard challenges I have faced, and my people have faced, and are still dealing with today.

Over the past 16 years, I have recorded, co-produced 3 and released 2 full length albums of original songs, performed in venues and music festivals throughout Canada. While I mature as an artist, the wellbeing of Metis and all Indigenous peoples has become more central in my life and music. 

I’m so excited to come back to Toronto with the Birdsong Foundation as this is a tremendous opportunity to bring some of the truth and reconciliation songs I have been performing in recent months in Manitoba to a new audience in Toronto. My past collaborations with Birdsong Foundation have been very positive and we worked together releasing a unique song entitled “ Voices Travel The Wind – Hey Na Na Na Ney” (produced by Bryant Didier) and this event will allow me to expand further on several themes that are my life and work: recovery from substance use disorder and depression. The rates of depression and suicide, especially among our Indigenous youth, are frighteningly high and I look for any chance to contribute to turning that trend around.

I believe that music can be a messenger and a miraculous healing experience. My song "Brighter Days" came from a time in my life when I was in the midst of a suicidal, mental health crisis. But going through that taught me two invaluable things. One is that, whatever type of challenges you have that makes life feel so hopeless, everyone has what it takes to come out on the other side. Just hang in.

The second one is the healing power of music. That song is my testimony, and when I share it with people in live performances, there is always at least one person who says something deeply personal to me afterward, and thanks me for having the courage to talk about it without shame.

I am Metis and a part of that community, yet I know that music is the international language, that connects all peoples across national borders and cultural differences.

Please join our music community that strives to use music for healing. We welcome you to join us for a celebratory night of incredible sound Thursday July 17.

Tickets : donate $20 to the foundation at birdsongnewmusicfoundation.ca
$25 cash at the door /half price for musicians.

For more information, please go to our website at birdsongnewmusicfoundation.ca/

Hope to see you there!

Birdsong New Music Foundation continues to accept new applications from Canadian artists who live with mental illness and believe that music can be part of their journey towards healing and wellness.

facebook.com/birdsongfund
instagram.com/birdsongfund/
birdsongnewmusicfoundation.ca/