Canada’s Homebody Music Festival Announces Artist Lineup for May Streams
Hosted By & Featuring JUNO Awards Green Room Performer & CTV The Launch Finalist Ezra Jordan
PLUS! 50+ Artists
May 22, 23 & 24 / May 29, 30 & 31
7:35 – 10:45 PM
Stir crazy music fans craving a festival experience for the ages are set to find one in the upcoming Homebody Music Festival — available online for six dates this May via YouTube Live.
Hosted and with a performance by Canadian R&B alt-pop artist, CTV’s The Launch finalist and 2019 JUNO Awards Green Room performer Ezra Jordan, headliners and features for Homebody include Francesco Yates, The Reklaws, Allan Rayman, Courage My Love, Sam DeRosa, Zero 9:36, Ashley Hess, and more. In all, the festival will feature more than 50+ artists and cover a sonic cross-section of pop, alternative, R&B/soul, country, hip hop, and everything in between.
The Reklaws perform at the 2019 Juno Awards photo Kayla Winkworth
Each artist will take centre-cam for a 15 minute set, complete with an interview and two songs. With an inspired nod to Coachella’s plural programming pivot, the Homebody Music Festival is scheduled to stream over the course of two weekends — both May 22nd, 23rd and 24th and May 29th, 30th and 31st.
Corralled into creation as a decidedly organic effort supported by a select group of small businesses and content creators, Homebody Music Festival has been steered into this relatively new, uncharted territory by a handful of dynamic, likeminded Canadian music industry professionals; in addition to Jordan as host, the team includes Nick Chiasson, Nick Navarro, Pearce Knight, Daniel Goodman, and festival founder Lukas Lennon of Lukas Lennon Management.
“We decided to put together the Homebody Music Festival as a celebration of music, and to have conversations around health and creativity with musicians,” Jordan says. “We wanted to focus on how they are dealing with the challenges of social isolation over a live stream.
“Ultimately, our intent is to spread positivity, happiness, and unity during such a stressful time,” Lennon adds. “We recognize the difficulty of the situation right now, especially for independent creatives.
“We also understand music’s immense potential to heal during this moment of collective grief, and we want to contribute to that mission.”
Beyond that effort, the Homebody Music Festival is set to raise funds and awareness for three charitable organizations — two that serve on the national level, and one in Toronto.
Francesco Yates performs during the Ottawa Bluesfest. Photo: Renée Doiron
40% of funds raised will go to Jack(dot)org, a Canadian charity that trains and empowers young leaders to revolutionize mental health; another 40% of funds raised are slated for the Unison Benevolent Fund, which provides counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community in times of hardship, illness or economic difficulties.
Lastly, 20% will go to Meals to Heal, a Toronto-based foundation utilizing donations from the community to buy and fast track meals from local restaurants and coffee shops for healthcare workers on the frontline.
“With 100% of the profit divided between the three charities,” Jordan and Lennon offer, “we hope to contribute meaningfully to their respective causes and the national efforts shaping the Canadian healthcare response to COVID-19.”
The Homebody Music Festival is scheduled for May 22nd, 23rd, and 24th and May 29th, 30th and 31st. Audiences can stream via YouTube Live.
