CBMA to host ‘Little Jamaica’ walking tour in Toronto

The Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) has announced the Little Jamaica Music History Walking Tour, an interactive tour that will allow for participants to explore shops, restaurants, art, and the music.

This guided tour will begin at 2353 Dufferin St. (in front of St. Hilda’s Towers) and end at Marlee Ave., offering an in-depth overview of historical landmarks along the way. Participants can explore sites like the Reggae Lane mural by Adrian Hayles, learn about important figures like Jimmy Wisdom, enjoy delicious Caribbean dishes, and immerse themselves with live music from local favourites.

The area known as ‘Little Jamaica’ stretches along Eglinton Avenue West from Marlee Avenue to Keele Street. With the influx of Caribbean immigrants between the 1960s and 1980s, it became home to many islanders. As the population grew they opened restaurants, record stores, beauty salons, barbershops, and recording studios.

In its prime, Eglinton was one of the largest producers of reggae music outside of Jamaica. The strip attracted the biggest names in the genre. Not only was it home for Reggae, but housed calypso, dub, ska, and rocksteady, among other music entities. Behind these genres were community greats like Leroy Sibbles, King Culture, Nana McLean, Jay Douglas, Jackie Mittoo, and more.

The Little Jamaica Music History Walking Tour will take a look behind the scenes at the impact these figures have had on the city and the country’s music landscape. For the remainder of the summer, tours will take place at least twice a month until September.

A release noted that ‘as an online digital repository, the Canada Black Music Archives aims to push the stories of black musicians to the forefront. Through our extensive collection of photographs, music, interviews, and other historical documents, we are able to provide invaluable research and insight.”

The project is funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Innovation Fund, as part of the Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Interested persons may visit https://thecbma.com/little-jamaica-music-history-tour/ or info@cbma.com for more information